Damn – the world certainly took a turn for the worse during the past week. When preparing last week’s meal plan and subsequently cooking, I did not anticipate that Russia would put World War III into play. Did someone poke the Russian Cunt?
The Russian aggression is such a dick move! One you only see in James Bond movies, where the villain is desperately trying to take over the world for 1 million billion dollars. Now the Russians are losing billions of dollars in revenue from world trade that is canceled. Only the people are affected, not the red elite!
We have been discussing the mask mandate within our school district, not war as a family. It is an understatement that we are shocked, disappointed, and worried – all at the same time.
Stockpiling ammunition while talking about fallout shelters was not part of our family meetings, but now I’m considering getting a few more rifles and handguns.
We debate COVID restrictions, lifting mandates, high inflation, and ridiculous gas prices. Yet, the 2022 tourism leaflet did not include World War III in the European arena.
How did 2022 take such a wrong turn!?
Winter Break Agony
I’m a lousy parent and always forget to book time off when my kids have school holidays. It’s not intentional, but for some reason, I only realize they are off when I get home on a Friday evening, and they ask if we are going away somewhere.
In honesty, going somewhere is not ideal with the COVID shit going on. While we enjoy traveling, we have never been a winter adventure family going skiing, snowboarding, etc. If we did go somewhere, it would be international, but we are not interested in the COVID regulations and the management of the same.
Instead, we stay at home and organize local adventures, visit places, and hang out as a family.
Unfortunately, we did not plan anything for the kids’ winter break, so they ended up playing Xbox, watching movies, and sleeping in. Probably not a wrong choice for kids these days.
Our kids wake up starting at 5.30 am, off to high school at 6.30 am. The younger offspring gets a little more sleep, but her day starts at 7 am and then off to school at 7.50 am.
Spending a week recharging batteries and doing very little is appealing to anybody.
Anyway, I took a few hours off Thursday afternoon and the entire Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately, mother nature dumped a few inches of shitty heavy snow on our area from Thursday to Friday, so we had to clear the cars and driveways before we could leave.
Once done, we cruised around, had a nice late lunch, drove to another location for coffee and dessert, and then home to get ready for the cinema. Again, we had a great time with the kids.
Exploring Stocks
Healthy eating is core to my cooking, although we have cheat days. I try to use healthier options such as coconut cream instead of real full-fat cream and avoid salt altogether.
I recently stumbled over some conversation about the difference between stocks and broths, and the value they play in healthier eating. It inspired me to explore this in more detail and picked up an excellent book by Bare Bones Broth.
So, I’ve invested in a proper stock pot and will be making some healthy broths for drinking and cooking. It’ll take some time to get the formula right, but it’ll be awesome.
NO! Not the stock market, but foods stock and broths.
Most of it is common sense and making broths has been part of human food history for millennia. People simmered bones for days and lived off the ‘soup’ during tough times.
Wintery Food Planning
Time for some great soul food and other delicious but straightforward meals: smoked chili and gumbo, only two of the dinners would probably qualify as soul food.
The other meals are full of flavors and offer plenty of healing to the immune system.
We need to boost the immune system throughout the year, especially during the winter months when our bodies get hammered with colder and moist weather, exposing us to more viruses.
I made a delicious (and fatty) Mac n Cheese for the kids’ lunch and devoured it within minutes of their lunch break – or so I was told by my daughter when she came back Monday from school.
Our kids are delighted with the lunch they get for school, and their friends often ask them to swap lunches – which is never acceptable.
I also made my “famous” granola bars as a snack for the kids. Two variants: power lunch and chocolate delight. These bars provide the right amount of energy and nutrition and are absolutely delicious.
Fire up the Traeger. Ready your Dutch oven. Go shopping, and let’s start cooking—another Sunday in the Kitchen with music on the magical Demerbox and wonderful aromas filling the room.
| Weekday | Lunch | Dinner |
| Monday | Italian sandwich with melted provolone, and three meat cuts | Grandpa’s pulled pork white chili (smoked, of course) |
| Tuesday | Smoked Mac n Cheese | Chicken Fettucini Alfredo |
| Wednesday | Egg salad served on a ham & carrot stuffed bun, with lettuce | Grilled beef patties, baked in a leek and red peppers herb sauce |
| Thursday | Caesar salad with grilled chicken (one of the favorite lunches) | Tortellini soup with Italian sausage meat |
| Friday | Dumplings with “soy” dipping sauce and homemade granola bar | Spicy meat gumbo, with rice |
One day, I might get so organized that I will link the meals below to my recipes. We can only live in hope!
Have a fantastic week, my friends. I hope you enjoy these meal plans. It is so much easier to make food in advance, although you need to invest several hours in preparing the meals during the weekend.
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