(Chicken and Broccoli Stirfry with Cauliflower “Rice” – pic by Charlie)

7:15 Monday morning Charlie was in the Doc office getting her health panel checkup done. As we wait for the results to come in next Monday, we soldier on in the final week of our current regime, expecting happy results on the horizon! Don’t forget to check in on Jamie’s weekly article before you get lost in her recipes.

(Sage Mustard Pork Chops from marinade to hot pan – pics by Jamie)

Meal Plan – Week #17 (Written by Jamie)

Cost: $100 week for 3 people // $1.59/serving* (*NOTE: These numbers are calculated off what we actually spend each week, which may include occasional supplements of grain, starch, or beef for Drew and Jamie which Charlie cannot have. Week to week fluctuations in cost are more reflective of the times we need to pick up staples like olive oil and vinegar, or weeks where Jamie is prepping three weeks worth of cauliflower rice, rather than one week’s meal plan costing extra. Taken over all, we believe this offers a more accurate reflection of what this diet might look like financially for others.)

Meal Plan Diet Categories: (Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Meals: (Click on the names to go to the recipe) (1) Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry with Cauliflower Rice / (2) Not-Honey Honey Baked Chicken with Cauliflower Rice and Green Beans / (3) Sage and Mustard Pork Chops with Celeriac Home Fries and Red Cabbage / (4) Green Salads with Variation 8: Crispy Green Beans, Variation 9: Cumin Black Beans, Variation 10: Fresh Salsa

Snacks:  Chopped Veggies (for dipping) / Balsamic Herb Dipping Sauce / Egg Whites / Naked Popcorn / Jullienned Cucumber Salad with Onion and Sweet Pepper and Citrus Champagne Dressing

Health Stats: 40 lbs down, 18″ lost

We are only 14 blogs in, and while the meal prep and cooking have been dialed in with a lot of time-saving techniques, the process of researching and building recipes that people can follow, plus balancing out the guest article writing and formatting, building and updating the recipe sections, ruffling through and uploading process and final pics, linking everything where it is supposed to be on several different pages, and revamping the blog site has required many more hours than I somehow thought it would.

I’ve been blogging on and off for 10 years. At one point even on a daily basis. But this is the first time I’ve worked with a team, all people depending upon one another to fulfill very specific pieces of the project before it can all be brought together. And on a weekly basis, this is not a small or uncomplicated process. Bringing this blog together every week is more like grant management than anything else, beginning with the Monday article assignments and initial weekly blog draft (as well as the week’s other tasking deadlines based on our actual money-earning workloads), the trial recipe ideas being tested Tuesday through Wednesday, the shopping and prep lists and the actual shopping and prep on Thursdays, along with first edits of the blog articles and content coming in, the Friday cooking and picture documentation, then blog edit #2 with all recipes, pics, and guest articles filled in and the final weekly posting, followed by the Friday night “family meal,” and food hand-off. Meanwhile, we are still surfing the internet for ideas, posting things on social media, and keeping in touch with Charlie daily on how the weekly meal plan is delivering and what things work in keeping her feeling full and energized, and what things don’t.

In short: this is a much more massive undertaking of a “side-side gig” to our already “side gig” of going on this journey to begin with. I’m doing the least difficult part of this whole process and I banked over 14 hours last week alone. Meanwhile, Jamie created 8 meal variations, in 14 servings plus snacks (and their recipes) out of ether, under ridiculously strict dietary requirements, and Charlie added her bimonthly article while being the solo living subject in this experiment that the entire enterprise rests on.

We could all use a bit of a “Holiday” is all I’m saying…

…So here’s to the kind of test results equal to the efforts our team has invested in them!

~D