Meal Plan For Thursday – Towards Healthy Treats

Thursday is the day for making new beginnings. The madness of the first three days of the workweek are over. On most fronts – things are usually cruising along effortlessly by now. And it is the best time to push yourself to change an old habit or embrace a new one.

On Thursday you want to experiment. You want to introduce healthy new ingredients into your recipes that you have never used before (but always wanted to). But of course you can’t afford to spend all day in the kitchen executing your experiment because after all it is a working day!!

So the menu for Thursday must be made up of recipes that are new – but tried and tested by someone you trust. And that is exactly what we have for you.

Challenges With Planning The Thursday Menu –

1. The meals of the Thursday menu must be balanced to include carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals
2. The meals must include one or two new healthy ingredients but they should not be difficult to cook.
3. The meals should have a fun element attached to them. They should not be boring because when you are introducing a new taste it must excite the family – not put them off.

Thursday Menu Breakup

1. A healthy breakfast
2. A wholesome 11 am snack
3. A packed tiffin with a treat
4. A satisfying and strengthening lunch
5. An energizing 4 pm snack
6. A nourishing dinner

Weekly Meal Planning – Day 4 – Thursday

This menu is designed by Simran Oberoi Multani with nutritional and parenting inputs from Dr Debmita Dutta

Breakfast – Sooji Upma with peanuts

10 am snack – Buckwheat crepes with banana filling

Lunch box – Arbi (colocasia) and quinoa tikkis

Lunch – Tuvar Dal Sambhar, Palak kodo millet rice, Arbi stir fry

Evening snack – Baked mint flavoured baby potatoes and carrots

Dinner – Spinach whole wheat pasta

Also see The Monday Menu , Tuesday Menu and  the Wednesday Menu, Friday Menu

The Features On The Thursday Menu

1. 1. Different sources of carbohydrate are used in each meal. They look feel and taste different to avoid monotony. They also deliver different nutrients.
   2. The meals focus on building immunity with their focus on vitamins and minerals
   3. Fiber is in focus at every meal to ensure a cleanup of the digestive system
   4. Proteins come from different sources and join the carbohydrates in a very subtle way
   5. Three different fat sources have been included in the menu
   6. The meals are designed to energize the body but prevent a sugar spike
   7. Two key ingredients are mixed and matched to make the meals interesting and easy to cook.

The Theme For The Thursday Menu

The key ingredients for Thursday are Spinach puree and Arbi or Colocasia. Both ingredients are rich in vitamins minerals and fiber. The Spinach is used at lunch and dinner. The puree is made once and reused. This saves time. The arbi is used at lunch and in the lunch box.

Thursday menu by Simran Oberoi #CookHealthyMealsEveryDay

Recipes For Thursday

Breakfast

Sooji  Upma with Cashew

Ingredients  

Sooji 1 cup

Mustard seeds   1 tsp

Ghee   1 tbsp

Curry leaves  2-3

Grated coconut  1 tbsp

Roasted cashews   1 tbsp

Water   as needed

Salt  as per taste

Red  chilly powder   as per taste

Onion chopped   1 mid sized

Garlic Ginger paste   1 tsp

Method-

1. Sauté the mustard seeds and curry leaves in ghee for a few seconds.
2. Then add the onions
3. Allow them to cook well
4. And add the ginger garlic paste
5. Keep stirring well
6. Add the sooji
7. Dry roast till the aroma starts coming
8. Add the cashew and continue to stir to prevent burning
9. Then add water
10. Salt and pepper powder
11. Keep mixing until the upma thickens for about 7-8 minutes
12. Then add grated coconut
13. Mix and switch off the stove
14. Cover for 5 mint
15. Then serve hot.

11 am snack

Buckwheat Crepe with banana filling– Add some savory variant too

Ingredients  

Buckwheat flour  1 cup

Egg  1

Milk  ½ cup

Melted butter   1-2 tbsp

Jaggery 1 tbsp   (can be avoided if the bananas are sweet)

Mashed bananas  2 small

Method-

1. Whisk these well together.
2. Add a light drizzle of oil on the pan.
3. Spoon the batter into it
4. And allow it to spread into the pan.
5. Cook it well on either side
6. And serve with a sweet or a savory filling.

For sweet you can use honey and banana/any other fresh fruit. For savory you can use grated cheese/shredded spiced chicken/spinach and corn mixture.

Lunch box

Arbi/Colocasia Tikkis with Quinoa

Ingredients

Boiled arbi   2-3

Cooked quinoa   ½ cup

Chopped onions   ¼ cup

Coriander   ¼ cup

Salt

Jeera powder

Amchur

Paprika

Oil   1-2 tbsp

Method

1. Mix the above ingredients well except oil.
2. Shape them like tikkis
3. Shallow fry them until they become crisp
4. And eat

Lunch

Tuvar Dal/Sambhar,

Ingredients

Tuvar (toor, arhar) dal , washed    ¾ cup

Onion chopped well    ½

Tomato chopped well    ½

Green chili chopped   1 small

Turmeric powder (haldi)  ½ tsp each

Jeera    ½ tsp each

Red chili powder   ½ tsp each

Salt    as per your taste.

Curry leaves   2-3

Crushed garlic pods   2-3

Gingelly or Groundnut oil    1 tbsp

Method

1. Boil the dal
2. With the Onions, tomatoes, haldi, red chilly powder, salt
3. And 1 1/2 or 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker
4. Then heat the oil in a pan
5. Add the green chilly, the cumin seeds, the crushed garlic and curry leaves and sauté
6. Add the dal to this
7. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes
8. And it is ready.

Palak Kodo Millet Rice

Ingredients

Kodo millet rice   1 cup

Spinach or Palak puree    ½ cup,

Water, Salt and Red chilly powder   as needed

Grated coconut

Gingelly / Groundnut oil   1tbsp

Jeera   1tbsp

Chopped onions   ¼ cup

Method-

1. Heat the oil in a pan
2. Add the jeera and onions
3. Allow the onions to cook through
4. Add the rice, sauté it for a bit
5. And then add the spinach puree slowly
6. Let it cook in the puree for 3-4 minutes
7. Then add water, salt and red pepper
8. Allow the rice to cook through well
9. Top it with grated coconut or even dessicated one if you prefer
10. And serve hot.

 Arbi Stir Fry

Ingredients

Arbi   ½ kg

Haldi   1 tsp

Amchoor   1 tsp

Dhania  powder 1 tsp

Red chilly powder   1 tsp

Garam masala   ½ tsp

Salt    as per your preference.

Gingelly / Groundnut oil   2-3 tbsp

Mustard seeds   1 tsp

Or for more flavor the panch  phoron spice mix

Hing   1/3 tsp

Coriander chopped  optional

Method-

1. Clean and peel the arbi
2. Cut into thin slices
3. Heat the oil in a pan
4. Add the mustard seeds/panch phoron mix
5. Then add the hing and haldi
6. Add the sliced arbi and stir fry for sometime
7. Add the rest of the spices – salt, dhania powder, chilly powder and amchoor
8. Keep mixing it 2 else it may stick to the bottom
9. When it becomes soft then add garam masala and mix well
10. Stir fry for a minute
11. Top with coriander
12. And serve hot

4 PM snack

Baked Mint flavoured baby potatoes and carrots

Ingredients

Baby potatoes sliced into half   8-10

Mint (some leaves and 2 tsp dried)

Salt

Paprika

Olive oil   2 tbsp

One carrot thinly sliced.

Method-

1. Boil 8-10 baby potatoes
2. Add them onto the baking tray along with the sliced carrots
3. Mix the oil and seasoning
4. Drizzle and toss the potatoes and carrots in it
5. Add the fresh leaves too
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 200 degrees C
7. And serve hot.

Dinner

Spinach Whole wheat Pasta ( Spinach  can be prepped at the same time for this and the rice in the afternoon)

Ingredients

Whole wheat pasta   1 cup

Water as instructed for that brand

Spinach puree   1 cup

Cream   1 tbsp

Grated cheese   ¼ cup

Crushed garlic   2-3 pods

Spring onions chopped well   2

Salt, Black pepper, Thyme

Olive oil.   1-2 tbsp

Method-

1. 1. Boil the pasta
   2. Keep it aside
   3. Heat the oil
   4. Add the crushed garlic and spring onions.
   5. Let them cook well.
   6. Add the spinach puree, and some water (if you any veg or chicken stock lying you can use that too).
   7. Put in the  salt, pepper and thyme.
   8. Keep stirring until it   thickens a bit.
   9. Add the cream
   10. Put in the boiled pasta
   11. Stir until it is coated well with the spinach sauce
   12. And then top with grated cheese, before serving