I notice a difference when I’m feeding myself well. For example, a couple weekends ago I didn’t eat enough, and what I did eat was a lot of empty calories. “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” (Julia Child quoting Oscar Wilde) has a place in my diet for sure. But, I feel a difference physically when I really feed myself. When I ate that way I felt bad all weekend. Physically poor, mentally and emotionally drained, zero energy for anything. Some of that might be unrelated (hello trauma, life, Covid, BLM, hormones, relationships, grief, work, stress…). But, the expression “garbage in, garbage out” seems fitting for my imbalanced food-life relationship of that weekend.

Since then, these last couple of weeks, I’ve been more mindful about what I’ve been eating. I ate things like Tofu with Cabbage and Crispy Rice, Brothy Beans on Toast with Creamy Coleslaw, and a Simple Garden Salad topped with tuna and seeds. And I feel great. The tricky part is the weekends. I’m going to try to make mostly good choices this weekend. It means doing some prep work ahead of time: washing and cutting fruit, making sure there are good options for meals, and picking greens from my garden and washing and drying them. And, remembering to show myself grace when I don’t follow my healthy eating plan perfectly. That’s ok too.

One of my goals for today is to plan our menu. It helps me to start the new week well when I have ideas in place. Here are some healthy-ish meal ideas to help with your menu planning for the coming week.

Dinners

• Pasta with Sausage and Homemade Pesto or Pasta with Otamot Sauce*
• Chicken with Potatoes and Peas (one dish dinner)
• Salmon and Pilaf with a Garden Salad
• Brothy Beans on Toast with Creamy Coleslaw
• Ramen with Crispy Pork and Poached Eggs
• Pizza with Arugula Salad
• Tofu topped with Black Urfa Chili* with Cabbage and Crispy Rice

Lunches

• Garden Salad with Tuna and Chickpeas, slice of homemade bread or homemade croutons
• Avocado Toast topped with tons of seeds (I like sesame, sunflower, hemp hearts, and flax seeds)
• Leftovers crisped in a skillet and topped with a fried egg/a dollop of yogurt/or a drizzle of pesto
• Black Bean Quesadillas with a Tangy Slaw
• Chicken Salad Sandwiches (using leftover chicken from the chicken and potato dinner) with Fruit Salad
• Veggie and Garbanzo Bean Shakshuka
• Panzanella Salad

Breakfasts

• Eggs and Homemade Toast
• Smoothies
• Oatmeal with Cinnamon* and Raisins
• Breakfast Sandwiches
• Trail Mix Cookies and Fruit
• Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg
• Scones and Scrambled Eggs

Happy Eating!

*These are affiliate links. I get a small commission for any sales generated from these referrals.

Burlap&Barrel Healthy Eating Menu menu planning Otamot Thoughts