As some of you know, the doc has me on a Mediterranean diet to help bring down my cholesterol, so the meal plan around Planet SGF has changed considerably. First off, no more butter or sugar, and no more of that super yummy white flour or rice. Hmm. So I finally found a great 100% whole wheat recipe, found a whole grain cereal I liked, and started making my whole wheat-oatmeal pancakes again. The result? I got violently ill. Yeah, turns out I'm not really ready for all that fiber.
So the last week has been a grain-less one, as I allow my system to recover. Thankfully, all those pancakes and breads freeze well so that I can reintroduce them more slowly and at a later date. The idea of going grain-free freaked me out a little (I'm a confessed bread-o-holic), but in reality, the menu has been pretty darn tasty as you can see from the photos above.
Of course, there's a lot of non-local food now in my diet like salmon, tuna, and some fruits; but local has far from disappeared and it can be found in plenty at each meal. Here's a breakdown of what's in that culinary collage...
- Vegetable soup (local: potatoes, onions, mushrooms, spinach, purple hull peas, zucchini, basil)
- Sauteed italian squash and pasta sauce over polenta (local: italian squash; mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, basil, rosemary and oregano in the sauce; and cornmeal)
- Italian squash ribbons sauteed with onions, spinach, mushrooms, tomato and basil (local: italian squash, mushrooms, onion, spinach, tomatoes, basil)
- Tuna salad, sauteed green beans and sweet potato (local: eggs and onion in the tuna salad; green beans)
- Italian squash ribbons with homemade pasta sauce (local: italian squash, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, basil, rosemary, oregano)
- Tuna salad, steamed green beans, and baked sweet potato (local: eggs and onion in the tuna salad; green beans)
Diet or no diet, the menu is pretty awesome around here. It may not all be local, but much of it is, and it's all good! So, anyone for leftovers? I can set an extra plate...
Happy (and mindful) eating!
7 comments:
Yum, yum, yum. Yes, please!
I had a slight issue as well when I switched from refine, white products to whole grains, it has to be a gradual shift, which is something I too learned the hard way.
It sounds like you are feeding yourself well (especially for this all being grain free!) and still managing to integrate a lot of local yummies in there as well.
I hope you are starting to feel a little better.
Leftovers you say....
You may already be aware that a Mediterranean-style diet can do more than lower cholesterol.
It prolongs life, reduces incidence of cancer (breast, colon, prostate, uterus), prevents type 2 diabetes, reduces rates of cardiovascular disease, and prevents dementia. Some recent studies suggest that it also helps with control of asthma and may prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
One of the things I like about your program is that you try to eat local, seasonal fruits and veggies. This is an aspect of the traditional Mediterranean diet often overlooked.
-Steve
greeen sheeep - pull up a chair!
jennifer - definitely feeling better after than initial fiber rush. As long as I eat lots of red potatoes, some corn, nut butter and keep the olive oil flowing, I tend to stay full without those extra carbs. The only thing I really miss is the occasional dessert. If this works in bringing my cholesterol down, I'll have to figure out how to work some ice cream back in :)
doc - I've been reading some medical journal articles about the mediterranean diet and it does seem to have many benefits. A dear friend of mine is Greek and I saw first hand how his mom cooked so at least I had some lessons on how to REALLY use olive oil :) They're certainly not shy about it! Do you eat local as well? Follow the Med diet?
I'd like a serving of the squash ribbons with pasta sauce, please. It sounds great. Thanks for the idea.
Even sans grain, it looks super delicious!
kale for sale - I got the idea from one of the entries at One Local Summer. That person used zucchini ribbons, but I figured you could probably make ribbons out of just about anything and use it as a pasta sub. Works great!
green bean - it was! And I came up with a new idea for my fried rice today. I put in some almond butter for flavoring and it was soooooo good! This no grain thing is making me creative :)
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