Bacon-wrapped tilapia is simple, quick and yummy! It was also the perfect recipe experiment for my inaugural “What I Ate Today” post. I thought it might be helpful for some of the new folks if I occasionally shared my daily menu, so you could get some menu planning ideas and see how the low oxalate diet works  (at least my Paleo-ish, whole foods version of it). I also had a lot of left-over odds and ends in the fridge that needed using up today, so it was a great day to experiment with a new recipe or two.  Here’s what the day looked like.

Breakfast was my everyday standby. Yes, I’m boring. I eat the same very low oxalate breakfast almost every morning, except some mornings I stir-fry a half cup of veggies in the oil before I cook the eggs (onion, red pepper and zucchini is a favorite combination).

Breakfast:

3 eggs cooked over-easy in a teaspoon of olive oil   ( < 1 mg. oxalate)
1 cup Madagascar Vanilla Tea (rooibos)   ( 0.9 mg. oxalate)

Total: about 1.5 mg. oxalate

My lunches these days are typically some combination of left-overs, either warmed up or added to a salad.  My boys usually enjoy cottage cheese or yogurt and fruit, although today they wanted the chicken.

Lunch:

4 -5 ounces roast chicken seasoned with salt, white pepper and a little thyme ( 1.5 mg. oxalate)
1 cup southern -style turnip and collard greens (about 13.5 mg. oxalate)
1 large yellowish-red gala apple (mostly yellow) ( about 4 mg. oxalate)

Total: about 19 mg. oxalate

I usually like to cook something new for dinner on Saturday night, but  I had a little bit of butternut squash, a few rings of pineapple and some uncooked bacon that seriously needed eating. Plus, I’d picked some fresh lettuce and arugula from the garden while weeding this afternoon and really wanted a salad. I was flipping through a magazine earlier in the day and saw a recipe for bacon-wrapped tilapia. Perfect! The recipe included potatoes and a bunch of other high oxalate ingredients. Plus, it required grilling in a basket, but it did spark the idea and I had a few tilapia fillets in the freezer. I rubbed the fish with an oil/spice mix, wrapped each in bacon and cooked them in my cast-iron skillet (see the recipe below). When I was finished, I removed the fish, poured out most of the grease and added a 1 lb. bag of frozen cauliflower to the skillet. I cooked the cauliflower for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, added a little salt and white pepper and served.  It was about the best cauliflower I’ve ever tasted and even my sons asked for seconds. We ended up eating the whole bag! One of my sons ate an entire large fillet with three slices of bacon, too, so I guess this dinner is a keeper. Here’s the oxalate run-down for my dinner.

Dinner:

Bacon-wrapped tilapia fillet (4.5 mg. oxalate  )
1/4 cup pineapple (about 5.5 mg. oxalate)
1/2 cup baked, unseasoned butternut squash (4.9 mg. oxalate)
1 cup mixed lettuce and arugula with homemade vinaigrette ( about 2 mg. oxalate)
1 1/2 cups stir-fried cauliflower (about 5.5 mg. oxalate)

Dinner Total: 22.4 mg. oxalate

Daily Oxalate Total:  42.9 mg. oxalate

I hope you’ve enjoyed a sample menu from a typical day in my Paleo-ish, gluten-free, dairy-free world. You’ll notice I consumed about ten half-cup servings of fruit and vegetables. I don’t always hit this number, but I try for at least seven a day. I also occasionally eat black-eyed peas, a little sugar, greens peas, corn tortillas or rice, so I’m not completely Paleo. But I’m hoping to be again soon. And today was actually a Paleo perfect day for me, so that felt good. I’m stuffed and happy after that monster-sized dinner, so I probably won’t snack before bed. I also ate only one medium-oxalate food (boiled collard greens), so this was a lower oxalate day than some. Overall, a pretty yummy day in my world.

Here’s the recipe for the Bacon-Wrapped Tilapia.

Bacon-Wrapped Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets (about a pound)
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
8 -12 slices uncured, preservative -free bacon

Rub each fillet with a mixture of white pepper and paprika then drizzle with sesame seed oil. Wrap 2-3 slices of bacon around each fillet. I chose to completely wrap the fillets with bacon, but you could also leave a gap between the bacon slices and only use two . Cook in skillet over medium heat until bacon in browned on one side. About 7 minutes. Pour off some of the bacon fat if needed and cook another 6-7 minutes until the bacon is browned (it won’t brown if you’ve got too much grease in the skillet.) Transfer finished fillets to a paper towel-lined plate and let drain a minute. (If you’re cooking the cauliflower, too, this is the time to add your bag of frozen veggies to the skillet, turn up the heat a little, and stir-fry until tender.)

Makes 4 large servings or 8 smaller servings

Low Oxalate Info: All ingredients in bacon-wrapped tilapia are low oxalate except  paprika, which  has about 6.0 mg. oxalate per teaspoon. Bacon-wrapped tilapia has about 4.5 mg. oxalate per large serving (made with three slices bacon).

Other Diets: Bacon-wrapped tilapia may also be appropriate for gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, Paleo, low carb, GFCF and GAPS diets. Be sure to use  uncured, preservative-free bacon if you follow the GAPS protocol.

Pork Roast with Southern-Style Collard Greens and Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

If you’re new to the low oxalate diet and are feeling confused, here are a few simple low oxalate meal plans to help you get started.  Hopefully, these low oxalate meal plans will see you through the first 3-5 days of your low oxalate diet with confidence.  Take this time to read the low oxalate food list and to figure out some other healthy favorites you can eat (learn how to get the most accurate and up-to-date low oxalate list here).  As you feel more comfortable with the low oxalate diet and find some low oxalate recipes to try, you can substitute them into these basic low oxalate meal plans.

I have included low oxalate meal plans for both vegetarians and meat-eaters, although not for vegans (the low oxalate vegan diet takes a lot of planning and commitment and is a separate post altogether).  All meal options are gluten-free, plus many are dairy-free, grain-free, low sodium and Paleo-friendly (or can be easily modified to fit these diets.)  The oxalate values are approximations (rounded off for ease of addition!) and are meant only as guides.  See your  low oxalate food list for exact oxalate values.  Also note, most of the foods I chose are simple foods that are easy to prepare and that you might already have in your refrigerator or pantry.  The only exception is the coconut flour banana bread (which requires coconut flour), and can be easily left out if you choose not to make it.

Hope this helps you get started on your way to greater health.  Good luck!

Simple Low Oxalate Meal Plans:

Breakfast Option 1:                                                                        Breakfast Option 2:

1/2 – 1 cup plain yogurt ( 1 – 2.5 mg. oxalate)                         2 – 3 eggs  (trace oxalate)
.                                                                                                                   Cook eggs in 1/2 T butter or olive oil (trace – 1/2 mg.)
Choose one fruit (1.5 – 3.5 mg. oxalate):
1 medium apple                                                                                    Choose one fruit (4-6 mg. oxalate)
1 navel orange                                                                                              1/2 cup mango
1 peach                                                                                                             1 large apple
1/2 banana                                                                                                     1 banana
1/2 cup cantaloupe                                                                                    1/2 cup blue berries
1/2 cup red or concord grapes                                                              1/2 cup raw apricot halves
1 cup green grapes
1 cup watermelon                                                                                OR substitute veggies for the fruit (5.0 mg. oxalate)
1 cup honeydew melon                                                                     1/4 cup onions + 1/2 cup zucchini OR mushrooms
1 cup muskmelon                                                                                Cook veggies in 1/2 T butter or olive oil (trace – 1/2 mg.)

1 piece coconut flour banana bread (1.5 mg. oxalate)
(with butter or coconut oil)

1 cup coffee, Rooibos or herbal tea (1- 2.0 mg. oxalate)        1 cup coffee, Rooibos or herbal tea (1- 2.0 mg. oxalate)
such as chamomile, red raspberry or mint.                                 such as chamomile, red raspberry or mint.
(cream, milk, sugar, honey or liquid Stevia are okay)             (cream, milk, sugar, honey or liquid Stevia are okay)

Total Oxalate:  about 5 – 9.5 mg.                                                   Total Oxalate:  about 10 – 13 mg.

Santa Fe Bean Salad (Black-Eyed Pea Salad)

Lunch Option 1:

Large Salad: (about  7 mg. oxalate)
1 cup Romain lettuce
1/2 cup cucumbers
1/2 cup red pepper
1/2 cup purple cabbage
2 ounces shredded cheese

Choose one protein source:  (trace – 3 mg. oxalate)
Chicken (or any other non-processed meat)
Tuna (or any other fish)
Ham
1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
2-3 Hard-boiled Eggs
1/2 cup black-eyed peas                                                                   Lunch Option 2:
.                                                                                                                    1 cup Santa Fe Bean Salad  (6mg. oxalate)
Dressing  (total = 1-3 mg. oxalate)                                                1 white corn tortilla (2.5 mg. oxalate)
1 – 2  T olive oil                                                                                      1 avocado (about 1.5 mg. oxalate)
1 T apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
pinch salt and  white pepper {UK readers use this link}      Total Oxalate:   10 mg. oxalate
.
Total Oxalate:  8 – 13 mg. oxalate

Pork Chop covered with sauteed Peaches, Rice and Low Oxalate Southern-Style TurnipGreens

Dinner Option 1:

Choose 3 – 6 ounces grilled or roasted meat: (trace oxalate)
Chicken (or any unprocessed meat)
Salmon (or any unprocessed fish)

You may season your meat with any combination of salt,
1/8 teaspoon white pepper, 1 clove garlic and 1/4 teaspoon thyme (seasonings: trace – 1.5 mg. oxalate)

Choose one vegetable:  (4-6 mg. oxalate)
1 cup broccoli
1 cup cauliflower
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup asparagus
3/4 cup Low Oxalate Southern-Style Turnip or Mustard Greens

1/2 – 1 cup long grain white rice with salt and butter (trace)
Note: Do not use parboiled rice.

1 Fruit from the list under Breakfast option 1 (2.5 – 3.5 mg. oxalate)

Total Oxalate:  6.5 – 11.0 mg. oxalate

Jamaican Rice and Peas (here made with Pigeon Peas), Vegetarian Southern-Style Turnip Greens and Sauteed Cabbage and Green Pepper (instead of a low oxalate fruit)

Dinner Option 2:

1.5 -2.5 cups Jamaican Rice and Peas  (about 2.5 – 3.5 mg. oxalate made with black-eyed peas)

Choose one vegetable: (4-6 mg. oxalate)
1 cup broccoli
1 cup cauliflower
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup asparagus
3/4 cup Low Oxalate Southern-Style Turnip or Mustard Greens

1 Fruit from the list under Breakfast option 1 (2.5 – 3.5 mg. oxalate)

Total Oxalate:  9 – 13 mg. oxalate

Snack Options 1 -5:

Apple with 1 – 2 oz. sliced cheese (4 – 5 mg. oxalate)
24 Glutino Pretzel Twists  (2.5 mg. oxalate) {UK readers use this link}
1/2 cup cottage cheese with peach slices (4 – 5 mg. oxalate)
Coconut Flour Banana Bread with Butter (1.5 mg. oxalate)
1/2 banana with 1 tablespoon Sunbutter (6 mg. oxalate) {UK readers use this link}

Total Oxalate: 1.5 – 6 mg. oxalate

Low Oxalate Meal Plans Daily Oxalate Total:   21 – 45 mg. oxalate

If you follow these low oxalate meal plans and eat three meals and one snack each day- always choosing the lowest oxalate options (such as plain meat versus dairy products or legumes), you will have only eaten 21 mg. oxalate per day!  If you choose the highest oxalate option in each category (such as a banana with Sunbutter for your snack), you will still only have eaten 45 mg. oxalate each day.  If your goal is to eat between 40 – 60 mg. oxalate per day (typical for the low oxalate diet), then you are well within your limits.  You may choose not eat more oxalate, or you may choose to add a little more food to your menu.  You can either choose larger servings of the above foods, or you may occasionally add a medium oxalate food to your meals (such as 1/2 cup tomato to your salad or 2 tablespoons salsa to your chicken to make Salsa Chicken). Alternately, you may add more seasonings to your meat or vegetables.  Have fun slowly branching out and adding some of your own low oxalate favorites.

Hope these low oxalate meal plans help make your first week on the low oxalate diet easier!

Photo credits go to TheFoodGroupie for  Farmer’s Market Plate,  thebittenword.com for pork rib roast with greens,  karindalziel for dinner and to Eliza Adam for Black-eyed Peas and Corn Salad.