Disclaimer: Please be aware that this post contains content that some readers may find triggering. This food diary is not intended to be dietary advice. Anything written here is not necessarily appropriate for the Enara program you are on or consistent with your particular goals.
Sunday 1/30
I try to keep Sunday mornings open to leisurely drink a cup of coffee, maybe clean up the house a bit, and think about what I want to eat for the week.
This morning I baked up a batch of the Oatmeal with Blueberries and Walnuts and ate that while looking through our new Stepwise Cookbook for some recipe inspiration. I have loved seeing some of my clients’ photos of these recipes and look forward to trying some out.
I will also incorporate some dinner requests my daughter has made over the past week, including lasagna and take-out Indian food.
With that in mind, while I was waiting for my baked oatmeal to cook, I made a batch of Bolognese so it would be ready to go when I put my lasagna together. Fortunately, both recipes contain ingredients that I almost always have on hand. Oats, frozen blueberries, walnuts, eggs. Canned tomatoes, frozen ground beef, onions, carrots, celery, purchased broth. The smell of the two things cooking at once wasn’t my favorite! But I’m happy to have them ready to go.
Here is what’s on my list for the week—lasagna for a few meals, baked meatballs as part of a Mediterranean plate, kale and white bean soup and the instant pot cauliflower Thai curry (last two from our new cookbook). A Stepwise recipe for vegan almond bacon bits reminded me how much I love tempeh bacon, so I will try to fit that in somewhere as well, maybe over a Caesar salad.
I create a shopping list including all these ingredients and roughly plan out when I will have time to make each one. I am VERY flexible however, and often end up changing my mind throughout the week. With all the ingredients on hand, I know I will be able to create some great meals. I prioritize any perishables for the beginning of the week and won’t mind a quick stop at the store to get fresh veggies, especially if I already know what I need.
Back from Trader Joe’s and I do not have all the ingredients on hand because…..you know how the shelves look these days ☺ Among other things, where is all the coconut milk?? I make a batch of tempeh bacon (feel free to reduce the maple syrup and leave out the liquid smoke) and add that to a half bag of TJs broccoli and kale slaw—very satisfying. I recommend following the instruction to use parchment paper in this recipe—I don’t think my baking sheet will ever look the same after that sticky marinade!
Dinner tonight is sushi at my parents’ house.
Monday 1/31
Today is easy. Baked oatmeal for breakfast, slaw and tempeh for lunch.
I went to 3 stores to try to find the Hearts of Palm lasagna noodles—no luck. I did find a green lentil lasagna noodle, but it did not fit our general recommendations to provide a minimum of 5g fiber. I would rather just slice up zucchini than use a processed noodle. This afternoon I put my lasagna together using yesterday’s Bolognese, zucchini sliced lengthwise for noodles, and a mixture of ricotta and spinach. This will be on my plate several times this week!
Went for an afternoon run and ate an early lasagna dinner since it was already made, rather than having a snack and a dinner meal.
Tuesday 2/1
Started the day off with the last of the Baked Oatmeal, and for lunch ate lasagna leftovers. I had a fun mid-week night out for Japanese food with a friend—one of my meal prep options may be falling off the list! We weren’t able to get a reservation until 8pm, so I had another small portion of lasagna in the afternoon to hold me over. Iyasare in Berkeley was super delicious and would fit well on any of our stepwise plans without seeming like a restriction or diet. We shared the agedashi tofu and eggplant, and I had a nice (read: high protein!) portion of salmon, along with at least a half plate of arugula, and seaweed salad.
Wednesday 2/2
Started my day with 2 soft-boiled eggs (perfect in a steamer basket for 6-7 min) and 2 slices of Alvarado sprouted sourdough. We don’t often recommend breads, but I make an exception for Alvarado because each slice has 6g of protein. Two eggs and two slices total 24g which will meet most protein goals in the morning.
Went to an OrangeTheory workout mid-morning. I replenished with a Greek yogurt afterwards. For lunch I had the last portion of lasagna that I can stand for the week. The last few servings went into the freezer for a great quick meal in another couple weeks.
Tonight, my daughter and I ordered Indian food. I usually don’t eat out so much, it’s just one of those weeks! My favorite is saag paneer—it is so rich that a small amount, along with ½ piece of naan was a very satisfying dinner.
Thursday 2/3
Same breakfast today with the sprouted toast and soft-boiled eggs. Lunch was leftover saag paneer and the other half of naan.
I spent about 20 min making the kale and white bean soup from the new Stepwise Cookbook—I accidentally purchased garbanzo beans instead of white beans but—no big deal—they worked well in this soup. I absolutely love the partial blending that’s recommended here, makes for a soup that has some substance but still retains texture. One other adjustment I like to make is to use bone broth to increase the protein content, especially in an otherwise vegetarian meal. Bone broth typically has about 10g protein per cup, whereas other broths have about 1g. Looking forward to having this for dinner tonight.
Friday 2/4
This morning I made quick-cook steel cut oats—I prefer the texture to rolled oats, and these only take 5 minutes to prepare. Add-ins included raisins, half a banana, cinnamon and walnuts with a splash of milk. This afternoon was so lovely, I decided to have lunch outside at a local café, where I chose a panini and latte. Somehow this sounded like a good option at the time but afterwards—wow—bread and milk. Especially the amount of milk in a latte. Not a great combo. I felt so full and drowsy afterwards that I had to take a nap. Not a meal I would typically recommend, but best to move on and make a better choice next time. Right? Went to an OrangeTheory workout that afternoon and appreciated my lovely soup for dinner.
Saturday 2/5
My go-to breakfast before a run is 1 slice of sprouted sourdough toast with any kind of nut butter and half a banana. Ate that. Went for a trail run.
Lunch today is the rest of my soup, with some fresh mozzarella on top. Had another café afternoon, but this time chose rice crackers with hummus and labneh and a cup of tea. Much better.
Dinner tonight was out for Italian. My neighborhood spot does a lovely chicken parmesan served with a pile of broccoli, green beans and squash. So tasty, and great leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.
I left out two whole meals that were in my original plans but—assuming I am able to find coconut milk one of these days—will just move them to the top of the list for next week. I ate out more than I intended this week but really enjoyed spending time away from home and out with friends. something I think we all value and appreciate as hugely important to our work/health/life balance. Hope you all have a fantastic week.
