Lunches last week

Posted by Life with Lizzi on April 30, 2012 · 2 Comments 

Last week’s spell at home with dizziness and sickness (diagnosed as an inner ear infection causing vertigo), forced me to look at how far I had strayed from a healthy diet.  It also highlighted how little follow up and help I had been receiving from my current Doctor, who finally bothered to tell me that a hospital visit in November had raised question marks over my low levels of Vitamin D.  Considering the visit was to investigate recurring tiredness and aches and pains in my joints, I was gobsmacked not to have received any feedback (and realised how much chasing and follow up you really ought to do for yourself).  Lesson learnt – do not rely on your Doctor feeding back anything!!  So after a few days high dosage of Vitamin D, and no more explanation, I decided to check stuff out for myself.  I was amazed to find out that Vitamin D deficiency (now very common, and causing rickets in kids) ticked all the boxes of my aches and pains over the winter.  Unfortunately it cannot be improved by just a spell in the sun (drat! foresaw an exotic holiday coming up there!) as sun cream to protect against cancers, also blocks out the rays needed to boost Vitamin D.  A change in diet, exercise and some fresh air daily, with supplements, appears to be the way forward.

So off I went, on a surf around the internet, and found a great book (easy to download) and lots of Paleo advice.  Here follows my healthy lunches last week, following a guideline of lots of fruit and veg, a small amount of lean protein -> cutting out the carb’s, dairy, and processed food, and adding Vit D and Magnesium supplements.  Not easy (and I did fall off the wagon this weekend) but one I want to try and adopt and adapt, until the summer holidays.  Here’s hoping to health and happiness (a bit of weight loss and more energy!)……….

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Lizzi’s Liquid Lunch

Juice  -> spinach leaves, 2 chopped apples, celery, a piece of ginger (and add spirolina to boost health)

Enjoy!

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Lizzi’s Birthday Salad

raw spinach chopped

1 carrot chopped

1/2 avocado sliced

5 baby tomatoes

mixed salad nuts (inc sesame and flax)

lemon to dress

2 eggs scrambled in olive oil with some chopped spinach and seasoned with pepper.

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Lizzi’s Left over lunch

Cubed cold Pork tenderloin (click for original recipe) -> Garlic and Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin recipe | Pork Tenderloin Recipes.

spinach leaves

red pepper

1/2 avocado

3 spring onions

rucola

tomatoes

mixed salad nuts (inc sesame and flax)

Dressing -> 1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 part oil (rapeseed/olive or flax), 1 part wine (red or white), 3 cloves garlic crushed, 1 tsp grated ginger/cumin or curry powder, pepper to taste -> combine and shake in a jar (can be stored in the fridge and used as a dressing or a marinade)

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Lizzi’s Lime Tuna lunch

Ingredients

1 tuna steak (3/4 to 1 inch thick)

zest and juice of one lime

2 teaspoons of dried or fresh thyme

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper

1 to 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil

olive oil to serve

Preparation:

Rinse the tuna steaks and pat dry with paper towels. Grate the zest from the lime (you should have about 1 1/2 teaspoons), then squeeze the juice and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine lime zest, thyme, pepper and salt; stir to mix. Lightly rub both sides of the tuna steaks with olive oil. Rub the seasoning mix on the tuna steaks; coating them well.

Using a heavy bottomed sauté pan or a cast-iron pan, warm the olive oil. Increase the heat to high and place the tuna in the pan. Sear for 1 minute, then turn over carefully, reducing the heat to medium. Sear the other side for 1 more minute until medium rare. (Do not overcook the tuna or the meat will become dry and lose its flavor.) Pour the lime juice over the tuna steaks right after you take them from the stove, then serve.

via Pan-Seared Tuna with Lime Pepper Crust, Tuna Recipes, Seafood Recipes.

serve tuna on top of spinach leaves, chopped carrot, cooked beetroot, raw broccoli, cherry tomatoes and chopped cucumber.  Drizzle the cooking oil on top, with the spare marinade.

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Related Links

The Vitamin D Cure.

What Is The Paleo Diet?.

Paleo Parents.

Balancing Paleo | Finding a balance between fitness and nutrition.

A Twist on Salade Nicoise for Monthly Mingle – April in Paris, and Part 10 (lisamichele.wordpress.com)

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Filed under Family Life, Home Life, Kitchen Life (my recipes) · Tagged with diet, juicing, lunch, Lunch recipe, paleo, paleo diet, pork, Recipe, Salad, tuna, vitamin D