A healthy meal plan

Sometimes taking what you know about proper nutrition and applying it to real life situations is difficult.  Here is a sample meal plan that incorporates the proper breakdown of fats, carbs, and proteins; as well as, providing enough variety for a good mix of vitamins and minerals.  These meals are designed to keep you full until the next meal three hours later.  However, if your activity level is high, you may need a small snack between meals.  Just keep the snacks as close to a whole food as possible.

On-the-go breakfast:

1/2C blueberries (you can freeze them if you want)
1 medium banana
1/2C low-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/2C raw kale

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Put it in a cup with a straw to take with you on the way to work.  Eat with 2 pieces of whole grain toast with 2T natural peanut butter.

619 cal, 22.1g fat, 93.8g carb, 20.8g protein.

Healthy lunch:

Lunch needs to be a larger meal than supper.  It needs to include protein, carbs, and fats, and because you are busy, it needs to be easy.  Try a whole grain pasta with home-made marinara sauce and grilled vegetables.  The marinara sauce can be made over the wekend and frozen into individual servings until needed.  Vegetables and pasta can be made the night before.  Use peppers, onions, zucchini, and summer squash broiled or grilled with a little bit of olive oil and pepper.  Make your own marinara sauce with peeled whole tomatoes (not canned), oregano, garlic, basil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of sugar.  Look for whole grain pasta.

270 cal, 6g fat, 380mg sodium, 46g carb, 8g protein, 4g fiber.

Eat the pasta with a nice salad made from dark green, leafy vegetables (spring mix or spinach) and apple cider vinegar instead of fatty, high-calorie dressings.

Not-too-filling supper:

Supper is the meal where most people overeat.  We are tired from a long day and want to just veg out watching television or reading a book.  Supper is also the meal where we will tend to meet up with family and friends.  Either way, we do not eat mindfully; we need to take time to taste and enjoy what we are eating.

Try a warm fig and arugula salad.  Combine arugula and butter lettuce in a bowl.  Halve the figs and broil them for 3-5 minutes before placing them on the salad.  Lightly mix with a basic salad dressing (low-fat balsamic would be great).  This particular recipe cam from Chris Carmichael's Fitness Cookbook--a recommended read for anyone who wants a variety of healthy recipes.

105 cal; 21g carb; 3g protein; 1g fat

This salad can be enjoyed with a piece of whole grain bread if it is later in the evening or with some baked free-range chicken and brown rice if you wish a fuller meal.  Either way, just keep in mind the main meal should be lunch and supper should be lighter meal that will hold you until morning.

Happy, healthy eating!