Regular readers will probably notice a few oddities in the next few weeks, both on the OtM features and the “What I Eat” features. I don’t really want to get into why, but you’ll see kind of a cyclical eating paradigm going. The big changes will be that for some weeks in a row, I’ll be totally off meat (fish will still appear) and dairy. Peanuts will also no longer make an appearance (that’s not cyclical, it’ll be ongoing). I’m not going to be all crazy about these things, but it will make things look a bit different around here. Since my activity level will remain high, I still need to make sure I am getting good quantities of proteins and complex carbohydrates. You can read this as: legumes, legumes, legumes!
The changes should mean a lot of new, creative recipes, too, because I am easily bored.
DINNERS:
Monday: Falafel with mujadara. We need to do this more often, it just kind of gets put to the side. Later in the summer, when cucumbers and tomatoes are in, you’ll likely see side dishes such as fatoush or tabouli, as well. We’ll be eating this with pita bread, and I’ll be skipping the yogurt sauce.
Tuesday: Sardines and avacado in lemon sauce, over udon noodles. Thadd is out at a work function, so I’ll be having a for-one dinner tonight. This is easy, quick, and full of protein and good Omegas.
Wednesday: Coconut braised spinach & chickpeas over sweet potatoes. An Indian-inspired dish. Despite the cut in meat and dairy, we don’t intend on adding a lot of simple carbs back into our diet. We still do rice, potatoes, and pasta once in a while, but we don’t want to make it more frequent. So, we’re using sweet potatoes here instead!
Thursday: Bean & butternut squash burritos. We’ll be using guacamole and salsa as condiments, and I’ll skip the raw-milk cheese this round.
Friday: Leftovers, as always.
Saturday: Black bean & banana empanadas. There’ll be a double-batch of these so we can put some in the freezer!
Related articles
- On the Menu: April 1-7th Edition (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
- On the Menu: May 20th Edition (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
- Falafel (veggiezest.com)
June 12th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
I’m really interested in how you’ll be doing the sardines. Do you heat them up at all? Are you using canned or fresh?
June 12th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
I’ll be using canned (we don’t have access to fresh, unfortunately). I’ve done this both hot and cold, but since it’s muggy and warm, it’ll be cold today. I’ll drain and rinse them, toss them with some basil, lemon zest, grapeseed oil, salt, pepper, and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours, then serve it over cold udon noodles.
June 12th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Thank you very much. I’m eager to try this as The Big Guy has expressed an interest in increasing our sardine intake. I’m trying to find recipes that are varied and not just “let’s smear them on secret toast.”
June 12th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
I ate a lot of them last summer, but slacked off during the winter for whatever reason. Let’s see, ways I’ve found to eat them when I was inventing ways to get them into my diet (which I am doing again, too):
-a cold salad w/tomatoes, capers, avocado, olive oil, lemon, and various spices on a bagel with cream cheese. Also works well with chickpeas replacing the cream cheese and bagel.
-In light tomato sauce over pasta or spaghetti squash.
-stew, with potatoes, sweet potatoes, swai, sausage, and sardines.
-layered into a Caprese salad, or added to a panzanella salad
-And, of course, on crackers
If you come up with anything, let me know. I am still looking, too!
June 15th, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Hi my friend. Great menu plan and gorgeous new lavendar pictures, they almost put my eyes to tears. We are BIG lavendar fans here. Ps. Sorry if I asked before but I forgot, do you like sea veggies/seaweed when accessible?
August 6th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Thanks, BB! And, I love sea veggies. They’re on my list to pick up this week, in fact, as I make one of the Big Grocery Trips to the “big city!”