I read a good tip recently on a Macrobiotics website (I forget which site) which said to plan each meal around a protein food. I guess for those who regularly eat meat, this won't seem like much of a revelation, but for the more veggie inclined like me this proved a very helpful tip!
At the same time I also decided to get back into menu planning and I have to say it's a good idea. I made a 3 week plan, planned my 3 meals per day for each day (plus my mid morning "second breakfast" to borrow a Hobbit term
). I've kept the meal ideas simple, and each week features pretty much the same meals with slight variations. I then plan to just repeat the 3 weeks.This may seem like a lot of work, but once the menu plan is written up there is very little work involved. I keep it posted on the door of my food cupboard, and I check it in the morning so I know what breakfast and lunch to make for myself (DH makes his own) and if I need to prepare anything in advance for dinner.
I’ve been back at this for a couple of weeks now (well, apart from one cookie incident ) so I thought I’d share as others may find it helpful to try something similar.
My menu plan makes allowances for trying out new recipes or deviating from the menu completely, as long as each meal contains some protein and fat (something that hasn’t always featured highly in my diet) fruit or vegetables, and that I get plenty of variety.
This has definitely helped me stick to no S, get more variety in my diet and feel more satisfied/fuller for longer because I’m now getting adequate amounts of protein and fat, (where before I’d often eat quick meals based on just carbs and veggies/fruit, which would fill me up for a while, but didn’t sustain me very long).
If anyone is wondering, a typical day on my menu plan looks like:
1 – Oatmeal with pecans, almonds, hemp seeds and raisins.
2 – Handful of nuts/seeds, banana.
3 – Black beans in tomato sauce (from can), hummus and salad on rye bread. Miso soup. Apple.
4 – Tofu burgers, mixed salad, steamed greens & carrots, mashed potato.
Not very exciting, but keeps me going and I do find it easy to stick too as long as I keep portions generous and add liberal amounts of olive oil/coconut oil to salads/veggies. I find the menu plan provides a good structure for the day, around which I can fit in extras like tea, coffee, soy/almond milk, know in advance which groceries will be needed. As an added bonus, I spend less time wandering aimlessly around my kitchen deciding what to cook
Sorry for the longwinded post, but I’m in a sharing mood
