Better late than never?
As a result of reading
The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Taking Charge of your Emotions, I am working on some changes to my diet with the hope that the changes will boost my energy levels, which have been dragging significantly the past month or two. I think I overdid it with
the salads. I'm not going to avoid salads in the future, but instead find a way to integrate salads without eliminating protein from my meals, because apparently I need much more protein than what I've been eating--and not only at dinnertime; I need more protein at breakfast and lunchtime, too... part of which will be accomplished by actually
sitting down and eating a prepared breakfast, rather than grabbing a banana on the go. (Bananas=Good, but no protein!)
The best thing I learned in
The Mood Cure is that butter and extra virgin olive oil are Good Mood Fats, which is wonderful because those are some of my favorite ingredients!
- Tuesday: Seasoned French Rack of Lamb, baked potatoes, broccoli, salad
- Wednesday: Creamy Enchilada Casserole, steamed asparagus, strawberries
- Thursday: Grilled Marinated Salmon w/Sweet Potato Black Bean Salsa (this is so good, try it!) served over wilted spinach greens (marinating extra salmon for the freezer)
- Friday: Neighborhood cook out (need to find out what to bring)
- Saturday: Mini Hamburgers (that we didn't eat last week due to the stomach bug present in the household), twice-done potatoes (using leftovers from Tuesday), steamed broccoli, salad
- Sunday: Homemade breaded fish sticks (baked), with leftover sweet potato salsa and steamed veggies
- Monday: Baked Chicken Tenders, steamed green beans, brown rice pilaf (making extra for future meals) and salad
Breakfasts will include: scrambled egg/whole wheat tortillas wraps, cottage cheese and pears, multi-grain pancakes, sweet italian chicken sausages, smoked salmon on ww mini bagels w/cream cheese, plain yogurt w/strawberries, and cold cereal b/c my kids are addicted.
Lunches will include:
tilapia packets over whole wheat couscous w/zucchini and grape tomatoes, turkey tortilla wraps,
bean and cheese quesadillas, and a
Summer Squash frittata.
My energy level this well can be gauged by how much I get done around the house, which will be reflected in how many blog posts I manage to post! I hope this works, because I'm tired of dragging around all the time.
Find more menu plans, recipes and ideas at
orgjunkie.com.
2 comments:
Hi Michelle, I found your blog through the menu planning monday link list... I am always a day late to post too!
I read that you are having trouble with your energy levels, this caught my attention as I am a student dietitian. I just wanted to say that the most important thing for energy levels is actually carbohydrates. I know they get a bit of a bad name, but that is because people choose the wrong carbohydrates (potatoes, sweets, cakes, lollies, etc). Things like the black bean salsa and brown rice pilaf in your menu plan are the right type of complex carbohydrates that will keep your energy levels up.
Protein plays more of a role in keeping you feeling full for longer, which may stop you snacking on things like lollies/chips/cakes/etc. Snacking on these things will give you a short burst of energy and then your energy levels will crash.
So what I am trying to say is, protein will help you, but good carbohydrates (rice, pasta, lentils/legumes, multigrain bread) will do a lot better for your energy levels.
Thanks for your comment, Tara! I eat plenty of whole grain carb-type foods: bread, mini bagels, brown rice, cereals, whole-grain everything practically. I only use white flour for some baked goods, and a white baguette is a treat in this house. For some reason they aren't giving me the energy I need. When I look at my diet, the protein seems to be the part of my diet that has fallen off.
_The Mood Cure_ says the protein deficiency is one of the leading causes of the blahs, so that's where I'm starting. (I'm also waiting for blood work to come back and give me more information.)
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