I make my own pesto. We eat a lot of tomatoes. Pasta features.

To complement my new exercise regime (still going strong since January), I am trying to ‘eat the rainbow’, be ‘plant forward’ and hit 30 different plants, fruits, nuts, seeds etc. per day. As far as possible I try to avoid ultra-processed foods (let’s not go into how much processing it take to make many types of table olive palatable).

We get a small bag of vegetables once a week from the local community farm. I do my best to find inventive ways of using them up each week.

Our local butcher sells free range meat. I buy all our red meat there.

I am easily tempted and thought of taking a GLP-1 to shortcut dropping a few kgs. So far I remain resolute.

Breakfast

Organic granola (sandals optional)
Mixed dried fruit (bad, I know)
Greek style yoghurt (10% fat)
Blueberries
Whole milk
Creatine monohydrate (3 g) - this is a new thing for me as I am doing more exercise and am looking to speed muscle repair
Freshly ground coffee (15 g beans), brewed in an Aeropress, black no sugar
Glucosamine (500 mg) & Chondroitin (100 mg) tablets x2 - joint supplement

Lunch

Lunch is typically a variation on the following. It might sometimes include a homemade no-flour seed bread.

Watercress
Wild rocket
Bistro salad (Bulls Blood Chard, Lambs Lettuce, Red Chard, Beetroot)
Fresh tomatos
Chickpeas or white beans - from a jar
Roasted red peppers - from a jar
Olives stuffed with green chillies - from a can
Polish pickled gherkin - from a jar
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar (or sherry, or red wine, or apple cider vinegar)
Salt and pepper
Zoe Daily 30+ whole food supplement (this is also a new thing)
Cheese, smoked salmon or peppered mackerel
Fruit - plums or an orange

Snacks

Walnuts
Brazil Nuts
Beef biltong (occasional)

Drinks

1-2 more coffees
2-3 green teas
1-2 herbal infusions (e.g. ginger and turmeric)
Water when I am exercising

Dinner

One from the following is typical…

Chicken curry including vegetables with Basmati or Thai Fragrant rice
One-pot, spiced, roasted chicken thighs with an assortment of mushrooms, chickpeas etc
Pan fried or braised fish with steamed / boiled vegetables, sesame oil, sriracha sauce
Beef stew with potatoes with Basmati or Thai Fragrant rice
Breadless burger, with salad and noodles (weird right?)
One-pot dhal with spices, tomatoes and curry leaves
Chops or sausages and whatever we have in from the community farm
Half a pizza base with added cheese, rocket, olives etc

Desert

Yes
Often home made, e.g. a tofu / chocolate mousse (do I have to mention the clotted cream?)

Booze

Yes
Don’t ask me how often, or how much
Typically a pale ale, a golden ale or an IPA from the local brewery. They use the same water that comes out of our tap - low beer miles! One of them is even brewed with 100% solar energy and only sold in recyclable glass flagons. It’s got to be healthy right?

Bedtime

Glass whole milk
Water on my night stand

Weekends

Boiled eggs - maybe egg mayonaise
We might get a takeaway that will last two nights
If we are entertaining, we might do a roast joint and roast veg
There will be cake of some kind
Snack content likely to include crisps (🇬🇧) / chips (🇺🇸), but you know, the healthy ones. If I am being brutally honest, these crisps sometimes see the light of day during the week

—

Wow, that’s a lot.

So, I guess it’s also not that plant forward then either.

I think I am doing OK on diversity, even without the Zoe Daily 30+.

I am not doing calorie counting.

Could do with cutting down on quantities. Pushing harder to eat less meat. And dropping the booze.

Interestingly, a post-breakfast session in the gym will sometimes suppress my appetite so that I can skip lunch. Might just have a handful of Brazil nuts.

OK - I put it out there.

Don’t hate me.

Credits: Photos by Eaters Collective on Unsplash and Erick Butler on Unsplash

Fuel and Nutrients