Happy (Healthy) Holidays
Spoiling yourself on vacation is fun but spoiling yourself for an entire year is a bit excessive.
Like most people, whenever I travel I don’t worry much about portion sizes, eating too many carbohydrates or indulging in desserts. The last three months have been no exception. As would be expected, I quickly came to realize that eating that way for an extended period of time has its consequences. When I came home from my travels, I had gained the gap year equivalent of the freshmen fifteen and my body was totally out of whack. So now, I’m back to paying attention to what I eat.
Below are three healthy meals I have been loving.
Breakfast
Before eating anything, I like to start my day by drinking a large glass of water. Overnight we get very dehydrated and it’s easy to confuse thirst with hunger. I then like to prepare myself a quick breakfast and a cup of green tea. My uncle’s boyfriend, Joseph, recently made me discover the breakfast photographed below and I’ve been making it a lot ever since. The steps are self explanatory but here are the ingredients used.
Ingredients:
- Toast (whole grain)
- Tahini
- Avocado (sliced)
Lunch
Back when I was healthier, I’d have a salad almost every day for lunch. Unlike what some people assume, salads can be really filling. There are side salads which serve as great roughage or there are salads like the one below which are highly nutritious. The following ingredients were all chopped (when applicable) and mixed with a simple dressing composed of olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
Ingredients:
- Arugula
- Sprouts
- Broccoli
- Green onion
- Tomatos
- Avocado
- Zucchini
- White mushrooms
- Cheese (comté)
- Sunflower seeds
Dinner
Unlike the first two meals, this one takes a little while longer but it works out well because we often have more time to spare for dinner. In the winter, soups are my favorite. Not only do they warm you up but they provide you with the vitamins that otherwise escape when you cook vegetables. The following is a lamb and vegetable soup I hope you find as delicious as I do!
Ingredients:
- Lamb shank
- Beef bouillon
- Garlic cloves (peeled)
- Celery stalk
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Onions (chopped)
- Carrots (chopped)
- Parsnips (chopped)
- Kale (chopped)
- Potatoes (chopped)
Steps:
- Take as much fat as possible off the lamb shank.
- Place the lamb shank in a pot filled with beef bouillon, garlic cloves and a celery stock.
- Boil for 1.5 to 2 hours until the meat easily comes off the bone.
- Take the lamb out and throw away the garlic cloves and celery stalk. But keep the broth!!
- Add onions to the broth and cook on simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add carrots and parsnips, and cook on simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add kale and cook on simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add potatoes and cook on simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finish off by adding chopped lamb.
Xx, Sabrine
