Dinner Menus by the Week
My most recent weight loss journey began the first of September 2021, weighing 199 pounds. By the end of the first week, I was at 196. In the past, I could not lose weight, even with daily exercise and a dramatic reduction of calories. My daily exercise includes the recommended 10,000 steps integrated with at least 35 minutes of cardio and upper body weightlifting. Despite rigid adherence to the exercise regimen, my weight did not budge. After researching weight loss for older females, I noticed that some dietitians recommend intermittent fasting which helps with insulin resistance which is often the reason older people can't lose weight. So along with my exercise and diet, I fast daily until 4 or 5 P.M. If I get too hungry, I allow myself to have one snack. My choices include small nut snacks, a bite of cheese, a small piece of chicken, or a boiled egg. A small snack along with drinking lots of water allows successful fasting.
May Week 2 Recipes
Having keto favorites might get boring for some, but we really like our meals so those shown below keep us from missing those carbs and there's no suffering at all!
May Week 1 Recipes
We're still having lovely meals and never suffer while on keto. While weight loss is slow, it is not miserable when having such delicious meals.
April Week 4 Recipes
We are enjoying our keto meals in Birch Bay because somehow things change while we are here and the results are a revived interest in our cuisine.
April Week 3 Recipes
Some of our favorite vegetables are in season and we really enjoy them along with our old favorites.
April Week 2 Recipes
We're back in the swing of things at our Birch Bay home. We've dived into our regular favorites and added a few things.
April Week 1 Recipes
A new set of menu items are part of the first week in April. Some are old favorites, but everything works for a healthy keto lifestyle.
March Week 4 Recipes
It turns out that this is our last week in Waianae, so we're having all of our favorites before we leave. By by Lau Lau!
March Week 3 Recipes
We've had more of our favorites and continue to lose the weight we want. There is absolutely no suffering when using the favorites shown below.
March Week 2 Recipes
These days are filled with visits with friends and the visits always include lots of good meals. I avoid the carbs that are offered, and am perfectly satisfied with the keto meals below.
March Week 1 Recipes
Our meals continue with weekly favorites and sometimes additional recipes from newly discovered items or inventions. Mostly we stick with the things that work for us.
February Week 4 Recipes
We are continuing to enjoy old favorites while adding a couple of things to our repertoire. Most recently, I decided we needed to use the rest of the crab before returning home, so I created a new chowder recipe, and it tastes great!
February Week 3 Recipes
More of our favorite meals comprised our menu items this week. We are successfully losing weight using these keto meals even though we are completely satisfied.
February Week 2 Recipes
This week I'm using up what we have on hand so I can clear out the frig before our son returns from Europe. I've had to be more creative and some of my inventions are below.
February Week 1 Recipes
Another week, and again, it was filled with favorites. We're still making huevos rancheros. only more sparingly.
January Week 4 Recipes
We've had a couple of days of Huevos Rancheros again because we love them, but generally we're having our same old standbys along with avocados any which way we can because they are currently abundant and delicious.
January Week 3 Recipes
This week Steve and I indulged ourselves with Huevos Rancheros every morning and they were delicious but did not help with weight loss. I've decided to avoid breakfast for a while and revert back to my intermittent fasting.
January Week 2 Recipes
Our menu consists of our usual cuisine, and we are still enjoying every meal. We'll continue with these same items while introducing new ones as they come along.
January Week 1 Recipes
This week's menu remains rather uneventful as we did not stray from our usual haunts and kept things simple. This works for me!
December Week 4 Recipes
I didn't add anything new to my usual menu except for the wonderful Thai food we discovered at a restaurant in Kapolei. The curry is delicious!
December Week 3 Recipes
Our week was pretty normal except for our dinner out with friends from Birch Bay. It was an expensive dinner and everything was very salty. I ordered brussel sprouts that were delicious.
December Week 2 Recipes
This week was very busy and we ate out several times. One of the restaurants was Thai and the other was Indian food. We enjoyed both and I found many keto friendly items for myself.
December Week 1 Recipes
We're back in Hawaii, so our menu changes a little. We do lots of cooking out, while other items are a continuation of Costco favorites, since the prices and quality are consistent.
November Week 4 Recipes
Our last week in Birch Bay until we return in April means using up all the foods that are in the frig, so our menu items are a mix of new recipes and old faithful's.
November Week 3 Recipes
We had restaurant food this week along with some favorite chili and bread recipes. The seasonal change makes all the difference in our monthly menu.
November Week 2 Recipes
This was a very average week for meals because the fresh veggies and seafood are unavailable now. However, the frozen items make everything tasty.
November Week 1 Recipes
This week we went to eat out several times. One was our Indian food place and the other was dim sum. We enjoyed both.
October Week 4 Recipes
We enjoyed a brunch at the end of the week and I allowed myself an English muffin which is well within my carb allotment. The rest of the week was filled with delicious menu items.
October Week 3 Recipes
This week we visited our favorite restaurants again while cooking some of our favorites and a new menu item.
October Week 2 Recipes
We've found a nice dim sum restaurant in Surry, B.C. and some of this weeks menu items come from this place. Others are my usual favorites.
October Week 1 Recipes
Our fishing and crabbing is over so our menus are back to our usual food items with the additional green tomato dishes.
September Week 4 Recipes
The crab season is waning, and we're going to miss having our daily dose of fresh crab, but we've bagged and frozen lots of crab meat and will be eating it regularly along with our other favorites.
September Week 3 Recipes
Our diet continues to be filled with items that are local and available in abundance. All of them are excellent keto items and will be a permanent part of my menus.
September Week 2 Recipes
We're still using our regular fall produce and crab from the bay as well as the delicious northwest salmon.
September Week 1 Recipes
Fall is making it's mark as the leaves are falling, and the produce is ripening and slowing. It is cooling off, so we're enjoying the soups and other hot sides that emulate comfort food.
August Week 4 Recipes
We're continuing the month with fresh produce and seafood along with our regular favorites and enjoying every meal.
August Week 3 Recipes
Our tomatoes are ripening and we're having them sliced every day along with the regular cuisine available to us at this time of year.
August Week 2 Recipes
Fresh produce continues to dominate this week's menu and everything is very tasty.
August Week 1 Recipes
Favorite seasonal items like crab, green chili, salmon, asparagus, basil, zucchini and tomatoes fill our menu from July through September.
July Week 4 Recipes
Crab is central to our diet beginning in mid-July, but we also continue eating other seasonal favorites like those pictured below.
July Week 3 Recipes
We had more yummy crab this week along with a new spinach and shrimp dish and some old faithful recipes. We're enjoying every meal!
July Week 2 Recipes
Crab season is here again and we're now enjoying fresh crab on our weekly menu. Also, many fresh veggies are available now, and we're enjoying them.
July Week 1 Recipes
Our Fourth of July meal was great and I've included several of the menu items we enjoyed as well as my old favorites.
June Week 4 Recipes
I've been working on my metabolism along with trying to lower my cholesterol, but this week's meals work for both.
June Week 3 Recipes
Again, I focused on calorie counts along with the Keto requirements, and the week went well. I plan to try a week of semi-fasting each month to see what happens, so that is next week's menu.
June Week 2 Recipes
This week I continued having calorie concerns, so I found foods that are less calorie laden while still ketogenic. Like last week, I modified some of my recipes to reduce the calories.
June Week 1 Recipes
I'm concentrating on calories for a while, and this past week, modified some of my favorite recipes to reduce the calories. It worked out well, and I enjoyed every meal.
May Week 4 Recipes
I added two new recipes to this week's menu, and they turned out very well. I've included them on my recipe pages.
May Week 3 Recipes
We began the week with asada and then fell back on our old standbys, with the addition of tomato bisque. Yum!
May Week 2 Recipes
We ate as restaurants in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia this week and it worked out well for maintaining keto.
May Week 1 Recipes
We transitioned to Birch Bay this past week, and we are consuming our usual items. They are mostly our old faithful food items with a few extras added in.
April Week 4 Recipes
We are wrapping up our stay in Waianae on Wednesday, so I am posting menu favorites that will carry over into Birch Bay life.
April Week 3 Recipes
We had a great week with unique keto meals we thought were a thing of a past. The new recipes are up and running.
April Week 2 Recipes
This week was Easter week, and we had a rib meal on Saturday evening, and dim sum on Sunday. We went to our favorite Thai restaurant on Friday and had curry, which is keto friendly. Yum!
April Week 1 Recipes
Jake and Steve are both on keto this month because they want to lose weight. Steve has gained since we arrived and Jake was overeating carbs because of stress, or so he says. The meals I'm making satisfy both of them, and they are fortunate to drop weight rapidly when on keto, unlike me!
March Week 4 Recipes
These items were part of meals we ate while our guests were visiting. Other items were used for times when we ate alone to ensure I maintained my diet while providing appealing foods to our company.
March Week 3 Recipes
Some of my new recipes are making a splash with the whole family, especially the beef stroganoff, and tetrazzini and most recently, the cabbage lasagna. I am enjoying the fudge as well. I hope I keep finding great items to try!
March Week 2 Recipes
For the most part, I stick with my regular food items, but add interesting sides and other additional things. This week I tried making tarts and they turned out really well, so I'm featuring them here.
March Week 1 Recipes
We're back in Waianae and made it just in time to buy laulau from our favorite vender! I cooked everything else ahead and stored it so that I don't have to scramble around to cook at dinner time.
February Week 4 Recipes
I managed to freeze half of the stroganoff and tetrazzini last week and used it again this week, along with dim sum, Indian curry and my other favorites.
February Week 3 Recipes
Most of the items on this week's menu are luscious! However, most are also loaded with calories, so I am careful not to overdo.
February Week 2 Recipes
While i want to create variations in my weekly menus, there are items that I prefer, so I keep making them and enjoying each one.
February Week 1 Recipes
I'm still focusing mostly on vegetable recipes, and it is working.so I'll continue this for a while.
January Week 4 Recipes
This week is another week of vegetable recipes, and I enjoyed them al!
January Week 3 Recipes
I'm focusing on foods high in calcium following my bone density test. Fortunately, some of my consistent menu items are loaded with calcium, including those shown below.
January Week 2 Recipes
I'm still trying to minimize calories as I continue the keto foods. Those rich items I indulged in over the holidays took their toll in weight gain. I treat myself with Indian food on Fridays.
January Week 1 Recipes
I am backing off the richer items I made over the holidays and focusing on less fatty foods and lots of vegetables. I'm also having several days of mostly a liquid diet because my weight began climbing incrementally. While I want to remain satisfied, I want to reduce my caloric intake.
December Week 4 Recipes
The items below are those we will serve our guests on New Year's Eve. We try to entertain several of our friends and family every year, and this year is no exception.
December Week 3 Recipes
We cooked another turkey because it is great to have the meat complimenting other meals or as the part of casseroles. We're enjoying it for now in place of the rotisserie chicken. The broth is wonderful and great for red chili.
December Week 2 Recipes
This week includes some new keto inventions, and we really enjoyed them. All of these were served over cabbage or cauliflower and tasted delicious!
December Week 1 Recipes
We are having a lot of cozy comfort food this month because it is cold out and we're both enjoying the variety. That means I am doing lots of cooking and preparation before we head to Canada to work out every day. We return at dusk to a home-cooked meal that is ready and waiting.
November Week 4 Recipes
Because this was Thanksgiving week, I decided to show my menu, from the main course to dessert.
November Week 3 Recipes
We're back in Birch Bay and thankfully, had plenty of food in the fridge, so we didn't need to run out to the grocery store. We're going shopping at the beginning of the week and restock as well as getting everything we need for out Thanksgiving feast.
November Week 2 Recipes
I've finally invented a way to have red chili without beans and it is delicious! I've also continued having the keto breads that are helping me avoid cheating with carbs. The items are included below.
November Week 1 Recipes
This week I am satisfying cravings for bread and sweets while staying true to keto. Sometimes I stray, but only when I don't have keto foods standing by. It is very important to maintain a delicious keto inventory.
October Week 4 Recipes
I was treated to a dinner out at the Thai restaurant for my birthday and enjoyed it very much as usual. The red curry with eggplant is especially delicious.
October Week 3 Recipes
This was a great week filled with good food and fun. The keto items I'm cooking are well received by everyone and I'm very happy it is working out.
October Week 2 Recipes
It's another birthday week, and we'll spend it at a hotpot restaurant and Thai restaurant. In the meantime, breads are on the menu, so I've taken new pictures of old recipes.
October Week 2 Recipes
We ate out twice this week because we were anxious to revisit two of our favorite restaurants. One is Mei Sum Dim Sum in Honolulu, and the other is S&S Thai Kitchen in Kapolei. Both were keto friendly and delicious!
October Week 1 Recipes
We celebrated Harald this week because our son-in-law became a U.S. citizen. The Thai Lettuce Wraps are a Cheesecake Factory specialty and work with keto.
September Week 3 Recipes
Our menu transitions from Birch Bay, specifically the dim sum restaurant in White Rock to Waianae, where lau lau reigns supreme. Yum!
September Week 2 Recipes
This is the last menu post from Birch Bay, and our transition to Hawaii brings a few new menu items.
September Week 1 Recipes
We have an abundance of green tomatoes this year again along with crab so they are both a regular part of our menu.
August Week 4 Recipes
We are still having crab several times each week and will continue as long as it comes in fresh daily. Yum! It's delicious.
August Week 3 Recipes
Pressing ahead with the same items on my menu. It's working so far so I think I should stick to it.
August Week 2 Recipes
This week is another crab, salmon and green chili week. I thoroughly enjoy all these food items....sometimes a little too much!
August Week 1 Recipes
The beginning of August is all about Hatch green chili, and I found some really delicious Big Jim at my local grocery store. I spent a few days roasting and packaging it for the freezer.
July Week 4 Recipes
We're still having crab nearly every day. We shipped ten of them out to my sister last week. We sent it overnight, but it took two days to get there. After several contacts with UPS, we found out that overnight is not guaranteed even if paid for, so we were unpleasantly surprised, However, the crab was still icy when it arrived and now, we know the score.
July Week 3 Recipes
I'm continuing the primarily vegetarian cuisine and thoroughly enjoying it. I shall keep this up for a while and see how it goes.
July Week 2 Recipes
I'm ditching the wine this week and intend to do at least one day of fasting. Also, the mostly vegetarian meals continue for as long as it takes to begin the weight loss again.
July Week 1 Recipes
This week's menu contains two non-keto items. One is the rice and nan shown with the Indian food, and the other is strawberries. Our neighbor brought us the strawberries from her farm and I thought they were so beautiful, I decided to put a picture up of them. Actually, I made jam out of them and will have some when I'm tempted to have something sweet. A tablespoon has fourteen grams of carbs, so it's not a complete destroyerer if I am obsessing.
June Week 4 Recipes
I'm continuing with my mostly vegetarian diet for now, and avoiding lots of protein. There are several recipes I enjoy and so this week's menu is about like last week.
June Week 3 Recipes
We had visitors this week and it worked out really well because one is following the keto diet and the other is a vegetarian so I didn't need to make any adjustments at all and everyone enjoyed the variety and flavors.
June Week 2 Recipes
More vegetarian recipes and a few new items composed this week's meals. I've enjoyed creating these and they are really yummy!
June Week 1 Recipes
I'm continuing with mostly vegetarian-type cuisine for the next few months or until I see that my lab work is improved, so I'm still using very little protein and focusing on tasty vegetable dishes.
May Week 4 Recipes
I'm working on ingesting less protein due to my recent lab results, so I'm enjoying lots of vegetarian-type keto meals this week and sticking to a small amount of chicken breast.
May Week 3 Recipes
We're home and back to our old favorites. We found a nice coho salmon and smoked it for our daily brunches. It is simply delicious! The rest of our meals consist of recipes we enjoy in Birch Bay and Waianae.
May Week 2 Recipes
A visit to Anegada netted delicious lobster and conk, and were sorry to leave Loblolly Bay. We enjoyed our meals very much during our travels, ending with a fabulous buffet breakfast at The Luxor in Las Vegas during a layover. All in all a great keto success!
May Week 1 Recipes
I'm having great success finding keto items in Tortola, BVI. The main course of each of our meals is from a local grocery store and each item is totally keto friendly and delicious!
April Week 4 Recipes
This week's menu consists of the same items I chose last week. We're heading to BVI on Saturday, so the refrigerator needs to be empty. Thus, a redundant menu!
April Week 3 Recipes
Some of these include menu items while we're on the move from Waianae, Hawaii to Birch Bay, Washington, and some foods from new restaurant discoveries, including a Thai restaurant in Kapolei, Hi that we wish we found earlier.
April Week 2 Recipes
I began my final few days in Hawaii by consuming laulau and it's absolutely delicious. We'll travel to Birch Bay and begin with our salmon favorites. Yum!
April Week 1 Recipes
I'm changing things up a little and expanding our keto sides. For the most part, they're working well and the family likes them. However, we consistently eat slaw because it is very good for our system.
March Week 4 Recipes
Because we're going somewhere every day, some menu items are from restaurants, but I'm adding them to my repertoire.
March Week 3 Recipes
The first few items below are things we ate while visiting Kauai restaurants and others we cooked while there.
March Week 2 Recipes
This week we're enjoying our favorite items from Costco and adding inventions of our own making the items more delictable.
March Week 1 Recipes
The first week of March is basically a repeat of favorite items while adding a favorite that my mother made called rosemary chicken.
February Week 4 Recipes
This week's menu items represent my attempt to keep things interesting while satisfying that urge for carbs, and it's working so far.
February Week 3 Recipes
Outdoor cooking was the game plan this weekend, so some of our meals were born on the grill. The others came from Costco. It was an easy week!
February Week 2 Recipes
Delicious laulau continues to take center stage this week along with our regular favorites. We're enjoying the beautiful weather by having all our meals outdoors on the lanai.
February Week 1 Recipes
Hawaiian favorites made by our precious Waianae friends are part of this week's menu. I've taken pictures and included the recipes, even though I didn't actually make everything we ate.
January Week 4 Recipes
In Hawaii we usually keep things pretty simple, especially since we eat out often and cook outdoors. So this week is filled with items that work for the simple life we are enjoying. Also, we're planning to eat lots more vegetables and less fats and meats.
January Week 3 Recipes
We're at the end of our stay in Birch Bay until April, and the meals are getting rather repetitive, so I baked both the cinnamon and spicy breads for variety.
January Week 2 Recipes
We're still in the process of using up all of our perishable items from the frig, and so we have repeats on the menu that we think are yummy.
January Week 1 Recipes
Because we're finalizing our stay in Birch Bay I'm using up everything in the frig that's likely to get too old to use or that will spoil. Therefore, we're have several days of Surf and Turf, meaning seafood and the beautiful Prime Rib that our daughter sent for Christmas. Yum!
December Week 4 Recipes
We're thinking about seafood this week because of our plans for New Year's Eve to have a seafood buffet with a few Southern items mixed in, such as brisket. Therefore, I'll preview several items throughout the week. Then the week ends with a typical Irish New Year's meat and the rest of the family will promote their good luck eating black eyed peas.
December Week 3 Recipes
This week I'm focusing on a variety of meats. I'm preparing them all in advance for our sons who are visiting so that they have plenty of available foods without much effort. Our son-in-law is from Sweden, thus I am attempting to make keto-style Swedish meatballs. The "effort" part is important because if things aren't right at their fingertips, they head for fast food, and I'm trying to prevent that. We'll see how it works.
December Week 2 Recipes
This week I've had to change the way I am eating, to include identifying and tracking calories as well as carbs and fats because my weight loss has stopped. I am concentrating on veggies and letting go of some of my favorite things for now. I hope this gets me over the hump.
December Week 1 Recipes
We've been distracted by medical test preparations this week, so the week's menu centers around my favorite items. These make meal preparation simple and easy to put away to use again as leftovers.
November Week 4 Recipes
I've been visiting local areas with my sister to show her around the unique spaces in Whatcom County. This includes those items they offer including oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms where we buy oysters, Lummi Island where we buy fresh salmon of various types, depending upon the season, and Lyndon, a center of berry and dairy farming. Some of the menu items below feature purchases from these areas.
November Week 3 Recipes
This week I'm continuing my exploration of vegetable dishes and they are turning out well. I also tried a new flatbread recipe that I really enjoyed. It is the first time I've made it and it totally satisfies that yearning for carbs. In fact, it reminds me of jalapeno cornbread. Yum!
November Week 2 Recipes
This week I'm trying to find ways to continue eating my favorite New Mexico foods without exceeding the keto carb limits. I've made the foundational red chili sauce and am using it with several of my meals. I shall continue exploring creative vegetable dishes because we're still enjoying them. I'm going to make a new recipe with green tomatoes and green chili. I hope it turns out well. We'll see!
November Week 1 Recipes
I'm heading into November weighing just below 191 for the first time in over a year. I've worked very hard to accomplish this, and do not intend to stop. It helps to remind myself that at the rate of five pounds per month, I'll be at the top end of my ideal weight by May. I'll be focusing on creative vegetable recipes, especially using green tomatoes and asparagus this month, and fully expect to drop another five pounds. I'll be very happy if this wish comes true. My sister will be visiting and so I'll be making keto friendly meals while she is here. We plan to take her to Seattle and stay there for a couple of nights, so we'll be visiting some of our favorite restaurants. Harbor City Dim Sum is one of our favorite places, but of course the dim sum is not for me right now, so I will stick to the ribs and maybe I'll try the chicken feet this time.
October Week 1 Recipes
Washington is getting cooler, but my husband continues to go out crabbing. He really enjoys himself, and I still enjoy the fresh crab. When he brings them in, we generally share two of them, so several of our menus feature the sides rather than the main protein. Also, we buy a fresh rotisserie chicken every week from Costco. The price is right, $4.99, and we use it for meals and a delicious chicken salad I make as a backup snack. I am showing the keto substitutes I use for items like the chicken masala and pork asada that I am carrying over from last week. Stir-fried cabbage and slaw are great rice substitutes to use under items like asada and masala. Also, our tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen at a faster rate, so they've become a mainstay as well.
October Week 2 Recipes
What a difference a week makes! I'm feeling much more settled into my diet and exercise routine. Making most of the soups, sides and salad items on the weekend helps me. It reduces the chances of compulsive eating because foods I enjoy are readily available, Planning seems to be the key to staying on keto and away from temptation. I'm not becoming discouraged at all, and in fact, I find that creatively approaching meals is engaging and ultimately very satisfying.
October Week 3 Recipes
We planted tomatoes in the spring, and very few ripened before it turned cool. Because it seems highly unlikely that the others will make it to red, I've begun looking for recipes to use the green ones, thus the green tomato stew and the green tomato soup served cold, like cucumber soup. Both are tasty and I recommend them to those who have an abundance of green tomatoes like me.
October Week 4 Recipes
My birthday falls on the 27th and I will definitely not be having a carb filled celebration. However, I did feel like having something nice that satisfied that carb desire, so I made a cinnamon sweet bread using almond flour. I also made several different sauces as toppings, giving the feeling of traditional cake and ice cream. My husband and I enjoyed it together.
I live in a lovely place located in Washington State on a lovely bay. Crabbing flourishes here during the month of September, so I had an abundance of Dungeness Crab available to me. Clam digging in the Bay during low tide yielded several large horse clams and I used them to make chowder. However, you don't have to live by a bay to enjoy these items. Clams are readily available nearly everywhere fresh and always canned. The same is true of crab, especially during this fall season. Of course several of these menu items will carry over into the next week as leftovers and that's fine with me. Recipes for some items are linked below, and on the home page. I'll post ew menu item recipes as I incorporate them into my meal plans.
September Week 2 Recipes
This week my husband and his brother went fishing and returned with a king salmon! This is a beautiful fish with a beautiful texture and flavor. You won't be surprised to hear that the menus this week center around fresh king salmon steaks. This is a rare treat as kings are hard to catch and even harder to bring in. Then, of course, we continue the crabbing while the season is open because there is nothing more delicious than fresh Dungeness Crab. We are allowed ten per day, with two licenses allowing five each. Finally, of course, we freeze what we don't eat and share it with neighbors and friends. We cut the remaining salmon into steaks for freezing, so, like the crab, it will return to the menu regularly throughout the year.
September Week 3 Recipes
The scale continues to go down incrementally, so I feel very positive about my journey. The blog helps because it reminds me daily about my commitment to getting healthier. Also, it is somewhat inspiring to look back on my progress. It provides me with lots of encouragement to keep going. Because I'm trying to provide myself with lovely meals, there's no suffering in this journey, only abstinence regarding carbs, but that's getting easier by the day.
September Week 4 Recipes
I can hardly believe that I'm down to 192 pounds. I've lost six pounds so far and hopefully will reach my ultimate goal of 159 pounds, the most I should weigh given my height and age. At the rate of six pounds per month, this seems entirely possible. In fact, I could reach my goal weight by April! This is exciting!