EASY JUICE-BASED MEALS

  This week I took lunch with me to work instead of eating out (in which cases I mostly eat plain salad with soy sauce and bread). I came up with a simple plan how to fix both breakfast and lunch simultaneously in two steps.

Cucumber-avocado soup with wholemeal spelt flatbread.

Step 1: The previous evening make two juices. One is fruit-based for breakfast the next morning, and the other veggie-based for lunch the next day. Store in air-tight glass jars in the fridge.

Step 2: In the morning Vitamix your fruit juice with a big bunch of green leaves until creamy and smooth. Voilá, your breakfast is ready!
            Now Vitamix your veggie juice with one ripe avocado until creamy and smooth. Voilá, your lunch is ready! Pour back in the glass jar and take to work.

The beauty in juicing is that you can combine nearly anything together, and still come up with a nice taste. Natural tastes of fruits and veggies are so subtle that they mix well. I usually buy whatever is in season in the grocery store, and either make single juices or combinations according to my imagination. It´s all good for me!

  Now that I´ve been juicing mostly every day for a month, I can honestly say I´m feeling the difference. It is simple to put it in a nutshell: I feel satisfied. Never did think a thin cup of liquid could fill me up, but it does! It is a different, new kind of fullness I can feel in my throat rather than stomach. When I´ve had enough, the thought of more food & juice starts to feel repulsive. And it takes a lot longer to feel hungry again than before. I´d like to think it is because of the abundant amount of nutrients I´m getting now. No matter what the reason, I feel better and stronger now.
  I´d had a juicer for  years and years, but never did I drink juices this much and regularly. The biggest reason for that was that my old juicer didn´t extract as much juice from the same amount of produce as my new one, making more go to waste.

This is apple juice blended with two leaves of kale. Kale makes a nice, thick froth.

3/4 cucumber juice, 1/4 apple juice blended with 1 small avocado. Needs no salt.

  I´m impressed by the power of juice!

EATING PLAN FOR YULE

  Evolution has brought me to this:

Breakfast:
1 cup green tea w/ soymilk
2 cups freshly squeezed vegetable/fruit juice
1 banana topped with coconut oil and honey

There´s cucumber, celery, and apple in this glass.

Lunch:
1 cup water w/ Echinacea drops
raw food meal of choice

Tzatziki dip with veggie sticks is a great lunch option.

Dinner:
1 cup green tea w/ soymilk
2-3 cups green smoothie/pudding

Cinnamon-flavored green pudding. Made of spinach, banana, avocado, water, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. I left the banana a bit chunky for something to bite on.

  If/when I get hungry in the evening after eating all three meals of the day, I´ll grab fresh fruits and veggies to fill me up.

  This plan combines raw foodism and principles of Clean eating by dr. Alejandro Junger (where he recommends eating two liquid meals and one solid meal per day)

  All the above examples happen to be green, but that´s not the intention (except for the green pudding of course =). I use mostly seasonal veggies and fruits as the base of all meals, bulking them up with avocado, coconut oil, and occasional cold smoked salmon or goat´s cheese. I´d love to eat an all-raw vegan diet, but at least for now my stomach doesn´t agree with nuts & seeds. A girl´s gotta do what a girl´s gotta do... which is enjoy this nutrient and enzyme rich fresh diet for the next six weeks or so!

I HATE KALE- GREEN CHOCOLATE SMOOTHIE

  My ten-year-old son hates vegetables. Cucumber and potatoes are the only things he´ll eat without a suffering face. But behold, Vitamix to the rescue! I have found a sneaky way to incorporate raw leafy greens into his diet, without him refusing one bit. In fact, he now asks for kale almost daily!

Chocolate smoothie, what a perfect way to start the day (and hide greens)!

A high-speed blender makes an unbelievably creamy and smooth texture. This stuff is very different from the produce of an "ordinary" blender, that leaves the smoothie more or less chunky.

The recipe (serves 1):

1-2 handfuls of kale (or other leafy greens)
1 banana
5 medjool dates
1-2 Tbsp cacao nibs
vanilla
3 tsp cacao powder
1/2 avocado
1-2 cups soymilk (for him, for myself I use water)

+ Blend everything until creamy and smooth.

This is satisfying and filling, and keeps us all going until lunch time.

TODAY´S GREEN SMOOTHIE

  This is the third day of gulping down masses of green smoothie. Here´s what nourished me today:

Looks delicious like this too, but I would not enjoy eating the greens whole. Blending magically makes the tough greens "disappear", and what´s left is a sweet fruity flavor.

A two-quart (liter) pitcher full of green gold... heavenly.

Here we go again! Yum!

The recipe for "Tummy Settler" by Victoria Boutenko (makes 2 quarts/liters):

3 cups romaine lettuce
1 cup parsley
3 cups pineapple chunks
2 bananas
3 cups water

+ Blend all until smooth.

EATING PLAN FOR SAMHAIN

 My stomach has gotten picky lately, so I´ll have to make some changes to my usual eating habits. It is unhappy with cooked vegetables, nuts and seeds (much fat in any form), and legumes. I don´t know why, and how long it´ll last, but for now I need to replace those foods with something else.
  So here is a brand new, healthy and slimming, eating plan for Samhain, with a new perspective. It now includes some organic dairy and even fish once a week.

 9.00am Breakfast:
 a cup of green tea
 a green pudding made with leafy greens, fruit, and vegetables

Green pudding made with dinosaur kale, zucchini, banana, and water.

1.00pm Lunch:
a cup of water + 20 drops of Echinacea extract
raw-food meal + an avocado, or 3.5 oz. (100g) cold smoked salmon (once a week), or 7 oz.(200 g) cottage cheese

A sample lunch of veggie dip, the sauce made with either avocado or organic sour cream.

4.00pm Tea:
a cup of green tea
a generous cup of flavored yogurt

Yes, dinner is really this simple, a bowl of yogurt. This one is apple & cinnamon flavored. It provides some fat, protein, and good bacteria for the gut, and acts as dessert for the day. Going cold turkey with sugar does not work for me. This much I allow myself.

7.00pm Snack:
a cup of green tea
1-2 apples

9.00pm Nightcap:
a cup of herbal infusion + soymilk
(and raw vegetables if hungry)

Saturdays: feel free to eat your favorite foods!

  This plan bases on one I created when I was sixteen, and lost nearly twenty pounds with it. I was way too skinny then, but luckily soon I left for the U.S. for a year as an exchange student, which fixed the problem more than enough. =)
  I use Erica Palmcrantz-Aziz´s book to guide me with the daily lunches. It keeps the menus varied and interesting without having to think for myself. =)

  I hope my stomach will agree with this plan, as it did twenty years ago. Wow.

ELIXIR OF YOUTH

  A couple of weeks ago I bought a few cans of mild cider at a grocery store, and the cashier lady asked me for id. Me! You need to be 18 here to buy it, and I´ll be 37 next month! Yipee! I thanked the nice lady and told her how she had just made my day. =)

  Every now and then I hear people say how I look younger than my age, including a top photographer (in which case I lost a photo shoot because of looking so young =(, and the head of my modeling agency). My age is not yet an issue to me. 36 is totally young these days. After all, fifty is the new thirty now!

  Still taking care of oneself helps to keep the good looks, and makes you feel great. One of the secrets to a lively and healthy (a.k.a. youthful) appearance is raw leafy greens. The darker the better. I prefer fresh greens over dried superfood ones. Now kale is in season, so it is time to enjoy it.
  After getting a high-speed blender (Vitamix) for Christmas last year, I have been able to enjoy super smooth green juices. They say that when food is broken down to such tiny particles, your body can use it up better. So I figure blending raw leafy greens I get the most out of them. I prefer blending over juicing because then the juice still includes all the fiber too.

A fountain of youth, raw green juice with pulp.

    The recipe (for one):

5 leaves dinosaur kale (or any available raw leafy greens as much as your taste buds can tolerate)
4 sprigs of mint (or any fresh herb desired to taste)
20 drops of Echinacea (I use merely for taste, but possible health benefits are only a big bonus. My aunt has used it for decades, and swears on it´s cold-preventing properties.)
water

+ Blend the kale and mint in a high-speed blender with 1 1/2 cups water until all smooth. Add water enough to reach 2 cups. Pour into a glass and add the Echinacea drops. Stir and drink with your lunch for extra boost.
  Shine, radiate, and get ready for compliments!

WILD GREEN SAUCE WITH BROWN RICE

  Beltane begins my harvesting season. Nature is now abundant with new, fresh, tender, soft, and mild-tasting wild edible greens. It starts small and slow, but after a short while there is so much food around that it makes me cry inside not being able to collect them all!

  Wild greens have been on my menu, daily, for about two weeks now. Together with my daughter I have also collected and preserved them in the freezer. It is easy to add greens in nearly anything, but my favorites now are a green drink and a green sauce over grains/potatoes.

The recipe (for one):

1 handful wild edible greens (I used dandelion, stinging nettle, and bishop´s goutweed)
1/2 - 1 avocado
1/2 clove garlic
pinch sea salt
water

+ Blend everything in a high-speed blender until the sauce is rich and creamy. Check for salt.

Enjoy over brown rice, or as a dip with oven-baked potato wedges. This sauce makes me feel happy and bubbly inside. Makes for a great, energizing, lunch!

EATING PLAN FOR OSTARA

  My goal in eating is to stay healthy, slim, and energetic without having to count calories. Also I loath cooking, so I want to get by as easy as I can. My diet is mostly vegan, of which some is intentionally raw. I have found that juiced and blended foods suit my stomach well, so those are included  in this plan.

 "Daily essentials" make for the stem of my eating plan for this Ostara:
1. 1-2 cups of veggie juice
2. 1-2 cups of green smoothie
3. 1/2 cup of raw dip/sauce

  In addition to the previous I can eat pretty much whatever I want, including unhealthy desserts like milk chocolate.

  Another corner stone of the plan is the time of eating. I will try to finish eating for the day by 5pm. That supports the studies showing that it is in our genes not to eat in the evening or at night, and that only through this daily "mini fast" can our bodies do their job properly.
  After 5pm it is all about drinking water and brushing my teeth, which helps reduce my cravings. =)

Breakfast (by 10am): 
1-2 cups of veggie juice (with some apple or other fruit in it to give a bit of sweetness)
nuts or bread

Lunch (around noon):
1-2 cups of green smoothie (including greens and 1/2 an avocado, the rest is up to the content of the fridge)
pasta, rice, bread, tofu, etc.

 Dinner (by 5pm):
about 1/2 cup of dip/sauce with chopped veggies
1-2 cups of green tea with soymilk
dessert of choice (I´m forever addicted to chocolate...)

  The idea for each meal is to eat the daily essential first, and then have whatever (vegan and quite low-fat) I want according to my appetite.

  Two incredibly inspirational raw-foodists out there are Ms. Tonya Zavasta and Ms. Mimi Kirk. I want to be like them when I grow up!

KID APPROVED GREEN SMOOTHIE

  Like mother like daughter... It amazes me that a nearly-two-year-old can like raw foods and smoothies.

  We offer our children all sorts of foods, including meats (and eggs and dairy to our girl, who is not allergic to them), and they can choose for themselves what to eat.
  My son excludes all veggies and most fruit, and likes grain and meat. My girl on the other hand excludes most meats, eggs, and fish, but indulges in raw veggies and fruit, along with grain. Is it the man-gene that makes boys resent veggies?

  The sight of our breakfast made me laugh outloud yesterday:

Sweet green smoothies. 2 cups ( 5 dl ) for mommy, and 1/2 cup ( 1 dl ) for daughter.  The recipe: 1 Granny Smith apple, 1 banana, 1 stalk celery, 2-3 handfuls greens, small handful of stinging nettle (or any wild edible green, if available), water. Blend all in a high-speed blender until smooth, add water to your liking.

  In addition to the smoothie, I offered her fruit-flavored soy yogurt, rice cakes with margarine, and grapes. She didn´t want any of those, but instead pointed at a kettle, in which I had just cooked some beluga lentils for lunch. Holy moly is she healthy! She ended up having green smoothie and lentils for breakfast.

  It is said that small children know to eat instinctively. They know when, what, and how much to eat. I believe that can apply to us grownups too, as long as we choose from healthy foods. You know you are hungry for real, if a bowl of oatmeal sounds inviting...  =)

VEGGIE PATTIES & GREEN JUICE

  My husband inspired me to try these veggie patties by bringing home store-bought ones the other day. He is a big-time meat eater, but praised those veggie patties to heaven and back. Of course I had to try them. Well, not bad, but at the same time I was thinking how they were nothing out of this world, and that I could easily make patties equal to his find. But I would make them even better by keeping them vegan (no dairy or eggs) and gluten-free.
  I made my version of the veggie patties today. They were so good (yet easy to make), that I want to share the recipe.  This is one of those foods you can eat as much as you like without getting fat. (I ate half of the amount the recipe makes  =).
 

This is my whole lunch today. The content on the white plate ended up in my Vitamix, and became a nutritious green juice. (Oops, I now notice that the frozen nettle I added in the juice is missing from the picture.)

The recipe for the veggie patties: In a big bowl, combine a generous 1/2 cup (1,5 dl) of soy flour, another generous 1/2 cup (1,5 dl) of buckwheat flour, 3/4 tsp Herbamare, and 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme. Pull out any veggies you have in your fridge, including carrots, and grate/grind about 1.5 lbs (700 g) of them finely. (I found carrots, zucchini, onions, and bell pepper in my fridge today.) Mix in with the flour and add about 2 Tbsp olive oil too. Form patties, place on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet, and bake in the oven at 450 Fahrenteit(230 Centigrade) for 15-20 min.

The recipe for a refreshing, and somehow summery, green drink: mix in a high-speed blender one Granny Smith apple, a one-inch (two-centimeter) piece of fresh ginger with peel, a handful of wild edible greens if available, and as much of any salad greens you can tolerate, with some water. I added water enoug to reach 2 cups (1/2 liter) altogether. Even my nearly-two-year-old liked this juice! She has proven to be a hc-raw-foodist.  =)

  Have a happy and healthy day, loaded with positivity!

SEASONAL & LOCAL LUNCH

  A big brown paper bag full of root veggies arrived at my doorstep today. Once again my neighbor, the friendliest organic veggie farmer, delivered awesome food to ous: potatoes, carrots, parsnips, root celery, beets, onions, and cabbage (not a root, I know =). Those are pretty much the only fresh, local and seasonal food left at this time of year over here.

  After a few weeks of eating mainly raw veggies, I decided to try cooking for a change. Here´s what I made:

A delicious veggie casserole with coconut milk and a green juice.

The recipe (yields 4): Peel, chop, and sauté the following in olive oil in a skillet: 8 egg-sized potatoes, 2-3 carrots, 1 onion, 1 beetroot, 1/2 zucchini, and 2 stalks celery. Season with salt, pepper and an herb of choice. Butter an oven dish, and place the veggie mixture in it. Pour 1 cup ( 2 dl) of coconut cream/milk over the casserole, and bake in a 350 Fahrenheit (180 Centigrade) oven for an hour. (We went outside to play in snow until the food was done.)

This nettle &  cucumber drink delivers raw goodness to the meal. Last May I collected some wild edible greens from our yard and put them in my freezer. Freezing is my favorite way to preserve greens. To make this drink (for one), I took three sprigs of nettle and a 2 inch (5 cm) piece of cucumber, and blended them in my Vitamix with enough water to make 2 cups (5 dl). To my surprise the taste was so mild, that I did not need to add any seasoning.

  The olive oil and coconut cream make sure this casserole is not something I would call light. But eating a normal-sized portion, which in this case is 1/4 of the batch, will make sure I don´t get fat. When combined with the beautifully green drink, this lunch left me feeling satisfied and energetic. So good, that I ate another portion for dinner! Really nice.

SOFT SMOOTHIES FOR IMBOLC

  It is that time of the month again... Time to check out Nelland Living on PaganPages.org!
  Now it is all about mouthwatering, but healthy, smoothies.

  As my eating plan for Imbolc is full of smoothies, I share a few really soft, mild, soothing, and easy-to-eat recipes to get anyone going nuts for smoothies.

  Let´s go!

FIRST GREEN SMOOTHIE OF THE YEAR

  Now that I have an exceptionally good blender, it would be a crime not to make (green) smoothies regularly. Hence I started this exceptionally good year (I´m sure it will be!) by making one:

"A green smoothie a day keeps the doctor away!" or how was it?

  My search and exploring has taught me that you can put anything in a green smoothie. Any fruit, veg and greens. So I´m taking a relaxed approach to whipping up these babies, by simply exploring my fridge (and garden) to see what mine will consist of. 
  This one is made of three blood grapefruits (peeled but otherwise whole), three handfuls of spinach, about 4 inch (10 cm) piece of cucumber, and some water. It made about a quart (a liter) of smoothie, which I shared with my family too. My one-year-old daughter especially likes these fresh smoothies. Go girl!  =)

SMOOTH GREEN BREAKFAST

  Breakfast "porridge" made entirely of fruit and veggies makes me feel good and energetic. Unlike I imagined, it is not too light a meal. The key is to add something more heavy in it too, like banana or avocado, besides the usual apple and celery.
  This porridge does the trick for me:

Mild and yummy green porridge. Eating my greens as a porridge, instead of the usual smoothie, feels more satisfying. I do have green tea on the side too, to rehydrate me after the night´s sleep.

So smooth... Spinach breaks down very well in a blender, but other greens are just as good. Actually it is important to use different types of greens for variety, not stick with just one or two.

The recipe (for one):

1 pear
70 grams spinach
half an avocado
water

+ First blend the spinach and some water in a blender until the spinach dissolves. Then add the pear and avocado. Give it a whizz, adding water if desired.
  So simple, so soft and healthy.

  Have an energetic super-day!

EATING PLAN FOR MABON

  Hello raw food!
  After cooking quite a bit during Lughnasadh, I´m happy to give all it up and try some non-cooking for a change.

  I have always been fascinated by the idea of eating completely raw, uncooked, food. It just sounds so natural, and I wonder why we ever wandered off that path anyway...

  I´ll give it a try for the next six weeks. Like this:

7-9am Breakfast: Fruity porridge (fruit/berries blended with some greens into a thick smoothie, then sprinkled with a seasoning like ginger or cinnamon)

Apple, pear, and celery porridge with cinnamon.

11.30am -12.30pm Lunch: A large salad consisting of greens and veggies, tossed with a dressing that includes good oils, nuts, seeds, and/or avocado.

Random mixed greens and veggies, fermented cucumber, and seaweed tossed with a rich pinenut based dressing. Amazing!

3-4pm Dinner: An actual meal that requires some uncooking, like soup, zucchini "pasta" with a sauce, paté, couscous, etc. (Experimenting with recipes from books and online.)

Parsnip and rucola couscous with pear and pumpkin seeds for dinner.

6-8pm Supper: A raw dessert, like chocolate pudding, apple pie, citrus mousse, etc.

Chocolate cake for supper. I have a strong sweet tooth, and I eat a dessert every evening.

  Three years ago I attended a raw living foods hands-on course. I hated it. The foods we made there were terrible, and I sealed my hatred towards sauerkraut. Never, ever, again! But the course taught me that living foods were not my path. I can´t do fermenting, dehydrating, or sprouting all the time. Too hard core for me. I´m a simple gal, and I want my food to be that way too. Eating is important, we are made of the stuff we eat, but there are other things in life too. Food should not take up too much of our attention or time.

  Two years ago, when pregnant with my second child, I craved raw food like nothing else. I went for two weeks on raw food only. After the third month of expecting, the crazy craving subsided, but I still ate raw foods occasionally.

  Now it´s been a while since I last got a kick from raw food.  I´m optimistic now, because I have found an amazing instructional book, which keeps food prep easy and quick. No gimmicks, nasty sauerkraut making, running the food-dehydrator for days, or sprouting my brain out. Peel, chop, and eat is more like it.
  Usually I don´t like to advertise anything, but this Raw Food book by Erica Palmcrantz Aziz is great. This Mabon I will consider it my Bible. There are listed different cleanses, from 1 day to three weeks of duration, of which I go for the longest one. I´m not looking for a quick fix, I like to do sustainable changes. And I hate dieting!

  To find raw recipes you can try this, this, or this. But the web is full of other places too.

P.S. I do not expect to make it through without some cooked grain, like rice or whole grain bread. I allow myself to have some in the evenings if I really crave it. But the goal is as listed above, and I´m hopeful that the cravings will subside gradually as time goes on... I need to remember to be gentle with myself, and keep enjoying life. It is not about restriction, it´s about loving myself!

DETOX MORNING DRINK

  Sometimes I just crave green drinks. The urge comes and goes, but I interperate it as my body´s way of telling me it is time to take it a little lighter for a while. As my body is my temple - my home - I need to respect it´s needs.

  Here is what I had for breakfast the other day:

A large plateful of veggies...

... blended into a smooth green drink. It is amazing how much greens fit into a 1/2 liter pint!

The recipe for "Triple Green Juice" (serves 2) :

3 cups chopped fresh kale
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber, chopped
1 carrot, chopped, or 1 apple cut into 4 pieces

+  Place all ingredients in a juicer and squeeze, or puree in a blender with a little spring water.

   I did not have kale, so I used lettuces and some wild edible greens from the garden instead.
  The taste was definitely healthy and surprisingly  pleasant! Another positive surprise was to find out that I did not become hungry until three hours later, only a little before lunch time anyway.

  The inspiration overall, and then the recipe above, came from Mayumi Nishimura´s book, Mayumi´s Kitchen, which I bought recently. She introduces a loose approach to macrobiotism, petit macro. That seems like an easier path into the somewhat confusing world of macrobiotic eating and lifestyle. I´m very excited about the world petit macro opens the door to!

SUMMER SMOOTHIE AND CARDAMOM BUN

  During hot days of summer I fancy some more fresh and light foods. And raw foods. Today was a hot day, and this is what I whipped up:

A smoothie made with nectarines and wild edible greens, plus cardamom & raisin bun. All on the healthier side of choices, of course. =)

A delicious way to eat my fruit and veg.

I simply love buns. But they take quite a bit of time to make, so the bread machine to the rescue it is! A device I got for a present many years ago. I don´t use it like all the time, but it is handy when I don´t have the time to bake "properly". I figure it is better to eat home made, whole wheat bun (no matter if it is made with a bread maker) instead the other option, which is store-bought, made with white flour, cow´s milk, and eggs, in any case. The more nutrients and less additives, the better.

The recipe for the summer smoothie:

any seasonal fruit/berry, as much as you want, combination or single (I used four small nectarines)
any desired flavouring, such as lime zest, cardamom, mint, ginger, etc. (I used none, but would have added mint, had I had any =)
wild edible greens/weeds (I threw in some willowherb)
(little honey if needed)
water

+ Combine all in a blender, adding enough water to reach the desired consistency.
  This smoothie can be either thick or thin, depending on preference and ingredients used.

The recipe for the bun:

3 dl soymilk
50 g vegan margarine
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 dl sugar
5 dl whole wheat flour
11g (1 bag) dried yeast
1 dl raisins

+ Pour in the wet ingredients, then the dry, except for the raisins. Start the machine using the regular/most common program. When the machine is nearly done kneading the dough, throw in the raisins. This will keep them from being mashed into bits.
  Enjoy the great aroma until you hear the "beep", which gives you the permission to start munching. As much as you want, this is not fattening. It has lots of fiber, so it will keep you full until you have used up the calories in it.

  After having this today, I immediately started thinking about other versions of the smoothie. More like flavoured waters, which have been so popular these past years. How about cucumber & lime flavoured water? Or strawberry & peach? The options are unlimited.

WILD GREEN DRINK

  At this time of year I always start yearning for fresh foods. Root veggies have seen their best days by now, and to be honest, I´m up to my ears full of them.
  So what could be better than digging into my dear old freezer again, and pull out the bags of wild edible greens I collected last Beltane?! They are full of nature´s own vitamins and minerals, just the way it was meant to be, without man´s interference. Perfect.

In this drink I used goutweed as the green.

  The recipe:

a handful of greens (preferably wild edible)
10 cm piece of cucumber, unpeeled
1/2 lemon or 1 lime, juiced
water

+ Blend all in a blender, on the highest speed, until luquefied. Add water to reach 1/2 liter (2 cups).

  When I have this with lunch, I can skip the (sometimes boring) chewing of salad.  =)

EATING PLAN FOR IMBOLC

  When I was fifteen I became interested in eating healthy. That´s when I quit eating meats, fish, and eggs.
   Some years ago I reduced my consumption of dairy, and noticed an even further improvement in my health. I no longer had mucus in my sinuses (which never was a problem overall, but still there was a noticable difference). Today I call myself nearly vegan (because I do eat honey, and occasionally have some  milk chocolate). And I feel great!

  My eating plan for Imbolc is based on something I came up with in my teens, when first starting to eat healthily. I became even a bit too thin then (for my own standards), so I know this can´t go wrong now either.
  (Now I must point out, again, that my goal is not to lose weight now, but rather maintain my current state. If I do see a drop in the scale, that´s just another excuse to have an extra dessert!)

Home-made gluten-free muesli. A staple food in my diet. The recipe for a big batch: 4dl toasted rolled oats (toast in a dry skillet until fragrant), 4 dl puffed quinoa, 4dl coconut shreds, 2dl cacao nibs, 2dl sunflower seeds, 3dl chopped cashews, 4dl dried pineapple, 2tsp vanilla sugar. Mix everything and store in a glass jar. Eat as much as you like. For each new batch you make, I recommend changing the recipe a bit. For example use buckwheat instead of oat, or try dried figs instead of pineapple. You get the point.

Waking up:
 a glass of water + a splash of lemon juice

Breakfast:
1/2 liter green tea
a green smoothie (The base: 1 banana, a handful of greens, a handful of nuts/seeds, a pinch of salt, and water. To this I add on Mon: ginger, Tue: lemon zest, Wed: cocoa powder, chili, and vanilla, Thu: goji berries, Fri: any kind of frozen organic berries, Sat: cocoa powder, chili, and vanilla, Sun: any kind of frozen organic berries)

Lunch:
1/2 liter water
Mon: a big salad with beans
Tue: any kind of greens (spinach, broccoli, kale, green beans...) with vegan margarine and beans
Wed: vegan soup and home made bread/scones
Thu: gluten-free pasta with vegan bolognese sauce
Fri: stir fry with tofu
Sat: ANYTHING I WANT (and have craved for during the week)!
Sun: mashed potatoes and carrots with smoked tofu (ready from the store) and fresh veggies

Dinner:
1/2 liter green tea
home-made gluten-free muesli with soymilk

Supper:
1/2 liter herbal tea with soymilk
2 dl plain soy yogurt with a swirl of honey
(on Saturdays also some dairy-free dark chocolate)

  Now I don´t have to ponder about my eating. I simply go by the plan. Easy and healthy, just the way I like it!

GREEN DRINK

  Drinking with meals is not fashionable nowadays. I go against the grain by gulping down 1/2 liter per meal. That just suits my digestion better. I´m all for intuitive eating and eat how and what feels right.

  Plain water is not very attractive to me, unless I´m really thirsty (which is quite rarely). I have tried to learn to drink plain water with lunch, and I have made progress, but overall I want some variety. Squeezing some lemon juice in is an old trick that works. The other day I tried a new trick:

Salad greens in an easy-to-drink form; a blended green juice to go with lunch.

The recipe:

1/2 liter water
1/2 lemon, juiced
handful of greens like kale or spinach (the darker the better)
a few leaves of sage (or any fresh herb you like)

+ Throw all in a blender and process until the greens have nearly dissolved. 

  This is not in my menu every day, but at least twice a week. It much depends on what I´m eating. For example with soup I would choose plain water, because if I didn´t want to drink it all, I could give the rest to my common ivy at the end of the dining table.  =)