Meal Planning Monday and Trying to Add Protein Back to Our Diet

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 My husband works a kind of physical job. He asked me yesterday while I was working on the menu plan if there was a way to get him some more protein that is not all beans. He is feeling the effects of the decrease in his daily protein. So I went to find the protein requirements for average Americans to see if I can do something with that information.

14+  year old females need @ 45 grams

15+ year old males need @ 55 grams

1-3 year old kids need @ 13 grams

4-8 year olds need @ 19 grams

9-13 year olds need @ 34 grams

The hard part is doing all that stinking math!!! After pouring over the chart I posted, I realized I do NOT have the band width to try to figure this out every week. If we were eating whole pieces of meat it might be easier, but since we share meat in casseroles, soups and things, it makes it much harder as everyone eats different sized portions. This week is an experiment. I want us to all be functioning at our best, but we still have to be in budget. I knew we had to cut back on the cost, but I don't want it to negatively impact any of my family members. I haven't noticed any issues with the kids or myself, so I'm going to focus on upping the protein for my husband.

Doing some internet sleuthing, it looks like the cheapest proteins per gram in order are bone-in chicken, tuna, eggs, lentils, cottage cheese, pork, cheese and peanut butter. My new goal is to add one of these foods to his meals each day to up his protein intake. This should be easy enough in practice, a extra slice of cheese on a sandwich, an extra peanut butter sandwich, an extra chicken leg at dinner, lentils added to soup. It's harder to figure out how to fit into or adjust the budget. But it is a must. Everyone needs to be healthy.

For sure he can always pack a peanut butter sandwich. I already suggest peanut butter on saltines when the kids are hungry in the afternoon so not a big stretch. He really likes cottage cheese, and it has a long refrigerator life, so I am going to keep my eye out for when cottage cheese goes on sale so I can add some variety for him. Having a short list to see what is on sale each week to add to his lunch, and anyone else's who is needing a little extra, will be easier for me than doing all that math. 

 My goal for now is to add one extra bit of protein to his meals and see how that does it. Wish me luck! 


 Here is this week's menu plan!

Monday-

Tuesday-

Wednesday- 

  • Breakfast-  Oatmeal, cinnamon toast, banana
  • Lunch-  Leftovers, carrots and celery sticks
  • Dinner- Spaghetti, green beans, garlic toast

Thursday-

  • Breakfast- egg, toast, banana
  • Lunch-  Ramen, boiled egg, apple slices
  • Dinner- Tomato Lentil Soup, using beef bouillon, biscuits

Friday-

  • Breakfast- Oatmeal, toast, apple slices
  • Lunch-  sandwiches, boiled egg, canned pineapple
  • Dinner-  Hot dog coins in mac and cheese, peas, biscuits

Saturday-

Sunday-

 Have a good week!

~ Sarah

 

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