My wish for this month is to eat better and I’m hoping it continues for the rest of the year. As we all know eating healthy and exercise go hand in hand, so I also plan on exercising at least 5 days a week for 30 minutes. I’m feeling positive about this with my 30 Days of Better Eating Weekly Meal Plan! Though one of my goals is to lose weight, my overall goal is to make better choices at meal times.
Honestly, I hate planning meals but I’m ready to start my healthy, weekly meal plan in order to see some changes in my life. Those of you who thrive on planning everything are probably wondering how in the world I’ve survived feeding a family of 5 this long. Though I despise it, the last time I tried meal planning, I noticed I was eating better. So I’m going to do it again for at least the next 30 days and we’ll see how far I go with it, after that.
- The first week meal plan: I posted on my FB page daily
- Week 2 meal plan: can be found here on my blog.
Please note, I’m not a nutritionist. I’m just a mom whose struggled all her life with making good choices in between meals and at times during meals. I’m just sharing with you what I’m doing. Also, I don’t recommend the full (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for children or teens. So, if you fall in that category this is not for you. Feel free to tweak it to make it work for you.
In most cases, I’ll serve my family the same menu but add the bread and grains for them to enjoy. My goal is to significantly reduce unhealthy grains and sugar from my diet, but not to totally cut them out because I believe that in moderation we can enjoy all things. But do try to avoid white sugar, white bread, white pasta, white grains. Avoid using unhealthy oils like vegetable oil, replace it with coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil. Avoid starchy veggies and high in sugar fruit, you can’t go wrong with berries.
If you’re not seeing results go back and look at your weekly meal plans and see if you have too many carbs or sugary meal options and check your portions during your dinner meals. One thing I’m learning is that if you’re eating a good fat filled meal you don’t want to pair it up with lots of carbs or sugar. It raises your glycemic index and well I’ll let someone who sounds intelligent share what happens next. via Healthy Eating
“Consuming too many simple carbs may lead to weight gain. Eating a food item loaded with simple carbohydrates, such as white rice or white bread, causes blood glucose to suddenly spike. This makes your pancreas release extra insulin to help cells absorb the glucose. Your body uses whatever glucose it needs right away and then stores the rest as glycogen in your liver and muscles, although you can only store a certain amount of glycogen. Insulin helps store any extra glucose that is not used right away and cannot be stored. Excess glucose is stored as fat, explains Dr. Barry Groves in Diabetes Health magazine. Over time, the extra fat storage can drastically increase your weight.”
This is not a weight-loss meal plan nor is it my end goal (though I personally hope to lose weight). It’s exactly what it says: a plan to eat better for the next 30 days. Please consult your physician before trying making any drastic changes to your exercise and food intake.
30 Days of Better Eating Weekly Meal Plan
You’ll need our FREE Weekly Menu Planner just click here to download it and print it off:Weekly meals option 2 and begin filling it in with any of the options below or your own favorite healthy meal options. The snacks are important so you don’t feel hungry in between meals. I’ve shared some healthy snack options for you to choose from. I usually eat every 3 hours: 7ish, 10ish, 12ish, 3ish and 6ish.
I will avoid sugary drinks and stick to water or water with lemon (no sugar added). Also, whatever you do, don’t skip a meal. I’m notorious for this and metabolism has suffered for it. My plan is to eat all 3 meals but what usually happens is I get so busy that by the time I realize I didn’t eat, it’s time for the next meal.
You can pick and choose any of these combinations I just would be careful that you don’t fill your day with lots of carb options. Carbs are not bad but as I mentioned above–moderation is the key. For example, if for breakfast you’re having an open faced sandwich or cereal you don’t want to have a meatball sandwich for lunch and Italian Pizza Pie for dinner. Also, if the recipe you like uses a fattening dressing for the salad then switch it out for something healthier. Look at the ingredients in the recipes below and switch it out for healthier options. I make our Italian Pizza pie with quinoa crust and that works for us.
Breakfast:
I’m really bad at eating breakfast so I’m just going to stick to the basics. I’ll start off my day with drinking a glass of water and then having green tea with lemon with my breakfast. I suggest you eat breakfast right away to kick start your metabolism right from the get go. Also, get rid of the sugary cereal.
Cranberry Apple Breakfast Yogurt Parfait. 2 grain free pancakes and a cup of fruit. Flourless Apple Pancakes. Power Green Smoothie and a boiled egg. Flourless Berry Pancakes . Egg, Tomato & Avocado Sandwich (grain-free), bowl of oatmeal with berries, Mini Ham and Cheese Quinoa muffins , Open faced egg sandwich ( 1 half of an English muffin), Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Bake, veggie omelet, eggs and greens, eggsadilla, Banana Peanut Butter Chia Pudding, Cantaloupe Granola Parfait bowls (1/2 small cantaloupe, filled with yogurt and 1/4 cp granola)
Lunch:
Avocado Salad Bowl: Bacon Zuchinni & Tomato, Zucchini Pizza Bites, 1 Pizza muffin and a salad, Thai Lettuce Wraps, Fat Burning Cabbage Tortilla Soup, summer Taco Salad (omit chips, sour cream and lightly use cheese), Strawberry Chicken Salad, Baked Turkey Meatballs on a wheat pita and salad. Quinoa Pizza Bites and a salad, Apple Pecan and Feta Salad (add chicken to make it more hearty), Open face Black bean Burger (1 piece of whole grain bread, Weight loss magic soup, Cranberry Orange Quinoa Salad, Asian Coleslaw with chicken pieces. sweet potato baked with chicken, tuna salad in lettuce wraps,
Dinner:
Italian Pizza Pie (1 serving) with a Salad, Italian Zuchinni Boats with salad, Healthy Quinoa Gorditas and a cucumber & tomato salad, chipotle Lime Fish Tacos (1 or 2 corn tortillas), Sweet Potato Chipotle Soup w/ Quinoa, Moroccan Chicken Bake, Baked Turkey Meatballs on a wheat pita and vegetable pie, Tortilla Bowls with Mango chicken Salad, Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken and Light Balsamic Roasted Veggies, Sun dried Tomato Quinoa Burger on (wheat bread or gluten free bread)and zucchini tots, Stir fry, Chicken Soup, Lentil and Sausage soup, Meat loaf, One Pot minestrone soup, Fauxtato Cauliflower soup, Eggroll in a bowl, summer taco salad (above), Quinoa Enchilada Casserole, Cauliflower Pepperoni Pizza Bake, Baked Tandoori chicken drumsticks, Chicken Gyros (wheat pita) and greek salad , Chicken and Zucchini Bacon and rice casserole, grilled ginger sesame chicken salad, balsamic glazed steak rolls with vegetable pie, Mango Curry Grilled Chicken with black bean, corn *& rice salad, chicken adobo (or the crockpot version)with cauliflower rice, Chicken Canitas Burrito Bowl, Cabbage and Carrot Salad, Chicken Tikka Masala (1 piece of naan). Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa. Chipotle Black Bean Burger with Mango Salsa & Sweet potato fries. Chicken Cacciatore with fauxtatoes (mashed). Ethiopian-Spiced Chicken Stew
Snacks & Dessert:
Peanut butter, Apple & Cheddar Sandwiches, Berry n Beet Smoothie, home made pita chips, Yogurt Bites, 3 Chocolate Covered Frozen Peanut Butter Banana sandwiches, Banana Peanut Butter Chia Pudding, apple chips, Cranberry Peanut Energy Balls, Sundried Tomato & Roasted Pepper Hummus w/ veggies, Skinny Peanut Butter Chocolate Frozen Yogurt (use natural peanut butter and almond or coconut milk instead), apple cookies- slices of apples with peanut butter and granola sprinkled on top. apple energy bites, Creamy Chocolate Fudgsicles,
