Meal ideas

alltheweigh170

Let us post some meal ideas so we all get an idea of what to eat to stay within our range of calories.

alltheweigh170

I plan to eat around approximately 1400 calories per day. If I workout for about an hour (I do Zumba and burn about 500+ calories), I will eat another 150 calories extra on that day to take my total to approximately 1600.

I have noticed that if I eat more protein and less carbs, I lose weight easily. That is hard on a vegetarian diet. So I have changed my mindset and now have sambar as soup (with no rice or very less rice). My sabzis are my main item on the plate and the carbs are the side dish. For breakfast, I tend to eat more protein. I am based in the US, so my meal ideas will have some items only available in the US.

Breakfast: I tend to keep my breakfast around the 300 calories mark.
Some breakfast ideas: Coffee and one of the below:
Greek yogurt
Green smoothie (blend together -- little spinach, berries, 1/2 banana, plain yogurt, protein powder or almond butter, if needed some honey) -- You won't taste the spinach! :-)
2 eggs -- scrambled, poached, or desi omelet if I have the time.
2 slices of bread with almond butter or sunflower seed butter
Oatmeal
Ragi cereal with milk


Lunch: One of the below (I try to stay around 500 cals for lunch)
Big salad with boiled egg
Big bowl of Sambar and a fruit
Sandwich
Chipotle salad (little rice, black beans, onions and peppers, corn, salsa, light sour cream, guacamole, lettuce)
2 healthy veggie-based sabzis with one or two phulkas
Pizza made on a pita bread with low-fat cheese

pratimaram

Those are some good ideas! I will definitely have to try some of them.

I think my problem is that I don't plan my meals enough. I should take the time out to think and resarch the calories in what I will eat. I should prepare my meals more.

Kali112

Those are some good ideas! I will definitely have to try some of them.

I think my problem is that I don't plan my meals enough. I should take the time out to think and resarch the calories in what I will eat. I should prepare my meals more.

I recently prepared a 1 week meal plan mostly based on indian foods. I think if you cook any sabzi or curry in less oil then you can make it healthy and cut down on roti consumption! Here is my plan, do tell me what you think. Someone commented that it looks like too many carbs which i have to agree with, so some evenings i will omit the rice/roti if necessary.

MONDAY
Breakfast- Oatmeal with cinnamon (made with soy milk and water), 1 boiled egg
Lunch-mixed veg sabzi (curry, v little oil), 2 wholemeal chapatis (indian flatbread)
Dinner-CHINESE-noodles with peanuts, strips of chicken, dressed with soy sauce and spring onions/cilantro, with shredded carrot salad

TUESDAY
Breakfast-scrambled eggs with tomato and cilantro to garnish with 1-2 wholemeal chapatis (leftover from day before)
Lunch-leftover noodles & salad from day before, eaten cold
Dinner-INDIAN-chicken curry with yoghurt (made with 2 tsp oil), wholemeal chapatis and large salad of cucumber, tomato & carrots with lemon juice and salt/pepper

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast-oatmeal with cinnamon, 2-3 hard boiled egg whites, handful of almonds
Lunch-leftover chicken curry with 1 chapati & cold salad
Dinner-fish/king prawn curry/stir fry (cooked in 2 tsp oil), a little brown rice, side dish of sauteed green beans with seasame seeds

THURSDAY
Breakfast-Soaked oats overnight in soy milk with diced apple, almonds, walnuts & raisins
Lunch-sprouted mung bean salad with 1 boiled egg, 1 banana
DInner-CONTINENTAL-beef steak (fried in 1tsp oil) with cremy mushroom sauce/peppercorn sauce (made with yoghurt) aloo methi (diced sauteed potatoes with spices and methi/cilantro-1tsp oil) OR lebanese diced potatoes (1tsp oil)

FRIDAY
Breakfast-oatmeal with cinnamon, handful of almonds
Lunch-leftover sprouted mung bean salad, 1 boiled egg, 1 banana
Dinner-chicken tikka, lentil and spinach salad (from jamie's 15 minute meals, he is a UK chef)

SATURDAY
breakfast-scrambled eggs with peas, onions and 1-2 chapatis
lunch- most likely to be out somewhere, if not, vegetable aubergine/lady fingers sabzi (curry) with 1-2 chapatis, leftover salad from day before
DInner-king prawn chow mein with side dish of stir fried bell peppers and peanuts

SUNDAY
Breakfast-1 egg + 2 egg whites omelet with diced tomato, onion and cilantro, 1 chapati
lunch-if not out, vegetable sabzi (curry), lentil daal, brown rice
Dinner-bengali mustard fish curry (2tsp oil), brown rice, cucumber/tomato/carrot salad

pratimaram

Hi Kali,

Where are you from?

Your meal plan looks really good. So what is a rough daily calorie total for the plan?

Kali112

Hi Kali,

Where are you from?

Your meal plan looks really good. So what is a rough daily calorie total for the plan?

I'm from Kolkata...i am aiming for around 1200-1300 calories a day, with 30mins of aerobic exercise 5 x a week and lots of weights and yoga twice a week.

deeksha_s

Hi Kali,

I see you're not snacking in between. How do u manage? And I don't think it is healthy to eat after long breaks. I hope you're eating in small portions throughout the day.