Light Weekly Menu To Give Your Digestive System A Rest

Do you want to give yourself a break? Just as on many occasions we feel that we have to give ourselves a break from work, daily obligations or social media, other times we need to give our digestive system a break.

Our own body is the one who asks us to stop; if we listen to it, it is good to get out of the routine and take some time for yourself.

In the case of food, we tend to think that we need a lighter menu after a season of heavy meals, such as the Christmas holidays, vacations or cold winter days. However, you may feel that need in many other situations, simply because your body asks you to.

Listen to yourself and, if that’s the case, here are some ideas to lighten the menus and make things easier for your body. I also offer you a complete downloadable menu for a whole week, with simple, healthy and light proposals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• You can download the healthy and light weekly menu here.

Below I will tell you more about the menu and I give you three practical and nutritious recipes included in it:

1. Green lettuce smoothie
2. Red lentil soup with oats and cumin
3. Light vichyssoise with hemp seeds

One week eating healthier and lighter

Although we can find many menu options of this style based on liquids, where soups, juices and smoothies are prioritized, it is vital that we remember that chewing is part of the fundamental of digestion. Avoiding it for a week is not a good health strategy. Chewing in a calm and conscious way, giving ourselves the necessary time, is a habit that we must cultivate and essential if we want our menu to be light for our digestive system.

It is also important that we keep in mind that categorizing food as good or bad makes little sense and is unscientific. A food alone does not provide us health or disease, so compensating a week of disorderly eating with another of light eating is not going to work.

Learning healthy habits that are maintained over time as something natural, on the other hand, will bring us health and well-being at all levels. In this line are the following recommendations to follow your light weekly menu:

• There are foods that should always be avoided in a healthy diet, or at least reduced to a minimum: ultra-processed, refined flours, added sugars and alcohol, in any quantity. People who do not follow a 100% vegetable diet should also remove dairy, red meat and processed meats (whether smoked or cured).
• In addition to avoiding these foods, in a week with a light menu, it is advisable to avoid: fried foods, hot and spicy food, very fatty sauces, stews and heavy food, and foods that are difficult to digest.
• It may also be a good idea to cut down on gluten, or at least diversify cereal consumption, beyond wheat. In fact, it is very interesting to take advantage of this type of diet changes to introduce new ingredients that accompany us.
• Another issue that should be reviewed is the type of cooking and preparations that we can do. Let’s bet on steam, purees and creams, as well as techniques with little oil such as the iron or the papillote. Soups, whether hot or cold, are also very good options.

3 healthy and light recipes with the weekly menu

I propose an especially light weekly menu, but nutritious and complete, so that you can eat for a whole week taking care of yourself that little bit more. But don’t follow it to the letter! Listen to your body and give it what it needs.

Fruit is undoubtedly our best ally during this week, preferably whole. You will find it in different menu proposals, but remember to also include it in your breakfasts and snacks. We can combine it in multiple ways: in smoothies, with yogurt, with oat flakes …

In the downloadable weekly menu you will find healthy and light lunches and dinners in which you will see that salads and vegetable creams abound. There are also baked, steamed and grilled preparations. Among the different proposals are these three recipes, which will undoubtedly satisfy and nourish you without overloading your digestive system.

1. Green lettuce smoothie

In the smoothies we can include the fruits and vegetables that we like the most, but remember that it is best if they are varied, especially in the case of green leaves. The shake is a “pre- processed ” food, so it should be dense so that we salivate and assimilate it better.

Ingredients for a copious portion:

• 4-5 oak leaf lettuce leaves
• 1 kiwi
• 1 handful of almonds
• ½ dessert teaspoon ground ginger
• water or coconut water or coconut milk
• 1 serving of vegan protein powder (optional)

preparation:

1. We peel the kiwi and cut them into quarters.
2. We wash the lettuce leaves with plenty of water and split them with our hands.
3. We beat all the ingredients, until there are no lumps. The amount of liquid will depend on the desired consistency. We can add and beat.

Consume it immediately or within the next two hours.

2. Red lentil soup with oats and cumin

Ingredients for two servings:

• 100 g of red lentils
• 200 g of rolled oats
• 200 g carrot
• 20 ml tomato paste
• 1 medium white onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 700 ml of vegetable broth
• ½ teaspoon of cumin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Optional: turmeric, pepper

preparation:

1. Peel the onion and garlic and cut them into julienne strips. We also peel the carrot and cut it into slices.
2. In a pot, sauté the onion, garlic and carrot with the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the vegetable broth and the concentrated tomato. We remove.
3. We add the oats, the red lentils and the spices. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, covered.
4. We check that the lentils and vegetables are well done. We turn off the heat, let it rest and serve while still hot.

3. Light Vichyssoise with hemp seeds

Ingredients for two servings:

• 3 leeks
• 1 potato
• 2 heaping tablespoons of hemp seeds
• 20 ml of linseed oil
• 400 ml mild vegetable broth
• 50 ml oat cream
• 1 pinch of ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• Salt

preparation:

1. We cut the stems of the leeks. We wash them well, making sure that no dirt remains between the different layers. We chop the leeks and use both the white part and a piece of the green part.
2. We peel the potatoes and cut them into pinches, so that the cut is not clean but rather broken.
3. Cook the leeks and the potato with the vegetable broth for at least half an hour over low heat. We make sure the potatoes are soft.
4. Add the cream, linseed oil and hemp seeds and beat with the mixer until you get a fine cream. We add salt and pepper and we just beat.
5. We can serve hot or cold, with nutritional yeast on top.