Sunday is the day to do nothing. It is the day to live in the moment. To think of the week gone past with gratitude. To be mindful of the air entering our lungs, the food entering our bodies and the thoughts cruising through our minds.
It is the day to cook something that will take almost no time – so that you can focus on connecting with the family and catching up on everything that happened during the week. But it is important to get the ingredients right so that as the mind rests and the heart connects – the brain and body are rejuvenated.
Of course there can be no compromise on taste when you are cooking on Sunday. Without any doubt – all the healthy food that is cooked on Sunday must be a treat for the senses. The dishes must be please the eyes, intoxicate the nose and pamper the taste buds.
Challenges with planning the Sunday menu –
- The meals of the Sunday menu must be focus on providing the nutrients needed to repair the damages caused by the week’s exposure to toxins.
- The ingredients must have the ability to refresh and rejuvenate the brain
- The meals must be tasty and be special treat
- The food should be easy to cook
- The food should have a smooth pleasing texture so that eating does not seem like hard work
Sunday menu breakup
- A healthy breakfast
- A wholesome 11 am snack
- A packed tiffin with a treat
- A satisfying and strengthening lunch
- An energizing 4 pm snack
- A nourishing dinner
Weekly meal planning – Day 7 – Sunday
This menu is designed by Simran Oberoi Multani with nutritional and parenting inputs from Dr Debmita Dutta
Breakfast – Stuffed paratha
10 am snack – Savoury oats muffin
Lunch box – Paneer cutlet
Lunch – Paneer in cashew and almond gravy
Evening snack – Steamed corn
Dinner – Egg in almond and cashew gravy
Also read Monday menu , Tuesday menu, Wednesday menu, Thursday menu, Friday menu and Saturday menu
The features on the Sunday Menu
- Different sources of carbohydrate are used in each meal. They look feel and taste different to avoid monotony. They also deliver different nutrients.
- The meals focus on building immunity with their focus on vitamins and minerals
- Fiber is in focus at every meal to ensure a cleanup of the digestive system
- Proteins come from different sources and join the carbohydrates in a very subtle way
- Three different fat sources have been included in the menu
- The meals are designed to energize the body but prevent a sugar spike
- Two key ingredients are mixed and matched to make the meals interesting and easy to cook.
The theme for the Sunday menu
The key ingredients for Sunday are Paneer , cashews and almonds. All the ingredients are protein rich, bursting with good brain healthy fats and full of some rare but essential vitamins. The paneer is used at lunch and in the lunch box. The cashew and almond are turned into a smooth multitasking gravy and used with paneer at lunch time to make paneer curry and with egg at dinner time to make egg curry.
Recipes For The Sunday Menu
Breakfast
Paratha
Ingredents
Wholewheat atta
Water
Pinch of salt.
Ghee for shallow frying.
Filling – As per your requirement it could be
Mashed boiled aloo
Paneer
A mix of boiled veggies
Mashed chana ( a bit like sattu)
Cauliflower
You can also use leftover dal.
Freshly chopped coriander
,Chopped onions.
Seasoning – salt, red chilly, dhania powder, ajwain.
Method –
- Make the dough that you use for roti.
- Mix the filling ,
- Add seasoning and the
- Coriander and onions.
- Make a chapatti,
- Add the filling in the centre,
- Fold it into a disc again
- And then roll it out well.
- Cook on the tawa until it is well cooked on both sides.
- Then lightly apply ghee on each side,
- Cook for a few seconds
- And serve hot.
11 am snack
Savoury oats muffins
Ingredients-
Oats finely ground 1 cup
Suji 1tbsp
Cup curd ½ cup
Cup olive oil ¼ cup
Baking powder 1 tsp
Salt 2 tsp
Oregano or thyme a pinch
Paprika powder 1tsp
Additional elements as per your preference
Veggies of your choice such as broccoli, beans, carrots, peas
If you want a non-vegetarian version, then use boiled shredded chicken.
Method –
- Mix all the above well and bake in muffin cups
- In a preheated oven for 20 minutes, at 170 degrees C.
Lunch box
Paneer Cutlet
Ingredients-
Paneer, crumbled 1cup
Mashed cooked quinoa ½ cup
Chopped onion 1
Bread crumbs ¼ cup
Jeera ½ tsp
Salt as per taste
Red pepper as per taste
Amchur and as per taste
Coriander Powder as per taste.
Chopped coriander leaves.
Olive oil for shallow frying
Applying on top if you are baking them.
Method –
- Mix all the above
- Shape them into discs
- And then shallow fry or bake as per your preference.
Lunch
Paneer in Cashew /Almond gravy, with Chapatti(whole wheat / buckwheat)
Ingredients –
Cashew soaked ½ cup
Gingelly or coconut oil 1tsp
Bay leaf 1
Small stick of cinnamon small stick
Chopped onions ½ cup ,
Homemade tomato puree ½ cup
Kasoori methi 2 tsp
Paneer 200-300 gms
Chopped garlic 1 tbsp
Cream ½ tbsp
Water as needed.
As per taste- salt, red pepper, haldi, dhania powder.
Method –
- Presoak ½ cup of cashew in some water or milk for 10 minutes.
- Then grind to make cashew nut paste.
- Fry the onions, tomato and garlic in the oil until they are cooked well.
- Add cinnamon and bay leaf.
- Then add the cashew paste and cook for a bit
- Add the water , cream and let it simmer.
- Chopped the paneer into cubes and add to this gravy.
- Add seasoning, stir well.
- Add the kasoori methi
- And its ready to be served.
4 pm snack
Steamed corn
Ingredients –
Oil or butter 1 tsp
Sweet corn that is boiled 1cup
Salt
Black or White pepper
And any dried herb of your choice – oregano/basil/thyme/rosemary.
Method –
- Saute the corn in the oil or butter,
- Add the seasoning and serve hot.
Dinner
Egg Curry and rice
Method-
- Same gravy as the paneer to be worked with.
- Instead of the cream and water,
- Add some coconut milk and bit of water.
- Then let it simmer.
- Add boiled eggs and seasoning remains the same except for the kasoori methi.
- Instead of that, you need to add curry leaves
- And allow it to simmer in the sauce.
- Add water to thin it out a bit.
- Serve hot.
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