Weekly Menu Ideas: 31-03

30 Fruits and Vegetables

For those who know me, you will know I am always up to mischief when it comes to research papers. We all have a thing, my thing is information. I am always reading articles, listening to podcasts and then every week I have a bunch of new items that as a family we have to partake in. To be completely honest, I start it, do it for sometime and then completely forget I was doing it, then in two months time, I have this moment where I realize that I forgot and the cycle starts again to the detriment of my husband and kids.

I have been following Dr. Tim Spector for a while, I firmly believe he is a nutritional genius. His key focus is on eating more fresh foods, and I love that. It does not involve fad dieting skills purely just eating more good stuff. So naturally since about a year ago I have been trying to incorporate different vegetables in our diet to build up the gut microbiome. The current bacteria in my kids guts are really not fond of these.

At first it seemed almost impossible, you know, like Jumanji. I always feel like I get to one level and then instantaneously I am slapped with new information. So this week I set out to physically track how many fruits and vegetables I ate - to my surprise. It was a total of 15 different fruits and vegetables.

Can you believe it, given that I am limited to one meal a day due to Ramadan, I cannot wake up and eat its like torture my body needs time to adapt, but in essence I was quite excited. I have high hopes that I will be able to do more soon.

This has put more focus for me on how to eat better while snacking. I will continue to research this going forward and hopefully come up with more ideas. For now I will focus on snacking on an apple or having a smoothie but there are fun ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet. The best part is even your morning coffee counts.

Weekly Menu - 31 March

Monday

School Lunch: Chicken Wings

Dinner: Burritos

Tips for this idea:

The difference between a wrap and burrito is that the burrito is made using beans and rice. These are two grains more than you would get in a traditional wrap. If you have left over rice that you stored in the frezeer this is a great way to use it.

Tuesday:

School Lunch: Cheese Quesadilla

Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala / Grilled Spiced Tofu

Tips for this idea:

This is a light meal, that is served with a salad it is also an easy meal easily prepared in an airfryer if you have one. Add some roasted vegetables to the side as well to make it extra filling.

Wednesday:

School Lunch: Muffins

Dinner: Red Pepper Soup & Bread Rolls

Tips for this idea:

Red pepper soup is an easy meal that requires minimal effort, you can add red pepper, onion, garlic and cherry tomatoes to a pan, roast it for 20-30 minutes once it is ready pop it in the blender and add cream. This goes great with a toasted cheese as well.

Thursday:

School Lunch: Mini Chicken Pita's

Dinner: Kibbling & Chips

Tips for this idea:

This is essentially fish nuggets, but instead of an egg batter, the egg is replaced by sparkling water. It makes a delicously thick batter.

Friday:

School Lunch: Cheese & Salami Sandwich

Dinner: Sloppy Joes / Vetkoek & Mince

Tips for this idea:

Sloppy joes are a great lazy night meal, for the South African readers it's basically mince and fat cake for those of us who do not have the privilege of fatcakes from a store.

Saturday:

Lunch: Mac & Cheese

Dinner: Saturday Subs Night

Tips for this idea:

I have posted a great Mac and Cheese recipe which is easy and quick to make. Saturday night subs are a great Idea because everyone can build their own sub, similar to subway. Melt the cheese on your bread roll and add the toppings of your choice, it makes a great meal that meat-eaters and vegans can share together without too much additional effort.

Sunday:

Supper: Bunny Chow's

Tips for this idea:

This is the first Sunday that we are no longer fasting. So I thought it is a nice treat compared to the usual Sunday lunch ideas.

I hope this makes this week easier for you. If you feel like you this is something you need for the weeks ahead, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas for next week. ♥️