High energy menu

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Because my post on 16 ways to increase your energy contained a lot of suggestions about what foods to eat, I thought it might be helpful if I provided some meal ideas with those things in mind. Here is a one-day menu of high energy meals.

Enjoy!

Breakfast
Cream of Wheat Berries with Cranberries and Cardamom
Serves ~4

(Note: this is a slow cooker recipe and takes 6-8 hours)

1/2 cup wheat berries*
1/4 cup cracked wheat
1/2 cup rolled (old-fashioned) oats
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (you can substitute cinnamon or allspice if you prefer)
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Suggested mix-ins (these amounts are PER SERVING): 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds, 1 teaspoon gelatinized maca powder, 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, regular or vanilla soymilk.

  1. In a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, combine the wheat berries, cracked wheat, oats, and water. Stir in the cardamom. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours (if you start the slow cooker before you go to bed, you'll have hot cereal in the morning).
  2. Stir the cranberries into the mixture just before serving. Once in your bowl, add the mix-ins and top with a little soymilk. If you like a sweeter cereal, add a small amount of agave nectar (a low glycemic index sweetener).
*Please note that many of the dry ingredients can be found in the bulk foods aisle at your grocery store.

Snack
1 cup of soy yogurt, any flavor
1 cup of fresh raspberries

Lunch
Tempeh "Tuna" Salad with Spinach
Serves 3-4

1 8oz package of tempeh*, cubed
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise (Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise is the BEST!)
2 tablespoons finely minced red onion
2 tablespoons finely diced celery
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
2 teaspoons dried dill
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
Salt to taste
Fresh spinach and red bell pepper slices for serving.

  1. Steam the tempeh for 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Immediately add the water and mash thoroughly using a fork.
  2. Stir in the remaining ingredients and season with salt to taste. Chill thoroughly before serving.
  3. Serve tempeh salad on a bed of fresh spinach leaves (2 or more cups of spinach per person) and red bell pepper slices.
*Tempeh is available at Trader Joe's or in the natural foods aisle at your grocery store.

Snack
Air-popped popcorn tossed with nutritional yeast, to taste.
1/4 cup walnuts

Dinner
Red Lentils with Kale
Makes a lot; freezes well!

1 1/2 cups rinsed and drained red lentils
3 cups water
2 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
3-4 carrots, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
a few big handfuls of kale, chopped
about 1/2 or 1 whole onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of red chili flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil

  1. Combine lentils, water, tomatoes, soy sauce and bring to a boil.
  2. Chop all of the veggies (carrots, bell pepper, kale, onion, garlic, and jalapeno) very small (I use a food processor to speed this up). Add chopped veggies and the rest of the ingredients to pot of lentils. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring every once in a while. Test for taste and add more salt or chili flakes if necessary.

Serve lentils over cooked quinoa or brown rice and with a slice of whole grain toast on the side.

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