There are cravings and there are CRAVINGS I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING BUT SWEETS. I had the latter. So after a couple failed rounds, I am making a weekly P4 meal plan that I can follow and making my own healthy meals with new recipes I find on the internet. I've make healthy changes such as milk to almond milk, salads for lunch and soup for dinner, protein snacks, and new healthier yummy foods like quinoa and greek yogurt. I am incorporating more veggies and fruits. I am food shopping and preparing meals on the weekend for the entire week. This is my fifth week and I want to share the menu plan for next week.
Menu planning takes time. I consider what foods are in season, which ones I have a taste for and look at my recipes or go hunt for new ones. One of the best places to find recipes and great recipe websites is on Pinterest, my new fav iphone app.
This week at work there will be lunch provided on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and dinner on Wednesday and Thursday. And I have a lunch with a friend on Monday. For the lunches I am going to bring my own salad anyway. For the dinners I am going to order protein with veggies.
I usually come up with 3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinner veggies, and 5 snacks. All meals that are starred must be prepared on the weekend in advance.
A daily menu would consist of these meals and calorie counts: B 200, SW 200, L 300, SW 200, D 300, SH 200 for a total daily calorie count of around 1400-1700 (gives me some room for extras, cream in coffee, etc.) and good satifying tasty food every few hours.
I work late so during the week I don't really like protein for dinner and prefer just soup or veggies with a fruit snack, so I am making protein snacks for those days. Most of my snacks are more like mini-meals, so I have a breakfast, then a second breakfast, lunch, a dinner snack, then a small late dinner and a dessert if I feel like one.
Week 5 Menu Plan
Key: B - breakfast, L - lunch, D - dinner, SW - snack work, SH - snack home
B Quinoa* 1/3 c with greek yogurt 2 T and blueberries 1/2 c
B Spinach bacon egg square*
B Sweet potato quinoa sausage hash*
L Chicken Caesar salad in a jar*
L Salad with chicken in a jar either greek or orange balsamic dressing*
D Tomato parmesan soup*
D pan fried brussel sprouts with parmesan*
D cabbage slaw*
D tofu recipe* (I bought some on a whim, so here goes...)
SW Protein balls*
SW Cinnamon roasted chick peas with cashews*
SW Salmon cake on greens*
SW Baked cinnamon apple slices sprinkled with oats, dried fruit and nuts*
SH chocloate covered strawberries (for my valentine ME!)
