Add Food Memory Highlights to Make Meals Special

Are there signature dishes from other cultures that stay in your memory? Perhaps you can pull in a few elements to relive the moment in your everyday dishes. You can ‘travel the world’ without having to cook an elaborate meal? This Menu Inspiration No. 4 borrows some cultural cuisine highlights to show you how the Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner can help you do that. But there’s also some favourite comfort food and easy go-to snacks.

Breakfast

Baked Beans on Toast – Classic Comfort Food

The humble baked bean is still as good as ever. Nutritiously a legume, vegetable and protein-rich food, it has stood the test of time. I’ve suggested it for breakfast, but it is equally good as lunch (with a side salad or veggie soup) or for dinner (just double the baked bean serve and add some sliced tomato).

Pro-tip

Use the Food Lovers Meal Planner to nail the serve sizes. Try 1/3 cup baked beans (1 smaller protein serve) and 1 slice of grain toast with 1 tsp of light butter spread or marg. Together these are like having 1 larger carb serve. I would also add one veg serve (1/2 cup) of sliced tomato and 1&1/2Tbsp of low fat Greek Yogurt (1/4 dairy serve).

Morning Snack

Morning Snack Fresh Fruit Salad

I’ve suggested a full fruit serve for a morning snack and an full dairy serve for the evening snack. It’s one way of sreading out those fruit and dairy serves from the Food Lovers Meal Planner.

Or you can mix it up like I have for the afternoon snack that uses 1/2 fruit serve and 1/4 dairy serve.

Pro-tip

Fruit is almost always more delicious when it’s sliced and served. But whole fruit is good if you’re on the go.

Lunch

Asparagus with Butter Bean Skordalia

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcAzThKDvW1/

This lunch dish was inpired by a butter bean skordalia from Caroline Trickey. It works well with any white legume and here I’ve used chickpeas and tweaked it to fit the Food Lovers Meal Planner.

For a single serve for lunch I mashed 1 cup of canned drained chickpeas (2 smaller carb serves) with 1 tsp olive oil (1 fat serve), 1 clove minced garlic, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1&1/2Tbsp of low fat Greek Yogurt (1/4 dairy serve) and seasoned to taste. I  served this warm with blanched asparagus ( 1 veg serve) and 1 Tbsp of tahini yogurt dressing (1 fat serve).

Afternoon Snack

Fresh Fruits with Cheesecake Cream

https://foodloversdietitian.com/healthyweight/cheesecake-cream/

For this afternoon snack I’ve teamed 1 cup fresh fruit (1 fruit serve) with 1&1/2 Tbsp Cheesecake Cream (1/4 dairy serve).

Dinner

Lamb Kofta and Chickpeas with Salad

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeHshvDDFWy/

This warm salad idea is one I use often. For a dinner meal I’d slice two Lamb Kofta meatbalsl (about 100g/1 larger protein serve) and used it to top a salad made with 3 cups (3 veg serves) of salad and 1/2 cup of canned chickpeas (1 smaller carb serve). With 1 Tbsp of my favourite balsamic dressing (2 fat serves) the meal is complete and delicious. I’ve even slipped in a few fresh herbs from the garden. And 1&1/2Tbsp of low fat Greek Yogurt (1/4 dairy serve) would bring it all together nicely!

Evening Snack/Dessert

Small tub low sugar low fat Yogurt

For a super easy, quick snack that’s light but sustaining, I will sometimes choose 2/3 cup (about 160g) of low sugar, low fat yogurt which is 1 dairy serve. If I’m at home I’ll serve it in a bowl (or a fancy glass and garnish it with fresh mint and a few flaked almonds). But If I’m on the go, I’ll take a small tub.

 Food Lovers Meal Planner Update

Here’s how the day looked using the Food Lovers Meal Planner so you can see how each meal and snack worked in.

Would you like more? Would you like me to be your Food Coach? Why not try my new Food Lovers Dietitian Coaching Program?

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