Frugal Friday: The Simple Diet (4)

• Simple Step 1: Eat oatmeal.
• Simple Step 2: Simplify snacks!
• Simple Step 3: Think whole.

Personally I have found that one of the easiest and most effective ways to simplify and stay trim is to make lunch my biggest meal of the day.  Everyone’s different, but I’ve found that if I can feel very full and satisfied mid-day then I have the energy and bright attitude necessary to carry me through the rest of the day. Dinner serves more as a smaller carry-over meal until bedtime, rather than a huge feast at the end of the day. This also prevents me from eating large amounts as an emotional response to a stressful day.  Anybody else been there?  During the middle of the day I’m more likely to eat for fuel. At the end of the day I’m more likely to eat for stress-relief.  I know many people enjoy a big meal late in the day, but for me it just works to eat a big lunch, snack guiltlessly whenever I need, and eat something small or light for dinner.  And you probably all know it’s a great rule of thumb not eat for 3 hours before bed.  Popcorn doesn’t count. 🙂

All that to say that lunch matters!   I love lunch.  It’s a great time to eat a power-packed meal that can carry you through your busy day.  And after having your simple oatmeal and your five simple snacks, we can splurge and have SIX options for lunch! That means every day can be different and you can eat leftovers on Sunday as a Sabbath.  Here are our top six Simple Diet lunch picks.  All are easy, healthy, and can be made ahead and served in just a few minutes.

1. Toasted Cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks, fruit. Ok, there are weeks that we eat this almost every day.  And with whole-wheat bread, Tillamook cheese, organic carrots and apple slices–it’s healthy and delicious and easy.

2. Peanut butter sandwiches, steamed peas, fruit. Again, easy.  Whole-wheat bread, natural peanut butter, fruit, and a favorite in our house: “Percy peas” (because they are the color of Percy from Thomas the Train). Organic frozen peas are less than $1/lb. for a 5lb. back at Costco.  I steam little bowls of peas and my kids eat them with their fingers.  So easy. So healthy.

3. Whole-wheat pancakes with beets, yams, ricotta, chickpea or carrot puree. This is what we eat every Tuesday after Bible study. My kids love the tradition and we all love the pancakes.  Here’s an easy recipe (This is from the back of the Curious George Makes Pancakes book, so we call them Curious George Pancakes.)  You can mix in pureed beets, carrots or yams for veggies, or ricotta cheese or pureed chickpeas for protein.  So easy. So yummy.  1 1/2 c. milk, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 TB sugar, 2 cups whole-wheat flour–then add puree and any water needed to get the right consistency.  Done. Delish. (Mix it up in a juice pitcher and it makes for easy pouring onto the griddle.)

4. Chicken with green beans and homemade bread. After roasting that whole chicken, save big chunks of shredded chicken in the fridge for an instant meal. My kids LOVE chicken this way. They also love “Percy beans” (you can guess what they are named after)–organic frozen green beans are also less than $1/lb. at Costco.  Saute in olive oil and sprinkle with lemon pepper.  Mmmm!

5. Chicken Noodle soup with homemade bread. Confession: sometimes my chicken noodle soup doesn’t even have chicken in it.  But with delicious chicken broth and plenty of yummy noodles and veggies, it hardly matters.  My favorite soup recipe is here, but any variation is great. Today I made it with barley instead of noodles and onion instead of leeks, and added plenty of carrots and peas.  I added a little white wine too. Yum!

6. Beans and rice with corn. Best basic go-to meal.  Soak beans overnight, any kind (black are our favorite but white, lentil, chickpea, or pinto are all wonderful). Cook in salted water all day in a crockpot, serve with brown rice or barley or quinoa. Mix in organic frozen corn (less than $1/lb. at Costco), and sprinkle with cheddar cheese for a complete meal.  Or dump in a packet of taco seasoning and make it mexi-style. Yum!

Again, I know there are a million healthy meals out there. But if you’re looking for an easy way to revamp your budget, here’s an easy place to start.  And please do not be afraid that your children will suffer because they do not have a dozen choices.  We can become crippled by our preference-driven society.  Chances are that our children will have happy, thankful hearts when they learn to eat what they are served.  (I’m working on this one too!)

Happy lunching!