Menu for a day

It is a good idea to start each day with some warm water containing a little lemon juice - this will help to stimulate digestion. For the same reason it is recommended to begin each meal with a little fresh raw vegetables or fruit.

Breakfast

• Fresh fruit, perhaps with a little plain soya yoghurt sprinkled with nuts and seeds
• Porridge (whole oats or brown rice) or muesili (whole grain flakes, dried fruit, nuts, seeds), ideally presoaked in water or fruit juice with soya, rice, oat or nut milks
• Wholemeal/spelt/rye bread or toast with dairy free margarine or a little drizzled olive oil, fruit spreads, tahini, nut butters, mashed banana
• Poached or boiled egg with grilled mushrooms and tomato

Lunch

• Mixed salad – e.g. dark salad leaves, tomato, cucumber, avocado, carrot, beetroot, cabbage (red or green), broccoli, spring onion, sprouted seeds (e.g. alfalfa, mung beans, lentils, seeds). For a dressing use cold pressed vegetable oil such as olive, pumpkin or avocado combined with lemon/lime juice or cider vinegar. Add a finely chopped clove of garlic and some fresh herbs. Sprinkle the salad with some lightly toasted nuts and seeds
• Wholemeal/spelt/rye bread sandwich with salad plus egg, hummous, pate or tinned fish
• Dips (e.g. hummous, or made with avocado or tofu), pate, olive tapanade or nut butters with oat cakes, rice cakes or raw vegetable sticks
• Homemade soup with wholemeal/spelt/rye bread
• Jacket potato with bean chilli or vegetable/lentil curry
• Wholegrain (e.g. rice, millet, quinoa), lentil or bean salad made with olive oil and lemon juice, lots of fresh herbs, onions and garlic

Dinner

• Stew or casserole made with lots of vegetables, some whole grains such as barley or brown rice, and pulses – beans, peas, lentils
• Organic chicken or fish with plenty of lightly cooked vegetables
• Roasted root or Mediterranean vegetables (bake in the oven and add olive oil towards the end of the cooking time)
• Stir-fried vegetables (add a little water to the wok or frying pan initially to steam the vegetables and then add olive oil towards the end of the cooking time) with strips of organic chicken or chunks of tofu
• Vegetable omelette and salad
• Vegetable bakes such as Shepherds pie made with red lentils
• Nut or lentil loaf with vegetables or salad
• Grain salad for example made with millet or quinoa mixed with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, fresh herbs, spring onions

Lunch and dinner ideas are interchangeable depending on when the main meal of the day is eaten.

Desserts

It is suggested that sweet desserts are not eaten every day (apart from fresh fruit).

• Fresh or stewed fruit, perhaps with a little plain soya yoghurt
• Fruit pies or crumbles made with wholemeal flour accompanied by tofu or nut creams
• Fruit mousses made with tofu, nut creams, coconut cream 
• Fruit ice-creams made by blending frozen fruit such as banana, mango, berries, or placing them through a masticating juicer. Blending a frozen fruit smoothie mixture also makes a lovely ice-cream

Snacks

Healthy snacks are a good way to prevent hunger and dips in blood sugar. It is suggested that cakes and biscuits are not eaten everyday.

• Fresh fruit
• Raw, unsalted nuts and seeds
• Fruit smoothies e.g. made with banana, mango, berries, coconut cream, soya yoghurt or tofu plus non-dairy milk
• Dips (see above) with oat cakes, rice cakes or raw vegetable sticks
• Fruit cake, flapjacks or biscuits (using fruit to sweeten rather than sugar)

Drinks

Aim to drink approximately 2 litres of the following daily, with a significant proportion being water.

• Water (bottled or reverse osmosis water is preferable to tap), with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice if desired
• Herbal teas e.g. green tea, rooibusch (redbush) tea
• Herbal coffees e.g. dandelion coffee, bamboo coffee
• Fresh juices – made with vegetables such as carrot, beetroot, celery, salad leaves, peppers etc. with a little fruit such as apple to sweeten

The above provides you with a few suggestions; undoubtedly you will be able to add to this list from your own experience. Please let us know what wonderful recipes you have found.

Date completed: July 2005