Like many of you, I am deeply interested in the field of nutrition. Furthermore, there are some important aspects of a primal diet that converge nicely with mainstream nutritional advice (such as eating lots of fruits and vegetables). But I must say that it does get frustrating after a while to find that a substantial amount of research and evidence that suggests an alternate perspective on grains, saturated fat, processed foods, cholesterol, insulin, etc. is ignored or dismissed without any explanation. It is not my personality to be ‘that person’ who likes to argue with the teacher. So I just sit back and try to tell myself that all knowledge is useful.

My instructor is a perky marathoner who may or may not be getting all of her lecture notes from the health articles in Cosmo. “Today we’re going to talk about eating disorders, guys! This lecture is soooo much fun. Do you want me to tell you about the skinniest woman I ever saw?” I don’t mean to be unkind. She’s probably a really nice person. One point in her favor is an interesting assignment she gave to track our food intake for 4 days and turn in a nutritional analysis. This provided a convenient opportunity to take some pictures and compile yet another “what I ate” post. So without further ado, here’s what I ate. Today I will be posting my daily menu followed by some of my favorite quotes from my nutrition textbook.

breakfast

Breakfast:
1/2 cup cottage cheese with almonds, blueberries, and raspberries
Coffee with whole milk and erythritol

lunch

Lunch:
Shrimp stir-fry with eggplant, onions, kale in coconut curry sauce.

Snack:
Mini Baybel (I love these things!)
raspberries

dinner

Dinner:
Braised beef with chili flavors over sauteed, grated cauliflower, cabbage and carrots. Topped with avocado and heirloom tomato.

Quotes:

“Remember, your goal is to limit total fats as well as saturated and trans fatty acids. Using less butter or margarine will do that. Choosing a margarine or spread with liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient (meaning the amount of hydrogenated oil is less) will reduce not only saturated fat but trans fat as well.” (as a general rule, my text does not distinguish between saturated and trans fats)

“The nutritional benefits of plant protein sources such as soy foods and other legumes, grains, and vegetables deserve a closer look. Most Americans would benefit from emphasizing plant protein foods in their diet. The next time you plan to make a meat loaf, make lentil loaf instead.”

“Many people believe that sugar is fattening and causes obesity. Sugar is a carbohydrate, and all carbohydrates provide 4 kilocalories per gram. High fat-not sugar-intakes are associated with greater risk of obesity.”

later…

“many studies suggest that rising soft drink consumption is a factor in overweight and obesity, even among very young children” (must be all that fat in those soft drinks)

Finally, don’t forget your best friend in your struggle to ward off heart disease……

“Whole grains contain not only fiber but also antioxidants, which may protect against cellular damage that promotes heart disease. It is likely that the combination of compounds found in grains, rather than any one component, explains the protective effects against heart disease.”

Breakfast. Purple cabbage mixed with carrot, apple, pecans and goat cheese.

No fancy photos for this post since when Dave’s at work, it’s just me and the point-and-shoot.  Kind of a ho-hum day, food wise, but I thought it might be time to post another daily menu.  I have been experimenting with various breakfast ideas.  The cabbage salad made for a refreshing start to the day.  I was also desperately trying to use up as many vegetables as I could as it was almost time to pick up the week’s produce at the CSA farm.  I created a muffin that omits honey/sugar/etc… using only the natural sweetness of coconut and blueberries.  Recipe forthcoming!

Breakfast
Grated cabbage and carrot mixed with with ½ chopped apple, a few pecans and some goat cheese.
1 devilled egg
Coffee with whole milk and erythritol

Snack
Half of my last remaining bottle of Kombucha
The remainder of one child’s primal coconut blueberry muffin after she dropped it on the carpet and the dog licked it.  I cut off the dirty bits but still no takers.  Oh, darn.

Lunch. Sauteed kale, leeks, summer squash, carrot, garlic and basil, topped with bacon.

Lunch
Sauteed kale, leeks, summer squash, carrot with garlic and basil, topped with 4 slices bacon.
Some avocado

Snack (post-workout)
½ cup or so of whole yogurt with scoop of protein powder and half banana

Dinner
Cream of broccoli soup
Chicken breast
Primal coconut blueberry muffin

Breakfast of Cherry, Kiwi and Bacon

Breakfast

• 3 slices no additives, uncured bacon
• 15 or so cherries
• 1/2 kiwi
• Coffee with cream and erythritol

Snack

• some pecans

Lunch

• Sauteed eggplant with garlic, herbs, kale, tomato and parmesean topped with:
• 4 oz ground bison

Snack

• 2 oz raw cheddar
• 5 or 6 hakurie turnips (these turnips are small and mild enough that you can cut them up and eat them raw)

Grilled halibut with asparagus soup

Dinner

• Grilled, seasoned halibut
• Asparagus soup (my awesome mom left a bunch of containers of this soup in my freezer. They are a perfect go-to when you don’t feel like preparing vegetables. I’m going to make some more.)
• couple squares of dark chocolate

As for myself, I strive for 100% adherence but often fall somewhere short of that depending on the day.  One thing I am working on is eating more intuitively and getting over the idea that I should be eating at certain times of the day and not at others.  I am also still struggling to get more fat in my diet.  I still have residual fear of fat.  I find it very useful to read about how others eat following the Primal Eating Plan.  Occasionally I get stuck in a rut and need some new ideas.   I particularly love it when I stumble across a new breakfast idea, or a great primal snack.  I’m always grateful when I find a creative take on the standard meat+veggie meal that most primal eaters are pretty familiar with.

With that in mind, I thought I would make it a regular feature of my blog to share my menu for a day.  I can’t promise that the meals will necessarily be creative and inspiring (although I do hope to share original primal recipes in other posts) but perhaps you’ll get a new idea or two, or for those new to primal eating, gain a clearer understanding of what a daily menu might look like.

Breakfast

• 2 eggs, scrambled with butter, green onions, garlic scapes
• ½ apple with cinnamon
• 10 almonds
• Coffee with cream and erythritol

Snack

• Strawberries (we went strawberry picking this morning and I sampled the goods while we picked)

Lunch

• Salad: spinach, lettuce, purple cabbage, purple onion, radish, cucumber
• Homemade vinaigrette: grapeseed oil, white wine vinegar, touch of agave nectar
• Grilled chicken breast with fresh rosemary and thyme

Snack

• Sugar-free “brownie” made with coconut flour.  I got this recipe from Healthy Indulgences but I lack the dedication to careful measuring that is necessary to good baking so mine are more like dry, brown, vaguely chocolaty lumps.  Still pretty good, though, and really filling.
• A few more strawberries, a few cherries

Dinner

• Fillet Mignon with turnip greens chimichurri (I used a traditional chimichurri sauce recipe but substituted the turnip greens for parsley because that’s what I had. I think this sauce makes an excellent primal accompaniment to steak.)
• Spicy roasted turnips and butternut squash (Again, this stuff just happened to be in the fridge.  Coat with olive oil and curry powder – bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes)