What I Eat in a Week

I've been asked by several people to give them a sample menu plan to help them get started living a healthy or gluten- and dairy-free life. When you're new to this, it can be difficult and you feel as if you're eating the same food ALL the time. Plus, everything that you used to eat you miss. ALOT. Some of this you'll just have to get used to and some of it you can change.

A few ground rules before the menu plan:

-I try to vary my diet as much as possible. The rule of thumb is don't eat one food more than 3 to 5 times in a week. (Again, this is difficult in the beginning before you find all the other delicious foods you've been missing over the years.)

-At least 75 percent of my diet is produce. To eat fresh produce and keep it from spoiling, I grocery shop about every five days. This may seem daunting at first, but you'll be purchasing less each time you shop and as you progress in healthy living you'll know quickly which foods to grab if you need to make the grocery trip fast.

-Explore different kinds of veggies and seasonings. You'll be surprised what you find that you like.

Note: I could have incorporated more meals from the blog too, but I don't cook every night (I really wish I could) and I end up with leftovers quite often. Therefore, I eat them for lunch.

And now...the plan.

Sunday

Breakfast: Berry Banana Smoothie

Lunch: Cashew Tomato Pasta.

Dinner: Salad. Hardboiled eggs, sweet potatoes, avocado on spinach with balsamic vinegar dressing.

Monday

Breakfast: Egg Scramble

Lunch: Salad. Chicken, cabbage, broccoli, avocado, carrot, olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Dinner: Leftover Cashew Tomato Pasta with asparagus.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Gluten free granola with almond milk and banana.

Lunch: Mighty Bowl! Check their FB page out.

Dinner: Cumin Spring Rolls.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Egg Scramble

Lunch: Leftover Spring Rolls

Dinner: Curry Bake

Thursday

Breakfast: Berry Banana Smoothie

Lunch: Salad. On the Go! Whole Foods is where it's at.

Dinner: Pumpkin Quinoa Soup w/ avocado and maybe half a gluten-free bagel.

Friday

Breakfast: Egg Scramble.

Lunch: Mediterranean: Garlic Chicken, carrots, tomatoes, other veggies dipped in hummus. Maybe some sweet potatoes too.

Dinner: Chicken Salad.

Saturday

Breakfast: Protein Pancakes

Lunch: Gluten-free, vegan pizza from Mississipi Pizza. (Basically lot's of veggies w/ a pesto sauce. Yummy!)

Dinner: Beef and steamed veggies.

Snacks

Here are some snack ideas. Be creative!

-Almonds
-Apple w/ peanut (or other nut) butter
-Any fruit
-Carrots/Broccoli and hummus
-A spoonful or two of sweet potatoes w/ ketchup
-Small side salad
-Avocado
-Smoothies

Remember, cheating on your allergy isn't worth it. I've learned this several times. Stick through the craving...and eat an apple!