MENU PLAN November Week 2

The PCOS Diva Menu Plans are back on track!  It has been quite a crazy few weeks I finally got to the grocery store on Friday to replenish my fridge after losing everything to the 6-day blackout caused by the Halloween nor’easter.  (One of the reasons I haven’t posted menu plans in a while)  Friday was the day I went out to restock my empty fridge. While at the grocery store,  I was excited to see beautiful, huge ripe pomegranates on display.  Have I told you how much I love them? (I think I have) .  Next to the bin of 2 for $4 poms, I found a cool looking de-seeder gadget for $4.  I thought I would give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked with very little mess.  It really takes the fear out of trying pomegranates. The cool thing about pomegranate is that although they have a pleasant sweetness they are actually categorized as bitter and astringent.

In Ayurvedic medicine there are six rasas, or types of taste, they are.

1. madhura–sweet
2. amla– sour
3. lavana–salty
4. katu–hot
5. tikta–bitter
6. kashai–astringent

Pomegranates are one of the few astringent flavors. The six tastes should be balanced in the diet for optimum health and nutrition. (I would love to dive in deep to this concept in a future post!)  But for the purposes of this Menu Plan, pomegranate  even though it tastes slightly sweet and sour on the tongue, it is both astringent and bitter. In our Standard American Diets we don’t often encounter bitter foods besides chocolate and coffee.  If you have never tried pomegranate, I encourage  you to do so. The seeds are edible, watery and have an extremely refreshing and pleasant flavor.  I will include some recipes in this week’s menu plan.

MEATLESS MONDAY Avocado, Grapefruit and Pomegranate Salad Blackened Black Bean Burgers

TUESDAY Shrimp and Guacamole Tostadas Southwestern Slaw

WEDNESDAY Holiday Cranberry Pomegranate Chicken Salad Golden Winter Soup Serve the chicken salad on a bed of greens.  I will make a few changes to the soup – I’ll substitute  sweet potato for 1 cup of the russet potato and I will only use 1/3 cup of organic half and half.

THURSDAY  Harvest Minestrone Serve with some Bob’s Red Mill gluten free cornbread.

FRIDAY Chicken and Carrots with Wine Sauce and steamed broccoli.  Make this in a slow cooker – the garlic will really mellow.  I love to use Udi’s gluten free whole grain hot dog rolls as a gluten-free french bread.