This week`s menu 2/3/21

wow!  It`s March already. 

We had some glorious and much needed sunshine at the weekend and our bikes came out for the first time this year.  We had a lovely trek around our local woodland, it really was beautiful.  The ladybirds were out of hibernation and there was even an early tortoiseshell butterfly or two.  

March has arrived and we are back in a cold front again though.  You know what they say about March here in the UK?  If it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb (and vice versa).  Meaning if its a bad start to March then it will end gloriously (and vice versa).  I wouldn`t say that it is a bad start to March, just a cold one, so we shall see.

Well... here we are again then.... this week`s menu at my house.

I have to explain a few things about our eating habits... Mark loves meat.  All kinds of meat and would happily eat it everyday.  I was vegetarian from being 11 years old.  I was vegan for a couple of years whilst healing from a health condition, but in recent years after studying nutrition and biomedical science in great detail, I have adapted to having fish and organic chicken.  I can`t bring myself to eat any other type of meat though.

Non of us have dairy.  Mark has always had an aversion to it from being little and I am severely intolerant to it. My little girl seems to follow in her dads footsteps and really isn`t keen either.  

Am I worried about calcium intake? Not at all. 

There`s so much calcium in our food if we eat a nutritious and varied diet that it isn`t an issue at all.  Also, unless you buy organic dairy products, unfortunately you are consuming secondary antibiotics and what ever else is given to cattle on a regular basis.
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Many people are really intolerant to dairy products.  You can read about dairy intolerance here .  As we age, the levels of lactase that we produce (an enzyme that breaks down lactose in dairy products) declines.  This happens very quickly after the age of around 2 years - the age when mother nature thinks we should be weaning from our mothers milk.  For this reason, many people find dairy difficult to digest.

Whilst Mark and Bella enjoy wheat products and have no reactions to them, I choose not to eat anything with gluten in.  I`m also very careful in keeping the amount that they eat to an absolute minimum.

​Gluten will cause problems in everyone`s digestive tract, even if you don`t feel symptoms from eating it.  Gluten causes problems with the gut-brain connection and can really affect mood balance, energy levels and blood sugar balance.  It is a substance that we haven`t evolved to eat in the way that we do.  I`m also intolerant to it so avoid it at all costs.  Every time you eat a food you are intolerant to, you are basically flooding your system with cortisol and inflammatory chemicals.  As we know, inflammation is the root cause of all disease, so if you are intolerant to something - don`t eat it!!!
You can read more about avoiding gluten here.

Ok... first meal coming up.  Thank you, once again to all the recipe creators out there that save me so many headaches.

Just click on the pictures to go to the recipe.

Chicken and leek casserole

I always seem to get drawn to leeks in the spring.  This casserole has leeks and white beans in.  I`m going to add some potatoes on the side.

Greek Chicken Orzo Bowl

This is a lovelf, fresh feeling meal to have in early spring.  Be careful though - Orzo contains gluten  
I will be making some rice on the side with some mint in to have instead of the orzo.  I`ll also be making my own version of tzatziki using plant based yohurt.  
The orzo is pretty filling so no need to make anything to go with this dish.

Baked Huevos Rancheros

This is actually a traditional Mexican breakfast meal, but food is food and my ethos is - you can eat any meal at any time!  We need to break away from the brain washing and conditioning that puts breakfast articles of very little nutritious value in the "breakfast" pigeon hole.  If you want casserole for breakfast - go for it!  Have what you like, when you like - providing it is nutritious and fuelling your body the right way.

Anyway - I absolutely love Mexican food and this makes a really good evening meal.  I won`t be putting this in individual pots, I will be doing it all in one shallow dutch oven I have.

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Poached Salmon in coconut and lime

It`s a good idea to eat oily fish twice a week.  It`s an easy habit to get into if you just plan one or two evening meals a week as a salmon or mackerel dish.  There`s also herrings and sardines that are oily fish.  I tend to get the other serving in my family during lunch times or breakfast and usually use mackerel somewhere or other.

This dish is so fragrant and tasty.  I`ll be doing it with jasmine rice.

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Super simple Chicken Curry
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We had this Jamie Oliver curry a couple of weeks ago and we all really enjoyed it, so we are doing it again.

Well - that`s about it folks.  I have a birthday in the house during this week`s menu, so one dish may well get changed up a bit, we`ll have to see.

Have a great week.

Love and health,

​Eve