Meal Plans are Back!

In an effort to post more frequently and help out friends who have recently joined Urban Acres (co-op style produce we've been getting for over a year now), I will be posting meals plans that utilize our lovely and fresh local organic produce. The meals plans are *mostly* Paleo and will typically include 5-6 days of the week as our weekend plans change frequently. I'd love to hear feedback on what you've tried, particularly if it's a new vegetable for you!

Produce	Recipe
Mustard Greens	Mustard Greens with Bacon
Beet Greens	Buttered Beets and Green with Dijon
Beets	Buttered Beets and Green with Dijon
Kale	Green Smoothie (Blendtec)
Lettuce	Salad
Broccoli	Chili-Garlic Roasted Broccoli
Daikon Radish	Spicy Radish Salad
Apples	Snacks
Oranges	Snacks
Grapefruit	Snacks
Celery	Snacks

Breakdown for the week:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Breakfast	Eggs & Veggies	Eggs & Veggies	Eggs & Veggies	Eggs & Veggies	Eggs & Veggies
Snack	Carrots & Hummus	Carrots & Hummus	Carrots & Hummus	Carrots & Hummus	Carrots & Hummus
Lunch	Quinoa and Veggies	Quinoa and Veggies	Quinoa and Veggies	Quinoa and Veggies	Quinoa and Veggies
Snack	Almonds & Fruit	Almonds & Fruit	Almonds & Fruit	Almonds & Fruit	Almonds & Fruit
Dinner	Goat with Rice and Salad	Goat with Rice and Salad	Goat with Rice and Mustard Greens	Roasted Chicken with Beets	Roasted Chicken with Beets

As you may have noticed, we are creatures of habit and eat much of the same foods on a daily basis. This is mainly do to the ease created in knowing what we are going to prepare when life is hectic and lunches need to be made. 

Also, you may have noticed the Goat recipe included in this week's plan. Well, long story short, our dear neighbors often gift us with yummy food which occasionally means Ziploc bags of goat meat. Since we have over 7 pounds of goat meat in our freezer currently, I am preparing a crock pot dish this week that utilizes some of the meat. 

Lastly, the "veggies" we eat for breakfast and lunches are typically from a bag of organic frozen vegetables from Costco, mixed or stir-fry.

Chocolatey Beet Cupcakes (4 Points+)

Okay these may sound weird but don't knock it before you've tried it!!  Everyone that has tasted these loves them!  These are incredibly moist and delicious and are actually one of the best not super sweet chocolate cupcakes I've made.  The original recipe had a lot more butter and more sugar so I cut it down by using canned pumpkin.  What a great way to sneak in veggies and whole grains!  These can be made into a bundt cake instead of cupcakes but the Points+ is increased.

1/2 cup butter, softened, divided

1 cups packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
2 cups pureed cooked beets (canned are fine, you will need 2 cans)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners' sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream 1/4 cup butter and brown sugar. Add canned pumpkin.  Add eggs; mix well. Melt chocolate with remaining butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Blend chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla into the creamed mixture (mixture will appear separated). Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. 

For Cupcakes: Fill 24 muffin tins 3/4 full and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Check them after 13 or so minutes to make sure they aren't drying out.  Also, silicon pans take longer to cook than dark nonstick pans.  Cool completely. 

For a Bundt Cake: Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely. 

Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar. 

I have no idea how much these cost right now, hopefully I'll post later.  Anyways, each cupcake is 4 Points+ values.

Three Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (3 Points+)

So my new favorite go-to dessert for entertaining is 3 ingredient cupcakes.  Essentially you replace the oil with one thing and use egg whites instead of whole eggs for fluffiness.  I'll post the Diet Soda Cupcake recipe next. As far as I know, you can use any flavor cake mix with this recipe.  Tonight, though, I used a Betty Crocker Spice Cake mix and they turned out FABULOUS!

1 Box cake mix  (I used Betty Crocker Spice Cake)

1 15oz can 100% pumpkin

2 egg whites

Mix all three ingredients well.  Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake according to package directions.  Check the cupcakes a few minutes earlier than the suggested time to make sure they are not overcooked.  

Top with whatever you want!  I am going to use 2 Tbspn Light Cool Whip (0 Points+) but you eat them plain, top with cream cheese frosting or even use marshmellow fluff--just don't forget to calculate the extra points.

These cupcakes cost $4.00 for the entire batch of 24 cupcakes, or $0.17 per cupcake, not including the topping.