What are your healthy food staples?

tmmathe

Hey gals,I'm on a mission to switch to healthy eating.  I'm not baad now, but I could do better.  I just saw Alissa's post about greek yogurt and fruit, and so thought I'd ask:What are your favorite (and easy) healthy food staples, meals and snacks.  Better yet if you have a go-to sample menu for the day for brkfst, lunch, and dinner that is healthy, but good, please share!This will really help me(and I'm sure others) out.TIA!Tina

courtneybrooke921

GREAT post!!!! Here is my typical day. Breakfast - Banana & Fiber 1 Bar Snack - 100 Calorie Snack Lunch - Salad or a sandwhich Dinner - Varies... Salad? Soup? Chicken? Cereal? Dessert - Fruit or Weight Watchers ice cream bar.   Boring but true.

millenia98

Weight control banana bread oatmealCottage cheese and sugar free jellyapplessoy based fruit smoothies (1/2 cup soy, fresh fruit, ice)Tuna w/whole wheat crackersSoupshard boiled eggs

JillianLL

Yogurt or cereal for breakfast. Salad with protein (tuna, chicken, egg salad) for lunch. Steak, fish, or chicken with steamed veggies for din-din. Fruit for a snack. I find the best way to keep lean is to get a lot of protein and stay away from carbs as much as possible, but not totally.

Tiffayqp12

Well right now I eat planned meals because I am on Jenny craig, but when I was just eating healthy before I would stick to a 1200 calorie diet (some days I would eat 1500 just to swtich it up once a week). B: cup of skim milk & 1 piece of toast with an egg Snack: Yogurt (100 calories or less) Lunch: Salad with light dressing and half sandwhich (something around 250 calories not including the salad) Snack: Veggies with Hummus Dinner: Grilled chicken and veggies (or 3-4 oz of any lean meat or steak) Dessert: Now on Jenny I get dessert everynight. Good desserts are the lowfat pudding with fruit or a 100 cal pack of cookies if you want something sweet. For all intents and purposes, my Jenny menu is almost the same as this...I have milk with the jenny bfast and then 2 snacks and a dessert everday. I use the jenny meals for B, L, & D....add salad to lunch and veggies to dinner.

tmmathe

Court, I'm all about the 100-cal snacks!Millenia, I'm not a fan of cottage cheese and fruit, but I really want to try it with sugar free jelly...great idea!

tmmathe

Jilly, carbs have been a problem lately, but like I said I'm ona  mission.  I could see egg salad on a salad being a great staple for me(trying to incorporate vegetarian meals as much as possible in my diet bc Dhru's vegetarian...thank goodness he eats eggs!).  I just have to make sure I make it in a healthy way!

TtotheG

Breakfast: Usually 1/2 cup - 1 cup Irish Oatmeal with three tablespoons of coconut oil.Snack: Usually few pieces of a lean cut meat & cheeseLunch: whatever is left over from last nights dinner. Today I have a small piece of gluten free lasagna.Snack: Usually cut up veggies. Dinner: I keep things interesting with dinner. Tonight we are having gluten free & organic chicken piccata with roasted potatoes. Snack: My vice. . . small cup of ice cream :x

tmmathe

Tiffay, great meal plan!  I'm taking notes on all these, and plan on going shopping today!

tmmathe

Tess, is coconut oil good for you, is that why you put it in your oatmeal? I've never heard of doing this...please share

TtotheG

Tina - it's VERY good for you. http://www.coconutoil.com/litalee.htmI use it because it's also a natural laxative. Sorry TMI :x lol. But since my surgery, it's been a God sent.

YHFoxtrot

My typical day: Breakfast: Banana Dannon Light and Fit Low fat Granola (sometimes in my yogurt) Mid morning snack: Low Fat String Cheese or Hard Boiled Egg Lunch: I usually eat Nutrisystem Lunch but if not I get a salad with grilled chicken and light dressing Apple  (Fuji, Honey Crisp, or macintosh) Afternoon snack: Few Slices of Boars Head Turkey (honey maple or turkey pastrami) Dinner: Usually grilled chicken or Lean Cuisine or Nutrisystem Dinner Steamed Broccoli Dessert: 100 Calorie Pop Corn Ice Pops Or some Nutrisystem Dessert

jennej24

I haven't been to healthy lately. I have a bad habit of when I am dieting to just eat protein bars for lunch, I have been eating Zone Perfect and Special K ones. It is good for losing weight, but I don't think it is healthy. When I am healthy oatmeal for breakfast. Salad for lunch with dried cranberries or croutons for flavor (I don't like dressing anyway). Chicken for dinner. Since you are trying to go vegetarian I will share my favorite recipe. I made it for my FI and he didn't even believe there was no meat in it. Tofu enchiladas. I get the big flour tortillias, fat free refried beans, enchilada sauce, 2% or fat free cheddar cheese, onions (and peppers or whatever other veggies you want), and tofu crumbles. I cook the tofu crumbles and onion with taco seasoning. Then I coat both sides of the shell with enchilada sauce and put all the filling in and roll up. Then I bake for like 20 minutes on 350 degrees. It is so yummy, and I don't think really too bad for you if you get the low fat or fat free cheese. It is kind of a pain to make though. Smoothies are good too, I found you can add a half to a cup of leaf spinach and not even taste it. I just put bananas, milk, ice, spinach, and a packet or two of splenda or sweet and low. This is one of my favorite easy recipes: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/parmesan-crusted-chicken-in-cream-91371.aspx

tmmathe

Tess- not tmi, and ygm!Jaime- don't laugh, but is nutrisystem in the frozen food section? or is it a meal plan you purchase? 

tmmathe

jenne, omg, those enchiladas sound so good...I'm making them this week!GREAT idea about the spinach...we make fruit smoothies all the time, so that's good to know.  I'll definitely try this...you don't lose the nutrients when you blend spinach, do you?

YHFoxtrot

Nutrisystem is a food program you have to buy... like Jenny Craig kind of thing.I did NS in 2007and lost 20lbs in less than 3 months without exercise. It was awesome. Since then I've done it on and off but never consistently b/c I have burned out on the food so it doens't reallyy work for me anymore but I still follow the basic principles of the plan (see my daily food diet Posted above) and I eat NS food most of the days  still....it's a great program b/c it really works if you follow it.

jennej24

I don't know if it looses nutrients when blending it.... it seems like it would lose less than if you cook it....

avmn10

I think all the girls have great ideas, one thing I would add is to drink lots of water.  Try to cut out sodas, etc.  GL!

sford75

First off, if you want to switch to healthy eating read Jillian Michaels' book, "Master Your Metabolism". It will change the way you think about food.  I used to eat mainly diet and sugar free food, but now I eat mostly fresh whole foods (and usually more calories) and my body has taken notice. I'm slowly becoming more toned, my skin is briter and my nails and hair are healthy. It's amazing to think about all the chemicals I was putting into my body.With that said, here is a typical day of eating for me:Breakfast (pre-workout) - 1 fl oz of pure Goji Juice1 serving of a fiber supplement1/2 cup of Almond Milk unsweetened1/2 serving of whey protein1 tsp coconut oil(If I had an extra hard workout, I'll add in some fruit)Breakfast (post-workout)4 egg white vegetable omelette w/ baby bellas, onions, bell peppers, spinach & kale.Lunch4oz of grilled fish or chicken2 servings of steamed vegetables, usually broccoli, green beans or asparagus1/2 cup of quinoa or black beans (I cut this out if I have an event that week)1 piece of fruit (usually an apple)Afternoon SnackGreek Yogurt Plain NonfatFruit (usually berries or citrus)DinnerUsually similiar to what I had for lunch, minus the fruit.PM SnackIf hungry, I'll have some hard boiled egg whites, tuna salad or some almonds.

zobo410

5 servings of veggies a day, 12oz of protein, sugar free or low sugar. If you find things that are low in sugar, then you'll see a drastic cut in carbs, fat, and calories. Also... I love cooking light magazine and eating well. Such great recipes and they have really great advice. I suggest a subscription to those!

tmmathe

Thanks Jaime...I didn't want to purchase a meal plan, that's why I was asking...if I put any money towards losing weight, it's going to be for a trainer!Shannon, your meal plan is perfection.  I just read it to my mom, and we're both going to try it out(and try to stick to it!)

tmmathe

Andra, great tip on the cooking light....some of my favorite recipes are from the few cooking light mags I have lying around. 

JillianLL

T, carbs are a hard one to control, especially with breakfast foods, thats why I'll usually have them at breakfast. And then not eat them the rest of the day. You can do it girl!!

PinkShoesGal

To be honest, I pretty much eat whatever I want and work out like a mad woman. If I want a slice of pizza, then I eat a slice of pizza. I only allow myself one or a small bite of whatever I'm craving. If I know we're going to have pizza for dinner, I'll make sure my breakfast and lunch are on the healthier side and eat a salad with my slice of pizza. If I'm out drinking, I'll stick with vodka and soda due to its lower calorie count. For me, it's all a balancing act.

tmmathe

Morgan, I hate you and your metabolism.Haha, no, seriously...I definitely won't deprive myself, but I do think I need a bit more structure bc I don't have the discipline to have just one bite of something that's not healthy, haha.vodka is a good call...I suppose I should give up my mojitos!

TheJennius

You ... guys make me so bad about my eating habits.Metabolism or no metabolism, I eat wrong.

andilynn6585

Just wanted to add that pineapple juice is really good for you. It helps break down fat. I always have it in the fridge, and absolutely love it!!! Grapefruits and its juice does the same thing.

zobo410

Be careful with fruit drinks though because they have TONS of sugar in them. Also, I was told at my weight place that alcohol calories/sugar stay in your body for three days!!! They tell you to cut it out completely.

goldie3474

chobani yogurt!!!!! i eat apples allll the time too they curb my hunger as well as oatmeal