A Typical Day of Meals

The idea of changing to a healthy eating program is overwhelming for some. Especially if you are the main meal planner and cook. One of my readers asked if I could post what an average menu for the day looks like in my home. So here you go...

Breakfast
The first thing I do when I get up is have a banana, pour myself a cup of green tea and pop a fiber mini-cake (either blueberry or apple-cranberry from Trader Joe's) in the toaster oven. Finished consuming my wake-up meal, I go for a run with Brandy (my chocolate Lab). After my run I make steel-cut oatmeal, millet, or quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). (click here to get directions on how to cook grains) Scoop it into a bowl and add about a tablespoon of maple syrup, a splash of soy or almond milk, about 8 raw almonds and an assortment of dried fruit (raisons, cranberries, blueberries, etc.) and seeds (raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, etc.). It's a hearty breakfast when I get done and delicious!

By most people's standard you might say I have two breakfasts. Yeah! Not only would I never think of skipping breakfast, but I'd fall over if I didn't have something right away when I get up.

Lunch

My hearty breakfast holds me over very well until lunch, which I often have around 1PM. Lunch usually consists of my veggie salad where I eat a variety of raw vegetables cut up, tossed with an olive oil dressing, adding beans and feta cheese.

By four I might have one or two cuties, an apple or I might make some guacamole and scoop it up with some organic blue corn with flaxseed chips.

Dinner

Mahi mahi, quinoa, steamed broccoli
and roasted butternut squash

I've posted a few of my favorite main course recipes, like Blackeyed Pea Soup, Butternut Squash Chili, and Green Curry with Quinoa. But a simple meal we have often consists of fish (either salmon, tuna, tilapia or mahi mahi—wild caught, of course) with several lightly steamed or roasted veggies. I rub the fish with some seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic, onion, coriander, mustard, etc.) like Pappy's Choice combo spice. The fish is cooked in a little olive oil in a deep sauce pan on the stove—five minutes or so on a side. Or baked for 7 minutes in a toaster oven. Fish cooks up fast—be careful not to overcook or you'll have dry fish with less flavor.

Another variation I use, especially for the tilapia or mahi mahi, is a simmer sauce (Trader Joe's has several to choose from). Lightly cover the fish with the sauce and simmer on each side for about 5 minutes. The tilapia and mahi mahi take on the flavor of the sauces very nicely.


About an hour after dinner I might indulge in one of two desserts. If not my homemade Oatmeal Cookies, I might have a small scoop of Organic Coconut Bliss frozen dessert or one Kashi TLC Soft-Baked Cookie.

What do I drink with these meals you might ask? My husband has a small glass of wine, but I drink only a small bit of water. I drink plenty of water between meals throughout the day. Drinking too much at a meal will dilute the digestive process—not a good idea.