I have been feeling sluggish lately, which is more than a product of my lack of sleep. My diet is also to blame. Honestly, I haven’t gotten my full serving of fruits and vegetables since I was pregnant with my daughter, who will soon be two. I recently discovered Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutritarian plan and thought that it would help me feel more energetic and lose weight in addition to getting healthier.
Most lunches are based around salads. First, I have never been a big salad eater, though I don’t mind them. Second, I am not very creative with my salads. Last week I started his program without a plan, and, of course, I wasn’t very successful. I ended up having a simple salad of lettuce and cucumbers every day. Boring. . .
This week, I looked for more creative salads, so I have a lot of links. Hopefully you’ll find something here that you would like to try too.
Monday
B–Cookie Oatmeal, fruit, milk
L–Mesculan with Berries and Sweet Spiced Almonds for me, sandwiches and fruit for everyone else
D–Senatorial Bean Soup (minus ham), bread for the family as a side
Tuesday
B–Overnight Slow Cooker, Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal
L–Spinach Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette (minus the bacon)
D–Cauliflower Ragu, sauteed spinach on the side
Wednesday
B–Breakfast Muesli
L–Green Salad with Quinoa
D–Chicken salsa tacos, salad
Thursday
B–leftover pancakes from the freezer, fruit, and eggs
L–Southwestern Cobb Salad (minus the bacon)
D–White Bean Soup, broccoli on the side
Friday
B–oatmeal with fruit, eggs, milk
L–Sauteed Escarole, Corn and White Bean Salad (minus pancetta)
D–Salsa Bean Soup, guacamole and chips
Saturday
B–Dad’s choice
L–Lemon-Radicchio Salad
D–leftovers
Sunday
B, L and D–Dad’s choice
For more meal planning ideas, visit Menu Planning Monday.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Do you mind if I ask why you’re not eating the bacon/pancetta on the salads? Protein is good for you. Or have you never eaten pork and I just have been completely oblivious to that fact?
Since your family likes beans, I came across a main dish salad recipe that I hadn’t made in ages (thumbing thru old cookbooks can be a good thing) – it’s a nice change of pace from the usual lettuce based salads. Of course I’m at work now so I don’t have it with me but it uses tuna, cannelli beans, pimento (I know I’ve used diced bell pepper when I didn’t have pimentos on hand), and an olive oil based dressing. Send me an e-mail if you’d like the recipe.
The Nutritarian plan tries to limit meat based protein to only one meal a day, so that is why I am excluding it for this week. I would love the recipes, though I am still working on finding tuna that doesn’t have soy in it.
Here’s the recipe I mentioned earlier today. I didn’t even realize that tuna had soy in – I had to check the stash in my pantry and the three major brands I had all had it.
Tuna & Cannellini Bean Salad
1 large lemon
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar (4 oz) sliced pimento, drained (I’ve used diced bell pepper in a pinch)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 (12) can tuna, drained and flaked (recipe calls for oil packed but I’ve used water packed and then just a touch more olive oil)
From the lemon, grate 1 tsp zest and sqeeze 3 Tbsp juice. Combine everything but the tuna. Gently stir in the tuna and serve.
I was shocked to see that tuna had soy too. I think soy is in nearly all processed foods.
Your recipe sounds delicious! I’ll be on the hunt for soy free tuna, and then I will have to try this. I bet my daughter would like it too, and I love that it is a frugal recipe.