I haven’t done one of these posts in forever, but I thought I would go back to doing them. They used to be helpful to people, and I hope they will be again! I eat basically the same way most days: a green smoothie in the morning; a salad or some type of greens, veggies, a fat and protein at lunch (and usually some tortilla or plantain chips); and a dinner that works for our family. I often have some popcorn or dark chocolate at night, too. It’s been a bit more complicated lately, because we have a list of foods that Ridge cannot currently eat. But I am doing my best to make it work, and eat as healthy as possible while doing so! I know that sometimes I need some extra inspiration (like how I’m currently gathering healthy snack ideas on my instagram story), so I wanted to show you guys my clean eating meal ideas.
p.s. My snacks are not great. It’s almost always plantain chips…working on that.
p.p.s. I do splurge occasionally. And I do eat sweets, they’re just typically gluten free, dairy free and/or paleo. Dark dark chocolate is my jam.
BREAKFAST: It’s all about the green smoothies, y’all.
Todd and I pretty much always have a smoothie with ice, lots of spinach, a fiber (lately chia seeds), Bulletproof collagen protein powder, 1/4-1/2 cup fruit, maca powder, unsweetened almond milk, bee pollen, raw almond butter, filtered water.
Lunch: More greens, protein, crunch, some type of fat.
I almost always have a salad, and I like to use whatever veggies we have on hand. The more color, the better. I have made this broccoli and white bean salad a few times, and also this detox crunch salad. Both of those can be made and eaten the entire week – so good! Sometimes I do fruit instead of veggies in my salads. One salad I love is arugula, berries, goat cheese (this is the only time I eat dairy, because, goat cheese ;)), pistachios, cucumber, chicken, and a simple apple cider or lemon vinaigrette. If I am really on the ball, I will roast a bunch of veggies on Sunday or Monday and have a big bowl of them over some greens for lunch. I like to add hemp seeds and avocado to those. Tahini and a squeeze of lemon juice would be another great topping! (I have a blog post all about roasting veggies here). I also love lettuce wraps for lunch.
Snacks: working on this.
I am putting together a giant list of healthy snack ideas. Stay tuned!
Dinner: something family-friendly, allergy-friendly, healthy.
Dinners have required much more thought and planning than they used to. Ridge has been diagnosed with leaky gut and has a lot of food sensitivities (more to come on that as well), and he is currently on an eating plan to heal his gut. I don’t think he feels too deprived, at least I hope he doesn’t, but it has been a lot of extra work for me to be completely honest. We have to be very mindful of food, so we eat every meal at home.
Some of our recent favorites include:
- Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls
- I use either ground turkey or chicken; black beans; avocado; salsa verde from Trader Joe’s; Kite Hill almond milk yogurt or Forager cashew yogurt instead of sour cream
- Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice
- Cauliflower Crust Pizza
- Open-Faced Bison or Grass-Fed Beef Burger
- Grilled Fish with Dairy-Free Yogurt Dill Sauce. This bowl had grains and greens, sautéed mushrooms, grilled salmon, avocado, and the yogurt dill sauce
- For the yogurt sauce, combine 1/3 cup Kite Hill almond or Forager cashew yogurt, 3 Tbsp paleo or avocado oil mayonnaise, 1 clove minced garlic, 1-2 Tbsp fresh chopped dill, 1/2 tsp honey, and salt and pepper. Let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
- Butternut Squash Carbonara (I skipped the fried sage part) over Brown Rice Pasta (TJs) and Roasted Broccoli
- Plantain Chip Nachos (I used almond cheese)
- Layer plantain chips, then finely chopped spinach, black beans, corn, chicken or ground beef, bell peppers, jalapeño. Top with almond or vegan cheese if dairy free. Broil until melted. Remove from oven, drizzle with almond or cashew yogurt (or sour cream or Greek yogurt if not dairy free), squeeze lime juice, chopped avocado, radishes, cilantro, cucumber. Top with your favorite salsa!
- Pork Carnitas with Summer Salad and Gluten Free Cornbread (I’m going to post more details about this soon)
- Asian Meatballs over Cauliflower Rice
- Grilled Fish with Mango Salsa, Black Beans, and Coconut Milk Rice
- Paleo Bread with Avocado and Banana-Almond Butter
- Fish Taco Bowls; Mahi seasoned with TJs chili lime seasoning, lime juice, olive oil. Grill the fish. Serve with the Mango Jicama slaw from TJs
- Grilled Fish and Chopped Salad
- Salmon and Lemon + Veggie Kabobs
- Greek Flatbread (you can find GF flatbread at Sprouts)
- Top with hummus, tomato, cucumber, olives, feta, leftover chicken
Beverages: Coffee, coffee, and coffee 😉
I do drink 2+ cups of coffee each day. I drink regular drip coffee with almond milk creamer in the morning, along with lots of water. Sometimes, if I’m really dragging in the afternoons, I will have an espresso. One of my favorite things in the whole world is the mini Nespresso that Todd gave me for Mother’s Day.
I carry my Nalgene with me and aim to drink at least 64 ounces of water each day.
I also love La Croix, especially if I’m craving dessert at night. It’s a good distraction.
I occasionally have kombucha, and this local Lenny Boy one was so yummy. Ginger flavor is always my go-to.
If you’re looking for a healthier cocktail, you’ve got to try this! We brought this Ketel One rose and grapefruit vodka with us on vacation, and mixed it with grapefruit Spindrift and a slice of fresh grapefruit. So light and refreshing!!
I also like wine, but do not have it every day. I liked rosé in the summer, but I am gravitating back towards red wine as we head into fall.
If you guys have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments! I hope this gives some fresh ideas of healthy meals to eat. And stay tuned for a post with a long list of healthy snack ideas!
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Love all these ideas! And these are my fav post you do! Give me great inspo!
Thanks!!! So glad they’re helpful! xo