This past weekend was one I spent in the kitchen! Yes, I prepped like a fiend, and I am so proud of myself. And having counted, I went through some 30 eggs making everything- two kinds of frittatas, protein brownies for my son, baked oatmeal, boiling eggs for the adults’ lunches, as well as eating eggs for breakfast both mornings…I also roasted a tray of mixed vegetables to be used for preparing lunches for my son- maybe in a wrap or fried rice or pasta or something.Now I feel like the coming week will be smooth, atleast when it comes to breakfast and lunch.

Dinner I plan as I go. With a set pattern of a lentil or bean dish, aka dal, along with a veggie dish, some kind of grain along with homemade yogurt and salad, dinner is not difficult to plan. I use up whatever vegetable I have on hand, and make lentils and beans alternatively rotating though a few different kinds I buy at the Indian grocery store twice a year. Yes, those are big hauls!

I also am fermenting some natto right now, as well as growing some sprouts and micro greens for salad, lunch and dinner additions. I fermented some peaches, watermelon rinds, and cucumber with onions before I went away on vacation. So there’s all those probiotic treats to get through.

One new addition that I am making to my food intake this week is flax. I ground up some flax (just enough for the week), and stored it in the refrigerator. I plan to add it to my “quark cheese+chia seed+maple syrup+ Brazil nut+peanuts” snack I have in the late afternoon. I am trying to incorporate some nutrient dense ingredients in my meals lately. Chia seeds and Brazil nuts are part of that agenda, as well as sprouts, pumpkin seeds, ashwagandha and other spices. 

I feel that the older we get, we need to get more responsible for what goes into our bodies. Because our bodies get louder in showing their protest when we eat mindlessly, and nutrient deficient food. But I also like to balance all this focusing on nutrition with eating more freely, and for taste during the weekends. Not going overboard with the loss of boundaries, but certainly enjoying my treats.

With that idea in mind, I made from-scratch gnocchi for Saturday’s dinner. It was delicious, if very misshapen! The starch in the russet potatoes I used was so gluey that my gnocchi got stuck to one another as I was waiting for the water to boil to cook them in. I realize that I didn’t use enough flour or a big enough plate to keep them separated. Which means I was pulling them apart to drop them into boiling water! It’s a blessing that they still turned out ok!! But the real kicker was the sage butter sauce I made for the gnocchi, and shallow fried them in…so delicious, but SO MUCH BUTTER! Needless to say, I won’t be making that any time soon!!

So yes, life is good in a balance. For me eating in a health providing regiment during the week, and enjoying some freedom during the weekend works great. 

And making sure that I am prepped with stuff for the week means that eating healthy during the week is a breeze, and a joy!

PS- The photo for this post is my lunch plate from a little while ago.