Your faves?

I always have a container of homemade hummus in my fridge. I use it for wraps, in a bowl of soup, dip for vegetables and even on fish (sauce). My go-to for when I need a little sweet, I reach for Nature's Candy...dried prunes, keep them in my fridge and 1 or 2 always curbs a craving. When I need something salty, a pickle or a bit of feta usually does the trick. A quick breakfast go-to when I do not have time for my steel cut oats - a poached egg, sprouts, tomato and a slice of toast. My favourite vegetables are: spinach, brussel sprouts, chard, cucumber, sweet potato, tomato, peppers...okay I love all vegetables. Always have a big bag of frozen normandy mix (broccoli, cauliflour, carrots, squash) in my freezer for a quick steam.

Okay, balanced lunches... I usually bring left overs from my balanced dinner lol Half of the portion size I had for dinner is usually right for lunch. I keep Healthy Ones turkey breast and Sandwich Thins in the house just in case for a quick sandwich in a pinch. I always throw in little baggies of carrots, cherub tomatoes and pistachios in case I get cravings around my snacks.

I love brussels sprouts, asparagus and artichokes. I keep bananas and frozen mixed berries around at all times for my breakfast smoothies too. I mix 1 banana, 1 cup of mixed berries, 1 scoop of Max Pro Protein Powder (Chocolate!!), 1 cup of water and some flax seed and it's a delicious breakfast I can easily take with me.

I LOVE Reese's peanut butter cups... so I keep a bag of the mini cups around and allow myself 1 (or 2 if it fits into my calories) when the craving hits. They're only 44 calories each. And if I have to do the frozen meals, I don't hate the Healthy Choice Steamer Bowls, specificially the ones that say "Top Chef" on the package, but they all give me heart burn so I try to stear clear.

Good luck!

This is a great post! I will be checking back periodically. Easy quick breakfast: 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese, 1/2 cup granola, grapes or pear or apple or pineapple +coconut. Yum and crunchy also. I have a comfort pot pie that I make: a BIG bag of frozen veggies, 2 chix breasts, ff cream of chix soup and 1/8 crust cut into squares or heart or something small that I place on the top in a neat design. Very Pretty and good. A serving is a lot of food and just enough crust to be satisfying without overdoing it. I use steel cut oats also and have found that I can put it in the microwave and it cooks just fine and is very quick. An easy lunch is a baked potato, a lot of steamed broccoli slaw, a little feta and a dollop of lite sour cream, I find 1/2 sweet potato to be a very satisfying snack. I have not been on MFP for very long, but charting my food has always worked for me. I just need to learn to cook more for myself and enjoy doing it. I am working on it. thanks for the post.

a balanced packed lunch :- houmous or tuna wrap with red peppers, red onion,avocado, chia seeds, linseeds and hot chilli sauce


some of your favorite vegetables and fruits:- avocado, tomatoes, onions, peppers,sweet potatoes,regular potatoes, grapes, bananas, blueberries, satsumas...

when you need a slightly "junky" treat, or something chocolatey or sweet, what do you grab:- dark chocolate, reeses pb cups, chocolate hobnobs!

any good frozen meals for when those are necessary? :- I have a making day for things like veggie lasgane/chilli and portion it down to freeze... i usually make a months worth

what do you eat for breakfast, quick enough for weekdays??:- gluten free toast with peanut butter or marmalade (or both) porridge made with water and sweetened with honey or beans on toast

hope that helps a bit!

Going grocery shopping tomorrow, and I would LOVE to get some recommendations from you all on new things to try! Specifically, I need suggestions for

a balanced packed lunch - Full serving of wilted spinach (or other greens), tuna salad, cottage cheese, orange

some of your favorite vegetables and fruits as I REALLY need to work those into my diet more - Greens, greens, and more greens (not lettuce)...I prefer wilted but occasionally just have them fresh; cucumber, tomato, baby carrots, broccoli, oranges, grapes, pears/apples, blue berries, strawberries...many more, I love my fruits and veg but I have to be careful with the fruit as to not go over my macros.

when you need a slightly "junky" treat, or something chocolatey or sweet, what do you grab - Jerky, dark chocolate

any good frozen meals for when those are necessary? - Can't help you there, one of those things sends my blood pressure through the roof with all of the sodium. I make a lot of big stews and casseroles and freeze a lot of leftovers, so those are my go to in that situation or if I'm just not feeling like cooking...which is pretty rare, I love to cook.

what do you eat for breakfast, quick enough for weekdays?? - oatmeal (I like Coach's Oats) almost every day with 1/4 cup blueberries and 1 cup of milk (some of which goes in the cereal and then I just drink the rest), banana. When I don't have my oatmeal I go to one of my Kashi cold cereals. If I have time I like to make a couple slices of Turkey Bacon to go with my oatmeal.

Thanks so much in advance!