I changed yesterday’s menu slightly, but as some people read it I won’t go back and change it in the post. I will, however, add a couple of items to the list – I used some leeks to bulk out the onions (I’m using ready chopped onions to save effort for my hands and didn’t want to open a new pack). I also did stir-fried greens to give us a better selection of vegetables.
Greens are one of those things that are a problem when you take Warfarin as they contain a lot of Vitamin K, which is the antidote to Warfarin. That’s why I had a problem a few months ago (the nurse spotted the problem immediately – seems they always see it around Christmas time when the Brussels sprouts start). I’m now trying to keep up my consumption of greens because I need to be consistent with my diet, and because they are healthy and low carb.
I really should start counting the number of different types of fruit and vegetables we eat in a week. It’s vey easy to get into a rut when you order online from the menu headed “My Favourites”.
It appears that you really need a diet based on 30 types of fruit and veg if you are to achieve optimal gut health. That’s quite a lot.
Last week we had leeks, onion, garlic, carrots, parsnips, swede (rutabaga), sweet potato, celery, tomato, mushrooms, cauliflower, oranges, apples, pears and figs. I’m not sure if you are allowed to count potatoes and rice, you can’t for your five a day, so I won’t count them. That’s fifteen. You can count fresh herbs, so that’s coriander and thyme (though I’m not clear if adding it then removing it before serving counts). You can count spices so that adds ginger. I’m pretty sure that stuff sprinkled from a jar doesn’t count, so just the one. The article counts oats in muesli, so oats in porridge must count, as does the wheat in Weetabix, I suppose. Blue berries and bananas – nearly forgot them. We don’t eat enough chillies to qualify, I’m sure. I think that’s it. And peanut butter – it’s nuts.
We didn’t have any seeds, nuts or pulses, partly because I’m not a natural eater of seeds and partly because Julia mutters every time I used chick peas, lentils or beans. She will have to get used to it, because if we are going to have 30 a week we will need them.
That’s 24 because I just remembered I had avocados on Wednesday. I’m actually quite pleased with that.
It leaves six extra to find but if I add chick peas, beans and lentils, plus peas in the soup I just need to add broccoli, peppers, courgettes (which are all easy enough) and we’re on – thirty one.
Time for me to confess now – though I blame Julia for the lack of pulses, I’m to blame for the lack of Mediterranean style vegetables as I don’t like them roasted and got fed up of ratatouille because we ate so much of it as we transferred to a semi-vegetarian diet in lockdown.
If I were to use a subtitle for this post it would be – I can cook and I can eat vegetables – I just prefer takeaways and cake! And that, in one sentence, is the reason why I weigh too much.
Food looks great, I wasn’t aware there were 30 different types 🤔Does that include Terry’s Chocolate Orange and Tomato crisps? But it’s good to see you’re making the effort. I miss the little treats, like the plate of tripe and vinegar in Kirkstall market on Saturday mornings 😉
Terry’s Chocolate Orange is probably two plant-based sources – chocolate and orange. Tomato crisps probably doesn’t have enough tomato, bit tomato ketchup is OK, though I confine it to making sauce for my prawns and hotdogs. Never on bacon sandwiches, which is a job for brown sauce. Brown sauce contains tamarinds, which I alays thought were small monkeys. Turns out the monkeys are tamarins (no d) and tamarind is a seed pod from a tropical tree – good for foodstuffs and cleaning metal. That’s why brown sauce is good for cleaning coins, though as a coin dealer I must advise you not to clean coins. 🙂
😂😂
🙂 Seems logical to me . . .
Everything looks wonderful! I’m impressed with your 30!
I’m not sure that this week will be quite as impressive. Chinese food and pizza features more than it should do. 🙂
Fruit tends to have a lot of sugar in it so I don’t eat nearly as much as I used to. This has benefited my waistline quite a lot, as sugar tends to hang around your middle. I don’t get neat 30 a week.
Fruit is tricky. Nutritious, full of fibre and, as you say, full of sugar. We have cut down on bananas and pears and no longer eat grapes. I fear more cuts might be needed, but my five a day/30 a week would take a big hit without fruit. I went to carrot sticks, then celery sticks, as part of my for to cut down on fruit.
Grapes are very addictive so I try never to buy them and fail.
It’s one of the things that is easier to do on the internet – resisting is harder when you are there looking at them . . .
I quite agree.
🙂
30?
30. I need to get myself out of a rut. 🙂
Hmmm…as I’m doing smoky steak tacos tonight, with sautéed peppers and greens, I don’t know if I’m in a rut or not
Depends how often you have it. I have started repeating things every week, so am definitely in a rut. I would, however, rather be in your rut than mine by the sound of it. 🙂
😉well, tomorrow we are getting pizza, Wednesday is homemade pasta with a leek sauce, Thursday is paprika chicken with chic peas….if you want to know how the week is shaping up…
We had Chinese tonight, so I am in no position to pass judgement on how other people eat. 🙂
Wow, that food looks good! I love seeing what other people cook and eat.
Thank you. It never looks quite as good on the page as I imagine it. 🙂
What a complicated business. All beautifully presented though
Thank you Derrick. 🙂
The plates all look good, Quercus. You are right, variety in food does help with getting proper nutrients.
It’s logical, and it’s a good way to avoid getting into a rut.