Breakfast: -1 serving fruit, 1 serving low fat Greek yogurt, 1 serving complex carbs (choose: hot cereals like old-fashioned oats, steel-cut oats, rolled oats and whole grain hot cereals (oat revolution better oats brand); whole-grain cereal with unsweetened almond milk. Make low cal pancakes by blending 1 ripe banana, 1 organic egg, & mixing in fruit or dark chocolate chips- cook on the stove like you would regular pancakes. No syrup though!
Snack: 1 serving fruit, 1 serving veggie
Ex: Sliced apple & sliced cucumber
Lunch: 1 serving protein, 1 serving complex carb, 1 serving fruit, 1 serving veggie
Ex: 1 tbs peanutbutter on 1 piece toasted whole grain bread, strawberries, asparagus
Snack: 1 serving veggie/fruit
Ex: snap peas/guacamole
Dinner: 1 serving protein, 2 servings veggies, 1 serving complex carb
Ex: Whole grain pasta with spinach, onion, & tomatoes (cook the spinach/onion/tomatoes in ½ tbs olive oil), & a handful of almonds
Dessert: Fruit smoothie (made with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 ripe banana, 1 C ice, & frozen no sugar added fruit); Banana ice cream (put 1 ripe banana in blender, add chocolate chips or peanut butter, freeze); Strawberries hulled out & stuffed with dark chocolate chips, air popped popcorn, unsalted pretzels with dark chocolate, stony fields organic froyo
WATER:
Drink 2,500 mL of h20 every day! Drink one cup right away when you wake up.
Fats:
Choose- vegetable oils (olive, soy, corn, sunflower, canola), fish, avocados, raw almonds, pistachios, & full-fat peanut butter. These have good fats (monounsaturated & polyunsaturated). Avoid butter, cheese, red meat, and ice cream, they are high in saturated fat. Low fat, reduced fat, or fat free products are processed and are not necessarily healthy (exception of cheese & yogurt). Often times in these products, the healthy fat is taken out, and replaced with sugar or refined grains.
Protein:
Choose: Nuts, beans, fish, eggs & chicken. Don’t worry about combining proteins-any whole natural plant food, or any combination of them, if eaten as one’s sole source of calories for a day, would provide all of the essential amino acids and not just the minimum requirements but far more than the recommended requirements. Never eat: processed meat (bacon, hot dogs, & deli meats) or red meat (pork, lamb, beef)- they are strongly correlated to diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Carbohydrates:
Choose: Complex carbs which include whole grains, whole fruits instead of juice (contains more fiber and less sugar), beans, & green veggies. Fiber from whole grains makes it harder for digestive enzymes to break down starch into glucose. Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol. Insoluble fiber helps move waste through the digestive tract. Avoid simple carbs- candy, sugary drinks, refined breads, most cereals. They are empty calories and lead to a spike in blood sugar levels, leaving you tired.
Vegetables: Broccoli, Celery, Onion, Carrots, Romaine, Kale, Spinach, Radishes, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Beets, Collards, Mixed Salad Greens, Zucchini, Squash, Eggplant, Green Beans, Snap Peas, Asparagus, Bell Pepper, Artichoke, Jalapenos, Cucumber, Parsnip, Rhubarb, Turnip, Wheat grass.
Fruits: Avocado, Tomato, Grapefruit, Strawberries, Blackberries, Cranberries, Blueberries, Apples, Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew Melon, Cherries, Pomegranate, Kiwi, Pear, Mandarin, Apricot, Peach, Plum, Dates, Prunes, Figs.
Protein: Skinless Chicken Breast, Salmon, Tilapia, Fresh Tuna, Shrimp, Cod, Egg, Lentils, Chia Seed, Beans, Tofu, Lean Turkey Breast, Greek Yogurt.
Seasonings: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Lemon, Parsley, Chives, Garlic, Oregano, Pepper, Olive Oil (Serving Size), Lime, Ginger, Mint, Mustard Seed, Chile, Hot Peppers, Curry, Paprika and Fresh Herbs.
Complex Carbs: Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Corn, Lentils, Black Beans, Soy Beans, Garbanzo Beans, Edamame, Barley, Buckwheat, Oats, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Rye, 100% Whole Grain Bread
Fitness
Do something every day. Do cardio exercises at least 3 days a week for 30 minutes. Do strength training exercises for 30 minutes 2 days a week (you will not get better at cardio without doing strength as well. Strength burns more calories long term). The other two days do something fun! Walk, swim, ride a bike, hike, roller blade- you get the point. Fitnessblender.com has thousands of strength training exercises if you don’t know where to start. I also like Jillian Michaels videos- you can buy them on amazon.com for about $10 a video and they are usually month long plans to get in shape!
LivingHealthy&Fit 