Meals for a Day

Cooking healthy meals does not have to be more work, but it does take planning. Here's a menu and recipes for a typical day in our house.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, poached eggs, and fresh juice

Lunch: Lentil Soup and Garden Salad (add things like sprouts and herbs for added nutrition!) (For Lydia, I chop up the veggies like cucumbers and tomatoes and give her these with some cheese, along with some soup)

Snack: Apple slices dipped in Tahina (Sesame Seed paste)

Dinner: Norwegian Meatballs with brown rice and steamed brocolli

Oatmeal

1 c. oats, rolled or cracked

1 c. warm water plus 2 T. whey*

1 c. water

For hightest benefits and best assimilation, oatmeal should be soaked overnight. Once soaked, oatmeal takes less than 5 minutes to cook - truly a fast food. Soak oats in 1 c. water and whey overnight. In morning, bring an additional cup of water to boil with oatmeal and simmer a couple minutes. Serve with fresh ground flax seed, butter, raw honey, cinnamon, real maple syrup, etc.

*Whey: Line a strainer with a coffee filter and place over bowl. Pour in whole milk plain yogurt, cover, and let stand at room temperature for several hours or overnight. The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Store whey in a mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. The milk solids - known as "labna" in the Middle East - is very healthy and can be substituted for sour cream in recipes, used in dips, etc. We like to add seasonings to it and eat it with veggie sticks.

Lentil Soup

2 c. lentils - soaked in water and 2 T. whey for 7 hours; drain and rinse

chicken stock*

1 tomato

1 potato

1 carrot

1 onion

8 (or more!) pieces garlic

1 t. cumin

salt and pepper

lemon

Cover lentils and veggies (all coarsely chopped) with water or stock and bring to a boil. The lentils will produce a lot of foam so be sure to skim this off. Reduce heat and simmer about an hour. Puree soup with handheld blender. Thin with water to desired consistency. Reheat slightly and add pressed garlic and seasonings to taste.

*Chicken Stock: Take whole chicken (or bones) and feet if you have them. Cover with water and 2 T. vinegar. Add 1 large onion, 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped, and 3 celery sticks, coarsely chopped. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bring to a boil, and remove the scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6-24 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to broth.

(I always keep beef and chicken stock on hand in the freezer. After making, I let it cool completely and freeze in Tupperware containers so I can defrost what I need for recipes. )

Norwegian Meatballs

1 lb hamburger meat

2 T. flour

2 T. chopped onion

1 egg

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

Mix ingredients and make into meatballs. Brown meatballs in 2 T. butter. Remove from pan. Add 2 T. flour to 3-4 T. of drippings, after meatballs are removed. Add 1 1/4 c. beef broth (make like chicken stock only with beef bones; when making beef stock you can simmer it from 12 to 72 hours). Bring to boil. Add meatballs. Simmer 1 1/2 hours. Serve over brown rice.

Brown Rice

2 c. long-grain brown rice

2 T. butter

3 cardamom pods (seeds only)

4 c. chicken stock or water (or combination)

1/2 t. sea salt

Bring water (or stock), butter, cardamom, and salt to a boil. Add rice. Reduce flame to lowest heat, cover tightly and cook for at least 1 1/2 hours or as long as 3 hours. Do not remove lid during cooking. (This long, slow steaming neutralizes the phytic acid and allows for proper digestion.)