This is my view this morning while meal planning for the week. Read more of The Starch Solution, Louis on my lap watching Animal Planet, and a fire in the fire place because it’s COLD! As Josh said last night “it’s been a good week” for dinners in our house, so now I feel the need to keep topping myself and keep proving that low fat, plant based meals can be satisfying and delicious as well as healthy. You’ve seen pretty much everything I eat and I’m down a few pounds since I started eating high carb low fat two weeks ago, so I’m excited to try all the recipes that fit in this lifestyle. We’re going to be traveling a lot this year as it turns out so I want to be looking and feeling my best.

HCLF Breakfast ideas-

Oatmeal– quick oats with water, 1 tbsp maple syrup, and berries

Hash browns– shredded potatoes and veggies topped with organic ketchup and side of berries

Fruit

What I’ve been having school mornings- Brown rice cakes topped with a little raspberry jelly and a sprinkle of Everything but the Bagel seasoning, sometimes I do a mix of rice cakes and one piece of sprouted whole grain toast. Haven’t gotten tired of it yet!

Lunch- I usually have leftovers or make a lavash sandwich with no oil hummus and spinach, tomato, and cucumber with a side of fruit. You could also have potatoes with veggies, rice or pasta with veggies. Half starch, half veggies.

Snacks– FRUIT! pita and no oil hummus, dates and tea, banana with powdered peanut butter, air popped popcorn with dill pickle juice and spices

Since doing this, I haven’t been craving sweets which is really odd for me. I used to have a piece of dark chocolate most nights. If I am in the mood for sweets, I grab a date or two with my tea and it satisfies the craving. Since I fill up on dinner, I’m usually not hungry for anything after that.

HCLF Dinners this week-

Super Bowl Sunday-  Bean Chili topped Potato Skins, I got this idea from The Chew this week. They scooped out potatoes and broiled the skins to make them the crispy “chips” for the bottom layer and then topped them with nacho toppings, but I thought it would be delicious topped with chili. I might even try to make a vegan cheese sauce.

General Tso’s Chickpeas– I’m going to use the oil free teriyaki sauce recipe from last week and mix it with crispy chickpeas and roasted broccoli on brown rice.

Lentil Shepard’s Pie- I’m going to use the insides of the potatoes from the potato skins to make mashed potatoes and make a lentil, veggie mixture to go under them.

Baked Ziti- Baked Ziti used to be my specialty in high school, I made it for all of my friends for every gathering. This is going to be a little different than my ground beef and Ragu classic. I’m going to use tofu to make a “ricotta” with spinach and mushrooms then mix it with ziti and marinara then bake until you get those perfect crunchy noodles on top.

Sushi- We might be having my family over to try some veggie sushi, and we’re trying to think of some other veggie combinations that would be good. Ideas? The avocado, cucumber, carrot, scallion, and spring mix is a keeper, but want something else too.

Bean Burgers and Fries- kidney beans, oats, and spices make these some simple, low fat burgers with a side of roasted potato fries.

Hope this helps you come up with some ideas! I hope it’s another “good dinner” week in our house!