What I Ate in a Week on the Bean Protocol

I haven’t shared a post like this is foreeeeeever! In the past, I would share What I Ate in a Day posts, but I found that it put me in a weird headspace, it made me feel like people were judging my diet, and then I found proof of that in gossip forums talking about how I ate too much or ate too little. So I dropped that style of post for years. I also found that other people would compare themselves in a some sort of negative way, and that’s not why I shared those posts. I shared them because I think it’s helpful for some people, it gives other people ideas of what they could eat at home, and it inspires others to try new foods. But if looking at people’s daily food intake triggers, just don’t read it. I simply want to share what my diet is looking like these days while on the Bean Protocol to hopefully help someone who is going down the same path with their health.

I started the Bean Protocol over 2 months ago and I’ve seen drastic results in 2 months. My acne is clearing up like I hoped and I’m really loving this kind of eating. For the first 2 months, I was SUPER strict. No sugar, no alcohol, no caffeine, no fat when I ate beans, etc., but now I’m being a bit more flexible with my meals. And that’s because it’s something I want to stick with long term, so I need a bit more balance. If you’re a person who is trying to heal a health issue or autoimmune disease, that flexibility might not be an option, keep that in mind. For me, it’s worked, BUT I still have had some breakouts from not being super strict. Not being as strict has helped with my mental state, but not my physical state, aka acne.

Now before we jump in, let me prepare you for BOREDOM. My meals are boring AF, especially last week when I was absolutely drowning in work. My meals are mostly comprised of leftovers because that’s all I can get together in the 10 minutes I have free. Not all weeks look like this, many others are filled with way more veggies, but it’s a good overview on how it’s averagely looked day-to-day during the Bean Protocol. Just know, I never measure or weigh anything, or even track it in full details, so you’ll see ‘spoonfuls’ or ‘handfuls’ because of that. And just FYI, I’ll be sharing a full blog post at the 3-month mark of the Bean Protocol where I’ll share a full in-depth look at my experience on it!

Below is a photo of the bean dip I’ve been LOVING lately and eating all day every day! I eat it with chips, with veggies, with meals – with everything. So when you see me mention bean dip, this is what I’m talking about!

Monday

Snack 1 – Glass of Oatly low fat oat milk

Snack 2 – Handful of plantain chips with bean dip

Breakfast – Black beans, turmeric rice, ground turkey cooked in everything but the bagel seasoning

Lunch – Black beans, turmeric rice, ground turkey cooked in everything but the bagel seasoning

Snack 3 – Handful of taro chips

Dinner – Stewed beans and steak tip hash

Tuesday

Breakfast – Black beans, turmeric rice, ground turkey

Snack 1 – 1/2 red bell pepper and bean dip

Lunch – Steak tip hash, eggs (leftover from a burrito bowl over the weekend), black beans

Snack 2 – Handful of taro chips with bean dip

Dinner – Modern Market pork grain bowl – I divided it (so I could have leftover the next day) and added black beans

Wednesday

Snack 1 – 1/2 redbell pepper and bean dip

Breakfast – Burrito (made into a bowl) at Bacon Social House (ate about 1/2-3/4 of it)

Lunch – Leftover Modern Market and couple handfuls of plantain chips

Snack 1 – 1/2 yellow pepper and bean dip

Dinner – Bean and steak tostada with chickpea tortilla (ate only 1/2 the tortilla and more of the stewed beans)

Snack 2 – Couple spoonfuls of peanut butter

Thursday

Breakfast – Black beans, turmeric rice, ground turkey

Snack 1 – 1/2 yellow pepper and bean dip

Snack 2 – Couple spoonfuls of peanut butter

Snack 3 – Handful of plantain chips

Lunch – Ground sirloin, black beans, bean dip, turmeric rice

Snack 4 – More plantain chips and bean dip

Dinner – Lentil taco pasta with some garlic dip mix in

Snack 5 – Couple spoonfuls of peanut butter

Friday

Snack 1 –Glass of Oatly low fat oat milk

Breakfast – Turmeric rice, stewed beans, bean dip

Snack 2 – Couple bowls of popcorn

Lunch – 1/2 burger with fries from Five Guys + small bowl of black beans on the side

Snack 3 – Handful of plantain chips and bean dip

Dinner – Ground beef cooked with onions, mushrooms, and lentils paired with a veggie sauté of onions, bell pepper, carrots, and zucchini

Saturday

Breakfast – Oats with leftover ground beef with lentils and a small bit of veggies

Snack 1 – 1/2 yellow pepper and bean dip

Snack 2 – Decaf oat milk latte (drank 1/2 of it) from Rivers & Roads Coffee

Lunch – Ground beef with lentils, turmeric rice, and black beans

Snack 3 – Plantain chips with bean dip

Dinner – Khao Sio from Daughter’s Thai – only ate 1/2 portion (got rice instead of noodle)

Snack 4 – Bowl of black beans with white rice

Sunday

Breakfast – Turmeric rice, leftover ground beef with lentils, and black beans

Snack 1 – Black beans with white rice

Lunch – Inside of falafel wrap with a couple bites of wrap & some fried cauliflower & broccoli from Vital Root

Snack 2 – Couple spoonfuls of peanut butter

Snack 3 -small bowl of black beans

Dinner – The other 1/2 portion from my khao sio

I hope this post gives you a little more insight into what the Bean Protocol for someone who isn’t being too crazy strict on it while still making it part of their daily life! Let me know if you have any questions below!!