Menu Monday #5

I want to start my post out this week with a, “Hooray!!!!” Two weeks ago, I posted about how my husband is prone to gout attacks and his request to go on a “low purine diet.”

Scott's body produces too many RBCs,
leading to an increased # of gout attacks.

After a visit to a new rheumatologist, we can confidently say, “F@#% that!” I really struggled finding non-conflicting gout diet information on foods low in purines. And of the information I read, what I found really difficult to deal with is that some of what we would have to eat went against my idea of “healthy” foods. For example, the diet encouraged eating foods low in fat. Ok, that’s fine… but when a product is stripped of fat, something else is used in its place to make it more palatable. But that doesn’t mean I want to eat it. I also saw sites saying to use products like margarine, because it’s lower in fat… but, ick! I can’t even remember the last time I even bought margarine. My mom jumped my ass about using margarine one day, saying something about how unnatural it was, so I switched to butter.

And for those of you interested, my husband’s body makes too many red blood cells, a condition my mother-in-law also suffers from. Basically, the extra RBCs make it seem like he’s a heavy meat eater, so his body makes extra uric acid. He is set up with a hematologist to withdraw some blood and hopefully get on a treatment plan path. We’ll see how it goes!

Switching gears, we got a lot of yummy goodies in this week’s basket. Cauliflower, fava beans, corn on the cob, lettuce, tomato, mangoes, banana, honey dew, apricots… and that’s all I can remember. And I’m keeping most all of it in the fridge because this weekend we are headed to Austin, TX with some good friends of ours (and their 2 girls) for the Memorial Day weekend. The guys are going to see Soundgarden on Saturday night. The girls are going to, well… be girls! Probably movies and stuff for the kiddos, WINE for the ladies! I’m looking forward to spending time with everyone.

Clearly I didn’t do a good job of coming up with stuff to utilize our produce, but… it’s a vacation week. Next week, I’ll make it up!

Monday – Bulgogi, Rice, and Jalapeno Poppers (Note: I modified the recipe some, since I’m half Korean. If you’re interested in my adjustments, leave a comment!)

Tuesday – Spaghetti, sourdough toast.

Wednesday – Taco Mac

Thursday – Friends drive in. Thinking of doing breakfast for dinner… either breakfast tacos or cereal.

Friday – Vacation! Out.

Saturday – Memorial Day BBQ in Austin (early). We’re staying at a house and we plan on cooking.

Sunday – Vacation! Out.

Memorial Day – Something light at home after all that eating out!

What are your Memorial Day weekend plans? Hopefully you are doing something fun! Remember those who died for your freedoms... wishing you all a fabulous holiday week!