A Week Of Eating At The Hanson House

Over the weekend I was talking to sweet Erica over at Whimsical September and she expressed to me that she would love to see what Dane and I eat Monday-Friday, so here I am today! Our eating habits are a little bit different from where they used to be, but that has, overall, made us much healthier and happier. I’ve blogged before about our adventures with paleo, but I’ve never really done a follow up for that.

I’ll come right out and say that we don’t follow any specific plan to the letter. We mix a lot of vegetarian, paleo and Whole30 concepts to come up with an eating plan that works for us. The key for us was finding something that we could stick with, and not look forward to it being “over”. Does that make sense? We eat painfully healthy Monday-Friday, usually have a cheat day somewhere on the weekend and by Sunday night, we are back to our clean eating ways.

I took a sampling of what we’ve eaten for the past two weeks, but it’s usually some variation on this menu, plus any fun new recipes I find on Pinterest. I’m always sharing what we’re eating on my Instagram story so be sure to follow along there, too 🙂

For starters, it’s important to know that I buy in bulk at Costco. I could sing the praises of that store all day long. Sunday is a huge prep day for me because of this. I try to prep as much as possible for us so that lunches and dinners are a no-brainer. When there’s a plan, you’re less likely to stray.

Lunches at our house (week or weekend) are always Buddha bowls these days. We got hooked on them when we were back in PA this summer after we saw 1. how easy they are with some prep work and 2. how freaking delicious they are, not to mention good for your body.

So what makes a good Buddha bowl? Veggies, veggies and some quinoa. I chop (or spiralize) cauliflower, peppers, onions, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus and Brussel sprouts and keep them in fresh lock containers individually in the refrigerator. I also cook a big batch of quinoa and store that in a separate container. Other toppings include: spinach, cabbage, beets, avocado, rotisserie chicken, sesame tofu, radishes and sprouts. I always have chickpea hummus and white bean hummus on hand, as well as roasted red peppers, as easy toppings. Each night, it’s a DIY Buddha Bowl Bar at our house prepping for lunch the next day. One of the nicest things about these bowls is that they are hearty enough to be filling and can be completely customized to your liking!

Monday: We usually incorporate meatless Monday into our routine. Our go-to is spaghetti squash with red sauce (homemade if possible, because canned usually has a TON of sugar) or pesto. I also have become a huge fan of Gardein crumbles sauteed in coconut oil and garlic with onions, peppers and cauliflower. Then add in red sauce and zoodles and oh man – it’s so dang good.

Tuesday: Salad with shrimp. I chop up a head of Romaine and add some of the toppings from the Buddha bowls, saute a couple jumbo shrimp for each of us and – done!

Wednesday: Veggie bake is my favorite, because like Buddha bowls, you can make it your own. If you are in the process of cleaning out your refrigerator – just add what you have! We typically go with sweet potatoes, parsnips, Brussels, carrots, asparagus and onions — and LOTS of them. Chop them all up, throw in some coconut oil and spices and roast at 375 until everything is tender. I always top mine with lime juice and balsamic.

**I save veggie bake for Wednesdays usually because by this time some of the pre-chopped Buddha veggies need to be cooked or they will go bad!

Thursday: Veggie bake with chicken. Essentially Wednesday (or Wednesday leftovers) with shredded chicken breast. I typically serve this with a variation of Whole30 compliant mayo and hot sauce.

Friday: If Friday isn’t our cheat night/date night, I will typically go to salad with roasted veggies or salad with salmon. We eat A LOT of salmon. My favorite way to eat it is with lemon pepper on top and then an apple cider based salad dressing. Mmm it’s so good!