Great job: You made it to the third week! Now you get to invite back a wide range of colors, flavors, and textures to craft dishes for a healthier, happier you. Use Whole Living deputy food editor Shira Bocar's recipes, with gluten-free grains and protein-rich eggs to inspire smart eating strategies all year long. Remember, you can double some of the recipes so you have a full week's worth of meals (or recycle any of the previous week's recipes).
What to Expect: You may get an energy boost as you reintroduce carbs, but beware: Hearty grains may initially shock your system. This week will help you determine how great (or not) certain foods can make you feel.
By the Week's End: Research shows that new habits do still take practice, so stick to your happy and healthy new ways.
Breakfast:
Toasted Coconut Muesli
Steamed Salmon with Fresh Herbs and Lemon
Avocado-Vanilla Smoothie
Print All of the Week 3 Recipes
Fibrous oats help stabilize blood-sugar levels. Enjoy them with calcium-rich almond milk: It has fewer calories than cow’s milk and is packed with cholesterol-lowering flavonoids.
Steamed salmon may seem an odd breakfast choice, but try it! Packed with omega-3 fatty acids (good for your brain), salmon is rich in antioxidants (particularly anti-inflammatory carotenoids) and selenium. The protein will keep you full and energized for hours.
Now that you've made it this far, it's time to transform your relationship with food for life by keeping up the momentum up this week. Start your day off with a creamy, guilt-free smoothie.
Enjoy these cleansing recipes for lunch during Week 3.
Lunch:
Chickpea-Brown Rice Veggie Burger
Rice Noodles with Broccoli-Almond Pesto
Kale, White Bean, and Potato Stew
These tasty bean and brown rice meatless patties deliver a filling protein-fiber combo. Brown rice is a super whole grain to include in any diet: Just one cup delivers nearly one-third of the daily value of selenium, a mineral that helps fight free radicals.
With their pleasing nutty flavor, rice noodles are a nutritious, gluten-free alternative to wheat pasta. Use this pumped-up pesto to top eggs, beans, and whole grains. Broccoli’s impressive amount of carotenoids sweep up cancer-inducing free radicals.
This week while you're fine-tuning your newly developed mindful habits pamper yourself! Book a massage, a facial, you name it. Find decadent, nonfood ways to reward yourself.
This vegetable stew leaves you feeling clean and fantastic.
You've made it this far -- you're a total trouper. Make it last with these wholesome dinner recipes.
Dinner:
Shiitakes and Brown Rice en Papillote
Quinoa with Poached Egg, Spinach, and Cucumber
Roasted Beets and Edamame and Arugula
Halibut with Sweet Potato Fries and Lime
Long used for healing in Asia, meaty shiitakes are one of the best foods to eat for health, boasting a special combination of antioxidants that boost immune function and lower oxidative stress in the body. Try substituting mushrooms for meat in meals -- it slashes calories and improves your well-being without leaving you hungry, according to a study in the journal Appetite.
Quinoa (an ancient seed) is an excellent source of protein and contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein, like eggs. Eggs are the best natural source of the nutrient choline and help fight inflammation.
Get the Quinoa with Poached Egg, Spinach, and Cucumber Recipe
Soy provides as complete a protein as steak, without the saturated fat. What’s more, research shows that genistein, an active compound found in soy, may promote weight loss as it inhibits the body’s growth of fat cells.
Work pure cooking techniques into your regular routine. Steaming, cooking en papillote (in parchment), and poaching all preserve flavor and nutrients.
Try these mini meals during Week 3.
Dried Fruit and Nut Bites
Crispy Roasted Cauliflower
Cinnamon Poached Apples with Toasted Walnuts
Minty Pea Dip
Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix
Pistachio-Stuffed Dates with Coconut
Sesame Kale Crisps
Carrot-Mango Smoothie
Any-Bean Dip
Amaranth Clusters
Roasted Spiced Chickpeas
Antioxidant Smoothie
Print the Snack Recipes
Combine stretching and one strength-training session with at least two hours of cardio (eating carbs again will give you endurance). Deepen your mind-body connection by becoming aware of your energy levels before, during, and after your workout.
Week 1 Shopping List
Week 2 Shopping List
Week 3 Shopping List
Week 4 Shopping List
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Calorie Burner Counter
Target Heart Rate
Nutritional Needs Calculator
No ifs, ands, or buts! These are the six to skip during each week of the 2012 Whole Living Challenge.
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