Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.

Sunday/Family

Gather the family for Honey-Glazed Turkey Breast With Pear-Cranberry Sauce (see recipe). Make your own or buy scalloped potatoes to go with the turkey. Steamed fresh green beans with toasted almonds add color and crunch. Serve with sourdough bread. For dessert, angel food cake topped with fresh straw-berries is easy.

Plan ahead: Save leftover turkey and green beans for Monday's meal.

Tips: To lower fat, discard turkey skin. For green-bean dish, toast 1/4 cup sliced almonds on a pie plate in microwave for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes (or until golden) on high (100 percent power).

Monday/Heat and Eat

With leftover turkey, make grilled turkey, Swiss and tomato on ciabatta sandwiches. (Ciabatta is a dense Italian bread.) Heat a large, nonstick skillet; coat one side of bread with olive oil cooking spray and place coated side down. Stack with sliced turkey, cheese and tomatoes; top with another slice of bread. Coat top with cooking spray. Turn when lightly browned. Serve with canned vegetarian vegetable soup and crackers. Add fresh fruit and cookies for a light dessert.

Tips: Add Sunday's leftover green beans to soup. Use reduced-fat cheese to cut calories and fat.

Tuesday/Express

Saddle up the gang for Buckaroo Burritos (see recipe). Accompany with a sliced avocado and grapefruit-section salad on dark green lettuce. Cool off in the bunkhouse with fat-free instant vanilla pudding for dessert.

Wednesday/Kids

Traditional Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad is an easy-to-fix budget-stretcher (see recipe). Serve on a bed of mixed greens. Add crusty bread to this savory Italian meal.

Thursday/Meatless

Cheese Tortellini Soup (see recipe) is meatless but flavorful and quick. Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. For dessert, fresh berries with light whipped cream is festive.

Friday/Budget

Look for Aidell Sausage Co.'s Fresh Chicken and Apple Sausage in the refrigerated meat case. This poultry-flavor sausage has half the fat of Aidell's other sausage flavors. These sausages come in 13-ounce packages for about $5.99. Follow directions on the package. The lower-fat versions are best grilled or sauteed or they tend to be dry. Serve with frozen hash brown potatoes and a packaged green salad. Slice a piece of Entemann's fat-free pound cake for dessert.

Saturday/Entertaining

There's an ocean of flavor in Pineapple Shrimp With Rice (see recipe). Accompany with sugar snap peas. A Boston lettuce salad with Roquefort light vinaigrette goes well. Top the salad with crumbled Roquefort. Add crusty bread.

Tip: For the shrimp dish, toast coconut on a pie plate in micro-wave 30 to 60 seconds (or until browned) on high (100 percent power).

Shopping List

What you'll need for this week's menus (consult recipes for exact amounts)

Sunday

bone-in turkey breast

cooking spray

unsalted butter or margarine

salt

pepper

pear nectar

honey

fresh lemon

canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

Bartlett pears

scallions

fresh cilantro

fresh lime

fresh jalapeno

pepper

scalloped

potatoes

fresh green beans

sliced almonds

sourdough bread

angel food cake

fresh strawberries

Monday

reduced-fat Swiss cheese

fresh tomatoes

ciabatta or other dense white bread

olive oil cooking spray

canned vegetarian vegetable soup

crackers

fresh fruit

cookies

Tuesday

canned stewed tomatoes

salsa

canned diced chilies

scallions

large flour tortillas

reduced-fat Monterey Jack or other cheese

avocado

grapefruit

dark green lettuce

fat-free instant vanilla pudding

Wednesday

water-packed albacore tuna

canned cannellini or other white beans

fresh tomatoes

red onion

olive oil

red wine vinegar

mixed greens

crusty bread

Thursday

vegetable broth

bag of shredded carrots

fresh cheese tortellini

frozen vegetables

greens for salad

garlic bread

fresh berries

light whipped cream

Friday

Aidell's Fresh Chicken and Apple Sausage (or other low-fat sausage)

hash brown potatoes

packaged green salad

Entemann's fat-free pound cake

Saturday

pineapple chunks in juice

cornstarch

curry powder

fresh ginger

garlic

red bell pepper

scallions

fresh shiitake mushrooms

small or medium shrimp

long-grain converted rice

reduced-sodium chicken broth

flaked coconut

sugar snap peas

Boston lettuce

light vinaigrette

crumbled Roquefort cheese

crusty bread

Glazed Turkey With Pear-Cranberry Sauce (Sunday)

Makes 12 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Baking time: about 1 1/2 hours

FOR THE TURKEY:

1 turkey breast (4 1/2 to 5 pounds) with bone and skin

1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine

1/3 cup pear nectar

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

FOR THE SAUCE:

2 large, firm-ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and diced

1 (16-ounce) can whole-berry cranberry sauce

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 seeded and minced jalapeno peppers

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place turkey on rack set in a small roasting pan. Coat with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make glaze: In saucepan, heat unsalted butter or margarine, pear nectar, honey and lemon juice to boiling over medium-high heat. Simmer 10 minutes or until mixture is color and consistency of caramel sauce; reduce to 1/3 cup. Uncover turkey and brush with glaze. Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast is 160 degrees. Baste 3 or 4 times with reheated glaze while baking.

Remove from oven; brush with remaining reheated glaze. Let turkey rest 20 minutes before carving. Remove skin before serving.

For the sauce: In a small bowl, combine pears, cranberry sauce, scallions, cilantro, lime juice and jalapenos. (Adapted from McCall's magazine.)

Per serving (turkey): 190 calories, 33 grams protein, 2 grams fat (9 percent calories from fat), 1 gram saturated fat, 9 grams carbohydrate, 94 milligrams cholesterol, 155 milligrams sodium, 0 grams fiber.

Per serving (sauce): 94 calories, 1 grams protein, 0 grams fat (0 percent calories from fat), 0 grams saturated fat, 24 grams carbohydrate, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 15 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.

Buckaroo Burritos (Tuesday)

Makes 4 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

2 cups shredded cooked turkey

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced stewed tomatoes and juice

1/2 cup salsa

1 (4-ounce) can drained, diced chilies

1/4 cup sliced scallions

4 large flour tortillas

1/4 cup reduced-fat Monterey Jack or other cheese

In a large, nonstick skillet, combine turkey, tomatoes and juice, salsa, chilies and scallions and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Wrap tortillas in a damp white paper towel and microwave on high (100 percent power) 30 seconds or until heated. Spoon turkey mixture down center of each tortilla. Top with cheese, roll and serve.

Per serving: 418 calories, 30 grams protein, 10 grams fat, (22 percent calories from fat), 2.9 grams saturated fat, 49 grams carbohydrate, 58 milligrams cholesterol, 895 milligrams sodium, 4 grams fiber.

Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad (Wednesday)

Makes 6 servings

Preparation time: 5 minutes

1 (6-ounce) can albacore tuna packed in water, drained

2 (16-ounce) cans drained cannellini or other white beans

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a large bowl, flake tuna and add white beans, tomatoes and red onion. Mix oil and vinegar in a small bowl, pour over tuna mixture and toss.

Per serving: 166 calories, 11 grams protein, 6 grams fat, (32 percent calories from fat), 0.9 grams saturated fat, 16 grams carbohydrate, 12 milligrams cholesterol, 328 milligrams sodium, 4 grams fiber.

Cheese Tortellini Soup (Thursday)

Makes 12 cups

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: under 10 minutes

8 cups vegetable broth

1 10-ounce bag shredded carrots

1 9-ounce package fresh cheese tortellini

1 cup frozen vegetables (any kind)

In a Dutch oven, combine broth, carrots, tortellini and frozen vegetables and bring to a simmer; cook until tortellini is tender, or about 5 minutes.

Per serving: 89 calories, 5 grams protein, 2 grams fat, (17 percent calories from fat), 0.5 grams saturated fat, 15 grams carbohydrate, 11 milligrams cholesterol, 715 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.

Pineapple Shrimp With Rice (Saturday)

Makes 6 servings

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: about 8 minutes plus time to cook shrimp and rice

1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon each curry powder, minced fresh ginger and minced garlic

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 sliced scallions

1 cup sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms

3/4 pound small or medium cooked shrimp

2 cups long-grained converted rice cooked in reduced-sodium chicken broth and chilled

1/4 cup flaked, toasted coconut

Drain pineapple and reserve juice. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into juice until dissolved; add curry powder. Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add ginger, garlic, red pepper, scallions and mushrooms; cook over medium heat about 2 minutes, until pepper is softened. Add pineapple chunks, shrimp and juice mixture; cook until juice thickens, or about 4 minutes. Add rice and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with coconut and serve immediately.

Per serving: 228 calories, 15 grams protein, 3 grams fat (10 percent calories from fat), 1.5 grams saturated fat, 37 grams carbohydrate, 111 milligrams cholesterol, 226 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.

Susan Nicholson is an Atlanta-based cookbook author and registered dietitian. She can be reached by e-mail: menuplanneindspring.com.

Pub Date: 6/28/98