January 1. The day your instagram feed switches from all the glutinous meals loaded with cheese, rich meats, and sugar that we have been eating over the holidays to salads and vegetables.
Lump us into the cliche.
With good reason. The new year is a perfect time for a fresh start. A reset. I believe firmly that are seasons for feasting and fasting, and while typical life in America can easily lead us into year round fasting, we need to implement the discipline of fasting that our modern day society no longer provides.
By and large, we are a clean eating family. There’s not much junk in our home, and even most of our Christmas cookies were made with whole wheat flour and coconut sugar. But there were Christmas cookies…and a cake…and mashed potatoes….
So we fast. And reset.
And we are making our kids join in.
I’ve been sitting down making out meal plans and figuring out how we are all going to be in this thing. In true to myself fashion, I’m doing my own thing. Kind of a blend of Whole30 and the Daniel Fast. Because I think giving up all grains and beans is kind of silly (and I know we don’t have any issues with them), and completely unrealistic for this very active family. And I have opinions about the high amounts of protein that and the paleo diet pushes, but that’s a whole other argument. While we have successfully done the Daniel Fast, it made it really challenging for us to keep the level of exercise and activities we are used to. So I’m adding in lean proteins. It’s also debatable if Ezekiel bread is ok on the Daniel Fast, but I’m saying it goes. This isn’t just about a 21 days, or a 30 day diet, it’s about a healthy lifestyle, which I think should always be the approach.
While I was jotting down all of my ideas, I thought I would throw them up here in case anyone else needed some food inspiration.
Breakfast
-whole wheat organic tortillas (I get mine at costco), nut butter and fruit
-ezekiel bread (regular or cinnamon raisin) with Earth Balance spread
-smoothies
-eggs (scrambled with a bit of almond milk, or over easy)
-hashbrowns (probably combined with eggs)
-baked oatmeal (annies eats)
-breakfast cookies (Shauna Niequist, bread and wine)
-chia pudding (with almond milk)
-for weekends: french toast made with ezekiel bread and almond milk, and a dab of real maple syrup
Lunch
-hummus (I make my own, it’s way cheaper and better) and GF crackers that don’t have sugar, and veggies
-nut butter and homemade jelly, some with chia that has no sugar on ezekiel bread or WW tortillas
-leftover soups or stews from dinner
-burrito bowls
-leftover fried rice…really, leftover anything
-whole wheat pasta and homemade marinara (for kids), jamie oliver’s 5 minute marinara
-whole wheat pita with roasted veggies and hummus
-refried bean burritos (no cheese) with lettuce/tomato/avocado/salsa
-salads with leftover whatever thrown on top and homemade dressings
-roasted cauliflower, arugula,and farrow salad with a citrus vinaigrette
Snacks
-larabars
-popcorn
-trail mix with no sugar
-tortilla and salsa
-hummus and veg
-apples and peanut butter
-nuts
-hard boiled egg (mainly for my protein loving boys, the adults plan to keep protein intake low)
Dinner
(most of these you can find a bajillion recipes for just by typing it into Pinterest. Feel free to ask if not. I am keeping protein extremely low for hubs and I, most meals we will eat vegan. All protein is organic, and free of nitrates/nitrites/hormones/antibiotics, etc.)
-stir frys (rice/veggies/lean protein)
-burrito bowls brown rice, black beans, chicken for kids, grilled veg for adults, lettuce, tomato, salsa verde and avocado)
-chicken tortilla soup with tortilla chips
-chili (with grass fed organic ground beef) with vegan and GF corn bread
-baked potatoes with earth balance spread and leftover chili and/or side salad
-spaghetti squash with marinara sauce, a side salad, and ezekiel bread if kids are still hungry
-stuffed peppers (quinoa/corn/black beans/spices)
-taco salad (romaine, back beans, corn, peppers, tomatoes, meat) with an avocado citrus dressing and tortilla chips
-smokey black eyed peas and sautéed greens with vegan cornbread
-vegetable beef soup and side salad
-ham and lentil soup and side salad
-turkey, turkey bacon, and avocado salad (with a white wine vinaigrette and no cheese) and ezekiel bread
-spinach salad with warm turkey bacon dressing and hard boiled egg and chicken and wild rice soup
-asian sesame chicken salad and veggie fried rice
-nicoise salad
-cedar planked salmon with roasted garlic green beans and roasted potatoes
-roasted chicken legs with roasted root veggies and side salad
-corn chowder with coconut milk
-chicken ratatouille over quinoa
When the sugar craving hits
-banana
-any fruit, really
-smoothie
-frozen banana “ice cream”
-breakfast cookies
To Drink
-ALL the water
-black coffee
-red wine. Did I mention we are adopting? Survival people
I’ll probably be posting some pictures over on Instagram, for more inspiration…but for now this my brainstorming. Some of the above recipes are already on my blog under recipes, or others I’ve noted sources.
We won’t start until kids go back to school. Hubs is serving with the Passion conference this weekend (woot!!! pray for all the college aged people headed to it!), and I’m not about to take three kids grocery shopping for all the things by myself. So I’m planning and list making, and cleaning out the fridge and pantry.
Best of luck with resetting after the holidays and getting back into healthy rhythms!