After a glorious two weeks of endless white carbs (bread, pasta, bruschetta, pizza, bread, pasta, repeat) I’m ready to get back on my high carb low fat lifestyle. I know I usually eat a lot of carbs, 80% of my daily intake in fact, but complex carbs affect me so differently. After a few days of eating that way I wasn’t feeling my best, my stomach was crampy and having pains, I was having heartburn, and my digestion was way off. Even though the food is amazingly delicious, I’m ready to incorporate complex carbs, veggies, fruit, legumes, beans, and healthy fats instead of oil back in my days. I feel better eat that way so it’s what I crave.

After two weeks of eating one genre of food, well really one meal (pasta pomodoro) every day I was excited to get back to meal planning and cooking something different each night. I knew I wanted as much Mexican/asian food incorporated as possible for a change of pace and our staple meals sounded exactly what we needed. After ordering chinese food the minute we arrived home Sunday, I made my meal plan for the week and started cooking last night. Here’s what I’m making to get back on track, it’s nothing too fancy and it’s recipes I’ve already posted on here.

Black Bean Taco Salad (pictured above)– I simply heated up a can of black beans and frozen roasted corn and added it to a bed of romaine, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, and topped with green onion. I used salsa as my dressing and had a toasted 1/2 whole wheat pita instead of tortilla chips. I usually add avocado as well, but was trying to keep my fat low.

Sushi Bowl– Tonight I’m making a simple sushi bowl with brown rice, cucumber, mango, carrot, green onion, and avocado with low sodium soy sauce.

Lentils and rice- This is like a healthy comfort food that is a staple around here. There wasn’t many lentil/bean options in Italy so I’m craving them. I throw onion, lentils, rice, mushrooms, and spices into my rice cooker and let it go and then stir in spinach while still warm.

Teriyaki Chickpeas and Broccoli- Give me all the asian food! I’m making a stir fry with chickpeas, mushrooms, and broccoli with my oil free teriyaki and serving over brown rice.

Lentil Sloppy Joes– More lentils? Yes please. Instead of a bun, I’m going to serve this smoky hearty mix over thinly roasted sweet and gold potatoes with a side of asparagus.

Refried Bean Tacos– These are so simple and tasty! I saute mushrooms, onions, and peppers then top a whole grain tortilla with fat free refried beans and the veggies and fold then cook. YUM.

I’m keeping it simple and classic this week without trying anything new because I know my time change is so off so dinner time is about the middle of the night Italy time and I have to start back to work this week. I’ll do myself a favor and keep it easy! Back to reality I go.