January 13, 2011

I really don't like to count every, single calorie in every, single meal and I could never do Weight Watchers because I would never keep up with counting points. I know myself well enough to know that would last about a week.

I have a few favorite breakfasts and lunches that I stick to that I know are under or around 300 calories so that leaves me around 600 calories for dinner, if I'm trying to stay around 1200 calories. But I don't ever really total my calories for the day, I just try to stay away from carbs at night and will usually have some kind of grilled meat and veggies for dinner.

Last year I lost a pound a week for ten weeks, just by really watching my snacking, making healthier choices, and keeping a food log. I loved my little fitbook: fitness + nutrition journal so much that I didn't find it difficult at all to log my daily workouts and food intake.

I find it easier to stick to a plan if I only give myself a few choices; that way I don't have to think about it so much. For breakfast every day, I have an unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon, a small glass of unsweetened almond milk and a small bowl of oatmeal or a low fat Nutri-Grain waffle. It's quick, easy, and requires very little thought or preparation.

The same goes for lunch. I stick to just a few easy choices. This is what I had for lunch every day this week; and you know what? It's pretty satisfying. It's quick. It's easy. It's healthy. And, it's a no-brainer.

I use a can of Trader Joe's low sodium tuna fish, packed in water, then add a few squirts of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. of Vegenaise and a couple of dashes of lemon pepper.

I like using the low carb Sonoma tortillas as a wrap because they have 7 grams of fiber. Just add some romaine lettuce, top with the tuna fish and presto…it's a perfect, satisfying, healthy, lunch, for less than 300 calories.

If you're not crazy about tuna, you can also use canned white chicken or salmon. If I don't have this wrap for lunch, my other favorite is a low-sodium turkey breast sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and sliced avocado on a toasted ‘everything' bagel thin. A light, healthy lunch doesn't have to be complicated! 🙂

~LilSis

January 20, 2009

Here it is only three weeks into the New Year and I'm already behind on my menu planning. I wanted to try harder to come up with healthy choices for family dinners each week. I know a big part of my problem right now is the time factor.  If I had more time, it would be more fun to peruse these cookbooks, plan the meals for the week, make the shopping list, and get all the shopping done the same day. (Oh, in a perfect world!)

Some of my favorites!

I really do love browsing through cookbooks and trying to plan more of a variety each week. If I tell HayHay that we're having turkey meatloaf again, I'm afraid his head might spin! And he's the easy one to please…

Seriously, though.  These are some of my favorite “go to” cookbooks for a wide variety of healthy recipes. When I do take the time to look through any one of these, I always find something pretty easy and healthy. I especially like a recipe that has the nutritional information included, like most of these do.

One thing I always forget about planning for is dessert. (I've said before that my guys are deprived of sweets.)   If anyone has any easy, healthy, dessert recipes, I'd love to hear from you.

~LilSis