Meal Plan 4/26 to 5/2

Day One:
Breakfast: Basic Oatmeal Squares (with raisins and chocolate chips added)
Lunch: egg salad with relish
Snack: homemade trail mix featuring cashews
Dinner: caprese salad and cashew pesto

Day Two:
Breakfast: chia seed banana bread with nut butter
Lunch: stir fry with brown rice, carrots, broccoli, snap peas
Snack: baked fried pickles with chia seed breading
Dinner: carrot pasta with creamy zesty garlic sauce

Day Three:
Breakfast:
Lunch: egg salad
Snack: trail mix
Dinner: lima bean and sugar snap pea mint salad

Day Four:
Breakfast:
Lunch: stir fry with carrots, broccoli, and snap peas
Snack: deviled eggs
Dinner: avocado with balsamic vinegar

Day Five:
Breakfast:
Lunch: avocado almond butter sandwich
Snack:
Dinner: salad with artichoke hearts

Day Six:
Breakfast:
Lunch: dijon pork chops and sauteed broccoli
Snack:
Dinner: broccoli cheese soup

Day Seven:
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Snack:
Dinner:

Grocery List:
lettuce
avocado
chia seeds
carrots
broccoli
brown rice
tomato
raw cashews
frozen baby lima beans
chocolate chips
(shallot)
(mint)
tahini
pickles

dog food

How Will I Know?

So now I'm in the follicular phase and planning my meals around that but the next phase is ovulatory and I have no idea how I'll know when it's time to switch to that.

There are a few methods for telling when you are ovulating...

1. taking your temperature (as explained beautifully in Taking Charge of Your Fertility)
2. using ovulation test strips (I'm super tempted to get a fancy ovulation tester like this one!)
3. checking your cervical mucus

Taking my temperature has not worked for me in the past (probably because I have not been ovulating at all). It makes me stressed out to see a number I don't want on the thermometer. I also have trouble doing this one because as soon as I wake up I need to take the dog out. There's no time to lie in bed waiting for the thermometer.

I have some ovulation test strips that a friend sent me. She got a box of, like, 500 and didn't want that many so she sent me half. I may try those again this cycle after about ten days of follicular. Those also stress me out because I've never seen a positive on one.

There are fancy fertility monitors that I'm really tempted to get. It's not that expensive when compared to infertility treatments. I just don't know if I would get any kind of response on them either, though.

I should keep an eye on discharge too and see if I can recognize cervical mucus.

I should also make some meal plans for ovulatory and try to have the ingredients on hand so I can leap at it. My husband also says the ovulatory foods will be good for him and his body too around that time. How about salmon crusted in walnuts, he suggests, for maximum Omega-3.

Meal Plan Sun 4/19 to Sat 4/25

If menstruation begins...
Day One:
Breakfast: I had such luck with pumpkin breakfast cookies, I'm going to try Cranberry Walnut Breakfast Cookies
Lunch: Wild rice pilaf with pork chops
Snack: buffalo cauliflower
Dinner: caprese salad (must use up some of my basil!) and black bean avocado brownies

Day Two:
Breakfast: toast with concord grape jelly and egg on the side
Lunch: rajma and wild rice
Snack: cheese crackers (made by cooking slices of cheese until crispy)
Dinner: Black bean soup and sweet potato flatbread and brownies

Day Three:
Breakfast: breakfast cookies
Lunch: I will attempt to imitate the amazing duck fat fries at Victoria's with sweet potato
Snack: deviled eggs
Dinner:  mini pies with graham cracker crust and sugar free dessert pudding
I'm adding desserts to my dinners here because I know when I'm on my period I crave dessert a lot!

switching into follicular (may need to switch meals around based on work schedule and menstruation)
Day Four:
Breakfast: carrot cake breakfast cookies
Lunch: chicken with plum glaze
Snack: crispy garlic broccoli
Dinner: cream of carrot soup with sauteed broccoli

Day Five:
Breakfast: toast with avocado, cottage cheese on the side
Lunch: pan roasted chicken
Snack: deviled eggs
Dinner: spinach salad with artichoke hearts

(probably will have enough leftovers to cover the last couple of days. If not, will make more plans when closer)
Day Six:
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Snack:
Dinner:

Day Seven:
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Snack:
Dinner:

I was going to do a whole other meal plan for if my period doesn't start, but I'm getting really tired of the luteal foods and with the cramps last night, I have to count this as a change in cycle!

Grocery List:

wild rice

pork chops
duck

black beans
kidney beans

tomato
broccoli
sweet potato
avocado (2)
artichoke hearts can
spinach
bananas

dried cranberries

mozerella
parmesean

graham crackers
plum jam
apple sauce unsweetened
mild hot sauce
sugar free jello pudding
cocoa powder

eggs
heavy whipping cream

Grocery Shop Analysis

Just got back from the grocery store, let's see how I did!

I spent $53.20, which was higher than I wanted. But on the positive side, $50 is the threshold to get another ten gas points so I'm now up to 70 cents off per gallon next time we fill up. Also, more will come back to me from Savingstar.

$50 a week for the two of us is not terrible, but this trip didn't include any meat and so I don't think it's representative. A couple of things pushed the number up higher than I wanted. For example, I bought $10 worth of Redpack cans of tomato to get $3 back at Savingstar. I don't need those this week and that was a ton of diced tomatoes, but I do use canned tomato frequently and I always like to have it on hand.

My bread deal went through as I had hoped. Nature's Own 100% Wheat Bread was on sale for buy one/get one and I had two coupons (one for each loaf) for 55 cents, which doubled. $3.59 was the regular price ($7.18 for both) and I got two for $1.39! That is 0.69 cents EACH! I am SO happy with that one!

The cereal was good too. Would have been even better if it was on sale but oh well. It was $3.19 (I got a slightly smaller box which wasn't as good a unit price but it came with a Skylander's thing and no I don't have kids, but I love that game! lol). I had a Weis e-coupon for 50 cents, which I think may have doubled and I had a manufacturer's coupons for 50 cents, which doubled. I'll also get 50 cents back on Savingstar. So the box came down to 0.69 cents too (Or if the one didn't double it was $1.19)

I got the 18 count eggs which were a little on sale for $2.49 (usually $3.09) and I got a 25 cent employee discount because they were Weis brand eggs, so $2.24 for 18 eggs.

Two spaghetti squash and a basket of apples were expensive (though I had 75 cents off the apples with a store coupon) and so were a couple of yams that I forgot to put on my grocery list. Milk didn't have any deals on it. Slices of provolone cheese were expensive too. And the cauliflower.

I also decided to try using baby food pouches for snacks as suggested on FLOliving.com. They're easy carry packs and they're full of nutritious fruits and veggies! I got $1 off 4 Gerbers Graduates Grabbers but I still spent $5.76 on them ($1.44 each)

The only other thing was a tomato. I picked up the free Jiffy corn meal mix from Savingstar last night.

So I'm waiting on about $4 from Savingstar, which will make my total $49.20 (but if that had been my total in store I wouldn't have gotten the gas points!)

And I just realized that I forgot pepperoni. that could be expensive too.

***

Now I'm cooking my bulgogi for lunch and I'm going to work on making the apple cheese snacks to pack in my lunchbox for work later (along with one of the baby food pouches and Waldorf salad)

Meal Plan 4/12/15 to 4/18/15

Sun 4/12
Breakfast: Cottage cheese on wheat toast
Lunch: bulgogi with brown rice
Snack: low carb apple snack
Dinner: Waldorf salad

Mon 4/13
Breakfast: Eggs on toast
Lunch: spaghetti squash with "cream" sauce
Snack: cauliflower tater tots with ranch dressing
Dinner: spinach salad with nuts

Tue 4/14
Breakfast: cottage cheese on toast
Lunch: bacon, egg, and leek risotto (I have some leeks from last week to use up before they go bad! Also, I'll use brown rice)
Snack: pepperoni pizza tater tots
Dinner: waldorf salad

Wed 4/15
Breakfast: eggs on toast
Lunch: spaghetti squash chow mein 
Snack: low carb apple snack
Dinner: spinach salad

Thurs 4/16
Breakfast: cottage cheese and toast
Lunch: sweet potato mac and cheese 
Snack: creamy caulifower garlic rice
Dinner: waldorf salad

Fri 4/17
Breakfast: deviled eggs
Lunch: tuna melt on tomato slice
Snack: apple snack
Dinner: smoothie: yogurt, walnuts, water, honey, frozen fruit

Sat 4/18
Breakfast: deviled eggs
Lunch: leftovers
Snack: creamy caulifower garlic rice
Dinner: smoothie


Grocery List:
Eggs
Whole Wheat Bread (deal on Nature's Own bread next week at Weis plus coupons)
spaghetti squash (2)
big tomato
apples (for waldorf salad, apple snack)
provolone cheese
pepperoni slices
cauliflower (have some but not enough)
milk
short grain brown rice


Already Have:
cottage cheese (?) check pantry
walnuts (?)
yogurt
tuna
mayo
onion
pickles
brown rice
thin beef
parmesean
spinach (?) still good?
leek
bacon
white wine
parmesean
stock (can make from leftover turkey bones)
soy sauce (?)
cheddar cheese

Good Coupon Deal:
General Mills Cereal one box
Free Jiffy cornmeal mix on savingstar
Redpack tomato cans (buy $10 use coupon on three cans)
Gerber graduate grabbers? (baby food as grown up snacks)

Is It Working?

This is the big question.

I'm motivated to stick with this diet because of the hope it gives me that I might cure my pcos. The only indication I'll have that it's working is if I start getting my period more regularly. So I'm eating right as much as I can and I'm waiting and watching for my period.

I'm on day 41 of my cycle now. My last period was March 1st. I'm at the higher end of still a normal period if I were to get it today but my hope is fading fast. Normal cycles are usually between about 28 and 35 days. I saw some signs that it might be coming, like a lower than usual mood and some breaking out on my face. But it doesn't seem to be leading to anything.

Still, I've only been doing the diet a week so it will probably take more time to heal my body.

I have to keep at it for a few months and see the overall results.

I really hope this works. It helps me to feel like I'm doing something to help myself. I've gotten on medication for my low thyroid so the doctors are doing their part. And I pray, so the Gods are doing their part. But I want to be doing something too to move me in the right direction.

I have to keep at it even when I haven't seen any results yet.

Surviving Eating Out

We ate out a lot more this week then I expected to. We were visiting family and there were so many people to see. They all wanted to go out to lunch and dinner with us!

So I only ended up cooking two of my planned meals.

For the most part, though, I was able to make good choices!

Friday night we went to The Ninety-Nine, which I already told you about. I had grilled salmon with cole slaw and grilled asparagus.

Monday lunch we were at the mall and we got sushi. Pretty good choice, though there was white rice in it. I stayed away from my favorite deep fried rolls!

Monday night I had an epic fail. We went to my favorite Chinese restaurant from when I was a kid. I told myself I would get their shrimp with snow peas, which I love. But I was unable to resist the buffet and I loaded up on dumplings, lo mein, scallion pancakes, sweet and sour chicken, and then a sampling of all the desserts like puddings and brownies. Terrible.

I recovered Tuesday with a lunch cooked by my cousin: chickpea curry and aloo gobhi. There was potato but I ate mostly the cauliflower and curry. Also, she made brown rice instead of white just for me.

That evening we had snacks at a friend's house. She was supportive of my diet and put out apple, carrot sticks, and veggie chips.

After that we stopped for dinner on the ride home and we went to Applebees. I got a wedge salad and a cup of tomato soup. The dressing had plenty of fat but low on carbs! It had bacon pieces and roasted pecans. I was craving dessert so we shared a hot fudge sundae in a shot glass. That way I only ate a very little of the sugar.

Wednesday we went to lunch with my brother and his girlfriend. They took us to her favorite Mexican place. The tacos there could be ordered with a lettuce wrap instead of tortilla so I did that. They came with Mexican rice (which I love) but I asked if I could sub black beans for it. The waitress told me no and I resigned myself to eating the rice, but then when she brought the plates she had switched it for me! I was tempted to take a bite of my husband's rice but I resisted.

Then we got stuck in the rain in mid afternoon and ended up at a Starbucks. I almost told my husband to get me something bad for me like a cheesecake brownie, but I actually ended up getting the fruit and cheese box, which had apples, brie, nine-grain crackers, and a cranberry nut mixture. It was delicious and I felt good about my choices!

In the evening we had dinner with my sister- and brother-in-law. They took us to an Indian place. I got chicken tikka masala and instead of naan I got paratha, which is a whole wheat bread. I still had white rice and I wasn't supposed to have carbs at all for dinner, but I did what I could to stick with it.

Today, Thursday, we're heading home and back to an environment I can better control!

What Happens If I Change Phases Mid-Week?

Since our meal plans are built around where we are in our cycles, what do we do if our cycle phase shifts while we're in the middle of a week?

I'm back to taking my temperature to get a baseline even though it doesn't currently tell me much about where I am in my cycle yet. Eventually I'll have more warning about when I am likely to switch phases (and exactly where the elusive Ovulation phase is). If this diet works, anyway. I expect to see my temperature charts make more and more sense as I eat with these principles.

In the mean time the only thing that will switch my meal plan for me is if I start menstruating.

Since that's only about three or maybe four days for me, what I will probably do is put the current meal plan on hold and freeze/store whatever I can for the next time I'm in Luteal phase. Then I'd make a quick meal plan and get to the grocery store that day (pretty convenient for me since I work at a grocery store!) Whatever I can't store for later I'll try to work into the new meal plan.

Getting Started

Some basic principles for your diet from WomanCode:

• Only complex carbs and natural sugars
• Avoid all carbs and sugars for dinner
• Make lunch the largest meal of the day
• Focus on protein for breakfast

There is a fantastic chart in the book that has a breakdown of each of the four phases of your cycle and what kinds of foods are best. It's divided by grains, fruits, meats, seafoods, etc. I have the Kindle version and the chart was hard to read for me. This may be a good reason to get the print version and copy the page for reference.

What I did to make meal planning easy for myself in the future is that I created a spreadsheet with a master meal plan list.

I have sections for each of my cycle's four phases and columns for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. Then I started picking ingredients from the book's list and looking up recipes for them on Pinterest and Google. When I found a recipe that sounded/looked delicious and matched the principles, I added it to my master spreadsheet.

So now when I need to meal plan for the week I can look at what phase I'm in and pick meals from that section of my master meal plan sheet.

There's just one little problem with my system...I don't know what phase of my cycle I'm in!

This is one of the challenges of PCOS. I have about three periods a year at most. My temperature doesn't tell me anything useful (I learned how to monitor my temperature for signs of ovulation from the classic Taking Charge of Your Fertility, which is a must read for every woman whether she wants children or not!)

So where do I start? I decided that I'm probably/possibly in the Luteal phase because I'm experiencing intense nesting urges and I'm doing more cleaning and organizing than I have all year! Although that could also be that the weather is finally turning spring-like after an intense winter.

It's all I have to go on unless I want to wait possibly six to nine months to get another period and know for certain I'm in the Menstrual phase. So I'll start there and see how it goes.

I've been on the diet plan for one week so far and next time I'll give you a summary of my meals for this past week!