I’m going to start posting more of my eats on the blog this year and I wanted to start off with what a typical day looks like. This way if I say, “Standard breakfast and lunch”, you know what that means and won’t get bored seeing those same things over and over again.
Dinners are more varied, more fun (for me anyway), and our biggest meal of the day.
Breakfast:
2% Greek yogurt with homemade granola and sliced banana with a little sprinkle of unsweetened coconut chips. Coffee with almond milk on the side. Not a huge breakfast but the fat in the yogurt helps keep me full and satisfied. I also add eggs to the granola mix when I make for added protein. Right now the granola is just toasted and spiced oatmeal. If you like, you can always add nuts, dried fruit, and heck even chocolate chips if you want.
Lunch:
Salad with small amount of protein (2-3oz) and a smoothie. The protein in the salads vary from hard boiled eggs, to salmon, to leftover chicken. Sometimes even beans. Depends on what I feel like that day and what I have on hand that is the easiest to grab.
The protein helps me feel way more satisfied and it also means that I don’t need a salad the size of my head to be full.
Smoothie is pretty typical:
- 2.5 C water
- Big bunch of greens (Either spinach, kale, or chard)
- 1.5 Frozen bananas
- 1/2-1C Frozen fruit (blueberries, mango, peaches)
- 1tsp Coconut Oil
Sometimes I sub in 1C almond milk but not very often. I don’t count calories really but I try to be mindful of them. Since I have almond milk in my morning coffee, I don’t really need it in the smoothie.
The coconut oil helps provide much needed fat. Most vitamins and minerals in fruits and veggies are fat soluble, which means our bodies can’t break them down and absorb them properly unless they are paired with a fat. Coconut oil does the trick!
This amount makes two smoothies, one me and one for Scott.
Dinner:
(Horrible picture I know, but until I figure out a solution to take night pictures, this is the best it gets.)
Mahi Mahi tacos, rice, and some green beans. I would have had some avocado for the mahi mahi but I was out! Darn it! I made extra portions of fish so there would be enough for leftovers the following day.
Some dinners are a little bigger but most times it’s a protein with some veggies and occasionally starch. Dinner is my favorite meal of the day because I like spending the time in the evenings to prepare it. It’s my relaxing down time.
There’s a saying that goes, you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
That doesn’t really work for me. A smaller breakfast and lunch followed by a larger dinner is what makes me feel the best. Occasionally I’ll have an egg and some fruit for breakfast if I’m feeling a little more hungry in the morning or if I really don’t feel like yogurt. I still keep the portions small, one egg with fruit and maybe an English muffin, this way I will still be hungry for lunch.
A larger breakfast, say eggs with bacon, toast, and potatoes keeps me full for a very long time so I typically keep that style of breakfast to the weekend. Since it keeps me full for a while it usually results in me skipping lunch altogether and going right into dinner. This is OK sometimes but not all the time. I really enjoy eating lunch and having that afternoon salad.
I’m also not much of a snacker. Three full meals a day suits me just fine. I don’t need snacks to help me get from one meal to the next. As much as I enjoy food and eating, I don’t like eating all time and snacks make me feel that way. Like I’m just constantly eating.
Routine works for me and I don’t get bored with my breakfasts or lunch. Plus it makes meal prep during the week a heck of a lot easier! If I’m always having the same thing for 2 out of 3 meals, then I can focus more on dinner and planning that for the week.
Again, I’m in no way suggesting that everyone try this because what works for one person probably isn’t going to work for someone else. We all have different tastes and different needs.
The goal is to pay attention to the meals we eat and how they make us feel. Do we feel energized and satisfied or do we feel sleepy and blah? Do we have energy the next day for work and working out or are we dragging our butts? Once we figure out what makes us feel amazing it’s a lot easier to keep doing that!