DIET MEAL PLANS

You will certainly benefit from using a meal planner, whether it is a formal printed or interactive planner or simply a few notes jotted down on the back of an envelope. With a little preparation, planning your meals in advance can help you save time and money at the grocery store or from dashing through the drive-thru at lunch or dinner. Developing a meal plan can also help you eat a more nutritious, well-balanced diet that includes nutrient-rich foods from each of the five food groups. You may find that you can better manage your weight if you plan and prepare meals at home more often.

Here are some tips and ideas for developing and sticking to a meal plan –

1. Create a two-week or one-month rotation of your favorite recipes and change-up as necessary

2. Scour your pantry, freezer and fridge to plan meals around items you already have on hand

3. Include meals in your plan when you will eat out or take-out/pick-up so that the meal plan reflects your realistic schedule

4. Search our database of healthy recipes for ideas and new twists

5. Plan meals that include foods from each of the food groups

6. Include snacks on your meal plan so that you can use them as opportunities to eat more nutritious foods

7. Look for meals that use similar ingredients like fresh spices or leftover chicken to avoid waste

8. Remember to include beverages in your meal plan to identify where you may be taking in empty calories or have opportunities to add food groups like milk or fruit

9. Take our Food Personality Quiz to help you figure out what items to add to your shopping list

Regardless of how you decide to meal plan, taking some time to think about preparing meals ahead will help you save time, money and eat healthier! If you’re preparing meals for your family, you’ll be ready with an answer when asked What’s for dinner? or What can I eat? You can even plan family meals to cook with kids or for older children and teens to prepare on their own.

A low-carb diet is a diet that restricts carbohydrates, such as those found in sugary foods, pasta and bread. It is high in protein, fat and healthy vegetables. There are many different types of low-carb diets, and studies show that they can cause weight reduction and improve health. This is a detailed meal plan for a low-carb diet. What to eat, what to avoid and a sample low-carb menu for one week.

A Low Carb Diet Meal Plan

What foods you should eat depends on a few things, including how healthy you are, how much you exercise and how much weight you have to reduce. Consider all of this as a general guideline, not something written in stone.

The Basics

Eat: Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, high-fat dairy, fats, healthy oils and maybe even some tubers and non-gluten grains. Don’t Eat: Sugar, HFCS, wheat, seed oils, trans fats, diet and low-fat products and highly processed foods.

Foods to Avoid

You should avoid these 7 foods, in order of importance –

1. Sugar: Soft drinks, fruit juices, agave, candy, ice cream and many others.

2. Gluten Grains: Wheat, spelt, barley and rye. Includes breads and pastas.

3. Trans Fats: “Hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils.

4. High Omega-6 Seed- and Vegetable Oils:Cottonseed-, soybean-, sunflower-, grapeseed-, corn-, safflower and canola oils.

5. Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucralose, Cyclamates and Acesulfame Potassium. Use Stevia instead.

6. “Diet” and “Low-Fat” Products: Many dairy products, cereals, crackers, etc.

7. Highly Processed Foods: If it looks like it was made in a factory, don’t eat it.

You MUST read ingredients lists, even on foods labelled as health foods.

Low Carb Food List – Foods to Eat

You should base your diet on these real, unprocessed, low-carb foods.

1. Meat: Beef, lamb, pork, chicken and others. Grass-fed is best.

2. Fish: Salmon, trout, haddock and many others. Wild-caught fish is best.

3. Eggs: Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs are best.

4. Vegetables: Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and many others.

5. Fruits: Apples, oranges, pears, blueberries, strawberries.

6. Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.

7. High-Fat Dairy: Cheese, butter, heavy cream, yogurt.

8. Fats and Oils: Coconut oil, butter, lard, olive oil and cod fish liver oil.

9. If you need to reduce weight, be careful with the cheese and nuts because they’re easy to overeat on. Don’t eat more than one piece of fruit per day.

SAMPLE MEAL PLAN: WEIGHT REDUCTION

1. Breakfast: Shrimp scramble with basil and steamed spinach. A fourth cup blueberries. Espresso.

2. Lunch: Chicken salad with red onions, romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts and mixed bell peppers. Dressing: Lemon or Olive Oil with a hint of garlic. Green tea with lemon.

3. Snack: Grilled shrimp & veggies with a hand full of macadamias.

4. Dinner: Baked pork loin with ginger cabbage and olive oil. Dessert: shaved almonds over 1/4 cup mixed berries.

SAMPLE MEAL PLAN: THE ENDURANCE ATHLETE

Let’s assume an early run, bike or swim interval session. Depending upon your preferences you may opt to train on an empty stomach. If you prefer a small snack before training here is a good way to start your day:

1. Pre-training Snack: 2 oz chicken OR 2 scrambled eggs, half to a fourth honey dew melon OR 1 cup of blueberries.

2. Post Training Breakfast: best if consumed within 30 min of training, Salmon scramble, half honey dew or rock melon+1 cup of blueberries. OR Grilled salmon, sweet potato hash browns with olive oil and cinnamon.

3. Lunch: Grass fed ground beef marinara over baked spaghetti squash.

4. Snack: Can of sardines, medium orange, hand full of almonds.

5. Dinner: Baked Halibut, large Artichoke. Garlic-pistachio pesto for the halibut and as a dipping sauce for the artichoke.

SAMPLE MEAL PLAN: THE POWER ATHLETE

1. Breakfast: 4-6 egg omelet with 1 whole avocado. half cup blue berries.

2. Pre-workout snack: 2-4 oz grilled chicken, handful of almonds or macadamias.

3. Post-workout meal: 6-8 oz grilled salmon, asparagus, mushroom, bamboo shoot, coconut milk curry.

4. Snack: Canned salmon salad with olive oil, avocado, tomatoes and red onion.

5. Dinner: Grilled grass fed Rib eye with grilled shrimp. Large mixed salad with greens, red onions and ginger sesame dressing.