I make a weekly plan for dinners. I try to have a variety of protein sources- (lean) pork, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, etc- and a variety of vegetable side dishes. Also, I use only whole grains and try to mix that up, as well. I try to include whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole wheat cous cous, quinoa, whole grain bread and so forth. If you keep things interesting through variety of flavors and food choices, you have a better chance at consistently eating healthy. Of course, this takes planning. At least, at first. After a while, you will get into a groove of what kinds of things to put on the grocery list so that you have things on hand to throw together a healthy meal. Until then, plan a week's worth of meals that meet your health guidelines for calorie & fat intake.
Now, I mentioned I do a weekly plan for dinners. What about the other meals? Well, for breakfast- I am pretty well versed in what works well for me and have those things on hand. I can list several breakfasts that I choose from. Then, for lunch I have left overs, or other "stand-by" lunches. I will tell more about the stand-bys in a minute. For now, here is the dinner plan. They are in no particular order; you can make them on whatever day of the week works best with your schedule.
This week's dinner plan:
Day 1: Broiled Talapia with Thai Coconut Curry Sauce I will serve a mixed greens salad, lightly tossed with a vinaigrette dressing. I may put cucumbers & tomatoes into the salad, as well.
Day 2: Crock Pot 3-Bean Turkey Chili I will make corn bread made with whole wheat flour to go with. Also, I will top the chili with diced tomatoes, cilantro & scallions to add a little more fresh veggies.
Day 3: Tomato Caper Sauce with Chicken Breast (instead of Tilapia)- I am doing my own adaptation of this recipe. I will make the caper sauce and cook the chicken breast on my George Foreman grill (GFG). Just trying to mix up our meats (protein sources) for the week. I am going to serve this over baked spaghetti squash.
Day 4: Roasted Beets, Rutabaga, Carrots & Onions with Aidells Habanero Chicken Sausage with Rapini. I will make a variation of this Broccoli Rabe recipe. For the root veggies- I cut them into similarly sized chunks. Then, I lightly toss them with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), salt & pepper. They don't need much EVOO. The trick to keeping them from sticking to the baking sheet is to put the sheet in the oven while the oven heats up (400°-450°) so the sheet is hot when you spread the vegetables over it. Back until browned & crispy on the outside, but soft when pricked with a fork or toothpick. I won't put the sausage in the oven with the veggies. They don't need that long to cook. I will cook them on the stove in a pan- or on the GFGrill.
Day 5: Thai Super Soup. Ok, I have to admit- I haven't made this before, nor do I have a recipe. I had a delicious soup at the local Thai restaurant, and I am going to try and recreate it. I am usually pretty successful at this type of endeavor- so it isn't a total long shot...! I have shrimp, chicken broth, bok choy, cilantro, lemon grass (fresh), water chestnuts, carrots, leeks & small crimini mushrooms. I plan to combine them in some sort of delicious soup way... I will keep you posted on how I actually make it!
Day 6: Shepard's Pie- Lightened Up This uses lean ground beef. I haven't used beef yet this week, so this will be a nice change. This is kind of a "one-dish-meal", so I don't know that I will need a side grain or veggie.
Day 7: Left overs. I usually have something left over from most meals- so, I have a night where everyone can choose leftovers to eat.
Quick, nutritious & filling breakfasts:
•1/3 cup cottage cheese with 1/2 cup blueberries or strawberries
•2 egg white omelette with spinach & mushrooms
•1/2 c oatmeal (made with whole oats- from scratch) with cinnamon & sweetened with a little honey or chopped dried fruit- such as apricots, craisins, raisins, blueberries; or served with fresh (or frozen) fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, peaches, bananas (fresh- not frozen!), etc. Depending upon how many calories you allot yourself for breakfast will determine how much fruit you can add.
•1 grapefruit or orange
•1 piece of fruit with 1 oz of almonds (apple, pear, peach, etc)
•1 piece of toast topped with 1 T peanut butter, apple slice (circular, not wedge) & cinnamon
Lunch Ideas:
I like to use the Oroweat Sandwich Thins to make sandwiches. It is only 100 calories per... set? It is 2 "slices", at any rate. I have a couple of favorite sandwiches right now:
•Chicken breast, blue cheese, mixed greens and "Hot Wings Sauce"
•1/4 avocado mixed with diced tomatoes & jalapeños- spread on one piece of bread; the other piece has Trader Joe's Spicy Black Bean Dip spread on it. Then top with mixed greens & Chicken or Turkey lunch meat.
•Trader Joe's Red Pepper Eggplant spread with chicken or turkey meat, mixed greens & cucumbers
•Turkey or chicken meat (or lunch meat) with goat cheese, strawberries & mixed greens. Or, make it as a salad:
•Mixed greens salad with chicken breast, goat cheese, strawberries and Champagne Pear Vinaigrette (from Trader Joe's)
There are more... I will look at my food log and report some others. This gets this week's food plan going!
Now, I mentioned I do a weekly plan for dinners. What about the other meals? Well, for breakfast- I am pretty well versed in what works well for me and have those things on hand. I can list several breakfasts that I choose from. Then, for lunch I have left overs, or other "stand-by" lunches. I will tell more about the stand-bys in a minute. For now, here is the dinner plan. They are in no particular order; you can make them on whatever day of the week works best with your schedule.
This week's dinner plan:
Day 1: Broiled Talapia with Thai Coconut Curry Sauce I will serve a mixed greens salad, lightly tossed with a vinaigrette dressing. I may put cucumbers & tomatoes into the salad, as well.
this shows Tilapia- I will use Chicken.
Day 4: Roasted Beets, Rutabaga, Carrots & Onions with Aidells Habanero Chicken Sausage with Rapini. I will make a variation of this Broccoli Rabe recipe. For the root veggies- I cut them into similarly sized chunks. Then, I lightly toss them with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), salt & pepper. They don't need much EVOO. The trick to keeping them from sticking to the baking sheet is to put the sheet in the oven while the oven heats up (400°-450°) so the sheet is hot when you spread the vegetables over it. Back until browned & crispy on the outside, but soft when pricked with a fork or toothpick. I won't put the sausage in the oven with the veggies. They don't need that long to cook. I will cook them on the stove in a pan- or on the GFGrill.
Day 5: Thai Super Soup. Ok, I have to admit- I haven't made this before, nor do I have a recipe. I had a delicious soup at the local Thai restaurant, and I am going to try and recreate it. I am usually pretty successful at this type of endeavor- so it isn't a total long shot...! I have shrimp, chicken broth, bok choy, cilantro, lemon grass (fresh), water chestnuts, carrots, leeks & small crimini mushrooms. I plan to combine them in some sort of delicious soup way... I will keep you posted on how I actually make it!
Day 6: Shepard's Pie- Lightened Up This uses lean ground beef. I haven't used beef yet this week, so this will be a nice change. This is kind of a "one-dish-meal", so I don't know that I will need a side grain or veggie.
Quick, nutritious & filling breakfasts:
•1/3 cup cottage cheese with 1/2 cup blueberries or strawberries
•2 egg white omelette with spinach & mushrooms
•1/2 c oatmeal (made with whole oats- from scratch) with cinnamon & sweetened with a little honey or chopped dried fruit- such as apricots, craisins, raisins, blueberries; or served with fresh (or frozen) fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, peaches, bananas (fresh- not frozen!), etc. Depending upon how many calories you allot yourself for breakfast will determine how much fruit you can add.
•1 grapefruit or orange
•1 piece of fruit with 1 oz of almonds (apple, pear, peach, etc)
•1 piece of toast topped with 1 T peanut butter, apple slice (circular, not wedge) & cinnamon
Lunch Ideas:
I like to use the Oroweat Sandwich Thins to make sandwiches. It is only 100 calories per... set? It is 2 "slices", at any rate. I have a couple of favorite sandwiches right now:
•Chicken breast, blue cheese, mixed greens and "Hot Wings Sauce"
•1/4 avocado mixed with diced tomatoes & jalapeños- spread on one piece of bread; the other piece has Trader Joe's Spicy Black Bean Dip spread on it. Then top with mixed greens & Chicken or Turkey lunch meat.
•Trader Joe's Red Pepper Eggplant spread with chicken or turkey meat, mixed greens & cucumbers
•Turkey or chicken meat (or lunch meat) with goat cheese, strawberries & mixed greens. Or, make it as a salad:
•Mixed greens salad with chicken breast, goat cheese, strawberries and Champagne Pear Vinaigrette (from Trader Joe's)
There are more... I will look at my food log and report some others. This gets this week's food plan going!
I love this new blog of yours. Thanks for sharing these healthy recipes with us.
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