Byn’s “Must Have” Meals

Hi Internets!

This week, I’m gonna get a little more personal all up in here. Something I get asked a lot is how I eat specifically. Well, let me first say that my diet is far from air tight for losing weight per sey since I consider myself at more of a maintenance stage. However, I will share with you some of my “go to” meals and snacks when I’m looking to eat healthy and when I’m crunched for time.

*Note: I believe in a balanced diet of eating a variety of healthy foods. I know there are a lot of varying opinions about what to eat and what not to eat (e.g., some think starches are bad, high fat is bad, cholesterol ect, ect). Call me a traditionalist, but I follow government/physiologist established guidelines, because some pretty smart people spent a lot of time constructing them.

Breakfast:

The first meal of the day has been a long process for me to “get right”. I grew up in a house where breakfast was an option rather than a necessity. Let me start off by saying that what you’ve heard is true… breakfast is very important for overall health (and definitely weight loss). There have actually been studies that have shown correlations between those who eat breakfast with having lower mortality and morbidity rates.

So what do I eat for breakfast? Well, it varies, but at the moment I am hooked on one meal in particular…

2 soft poached eggs, half an avocado, and 2 pieces of light rye toast, salt and pepper.

Directions: First, I poach my eggs (I recommend an egg poacher) and toast my light rye. Then I use the avocado (healthy fat) as a spread instead of margarine. This meal takes me 5-10 minutes to make maximum. I think we can all find time for that right?

The eggs provide long lasting protein, the avocado provides healthy fat (which I’ve read is important in the morning, especially for women), and the light rye gives you a kick of energy without too many calories.

Other healthy breakfast options that follow my general guidelines of a balanced meal are….

• 1 cup of oatmeal (make with water for less caloric intake) with fresh berries/banana

• 2 egg omelet with a variety of vegetables (this one takes much longer)

• 2 pieces of light rye with peanut butter/almond butter (organic is healthier) and 1 banana

Snacks:

I recommend snacks in between “meals”. Some people snack throughout the day with having breakfast as their only “big” meal (say over 400 calories). I do agree with this perspective, but I find it takes the fun out of cooking a little bit. Also, sometimes with continuous snacking essential nutritients can be overlooked since “snack” foods generally can be pretty limited.

My rule of thumb is to never go more than 3 hours without eating something. Here are some awesome snacks to help you out.

• Nuts: any type of nut is going to provide you with protein and healthy fat. Where most people fail with nuts is a) how they are prepared and b) the serving size. For nuts a serving size is the size your palm. Only have one serving per snack period. Also, you want nuts without any crap on them. What I mean is salt, sugar coating, potato coating (although delicious)… ect.

• Raw Vegetables and Cheese: Also a favorite snack of mine. I prefer baby carrots for my vegetable snack because they take no time to prepare. Other options can include, bell peppers, snow peas, Baby tomatoes.... really whatever you like raw.  The cheese is included for protein. I usually eat block cheese and not a lot of it (maybe 1 or 2 slices). An even healthier option would be cottage cheese for your protein.

• An Apple and Peanut Butter: I find this one is awesome 1-2 hours before a workout. It can be a little messy if you take it into work. For example, I just cut up an apple, throw it in a Tupperware and scoop 1-2 table spoons into the Tupperware. I know they do have little containers but I always seem to loose them. I figure that’s why they make napkins. Organic peanut butter/almond butter is a healthier option.

For snacks the major thing to remember is you want protein to be included in some capacity along with something that is low calorie and filling (veggies, fruit). Above are 3 easier options, but if you have more time to prepare things feel free to get creative (e.g., quinoa salads, chicken breast ect). I just don’t like/have a lot of time to spend preparing my meals most weeks 

 Lunch:

To me, lunch is an option unless I have had like an 11am workout or a really busy (active) morning. Often I will just have 3 or 4 snacks throughout the day until dinner. However, there are some “go tos” for me for healthy lunches. I find they essentially almost mimic my snacks in larger form.

• Salad with a Healthy Fat and Protein: Healthy fats can include your dressing (I recommend 2 table spoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar), half an avocado or nuts. Your salad can basically be a combination of any vegetables/roughage you want. I often will use baby spinach because it’s high in iron and I can use it for stuff like stirfrys. Protein can be chicken, turkey, lean cut steak, tofu, nuts …. You get the idea. For protein serving size, keep it to as big as your palm.

• Left Overs: This can be an awesome motivation to cook healthy at night! For example, my lunch today is a chicken/veggie coconut curry stirfry with rice noodles that Scott and I made yesterday. Just make sure you watch the serving size. Other awesome meals that work great as left overs…. Grilled chicken breast and mashed cauliflower and vegetarian Mexican rice (see below)

Dinner:

Ideally, you want to eat dinner within the hour after working out (if you work out at night that is). For dinner we generally follow the same rule of thumb as breakfast with the idea of left overs for the next day.

One important note for the left over strategy…. Make sure you put the left overs away before you eat. I say this because, if you’re like me, you’ll go back and get more if it’s still out.

Below I’ll provide one of our favourite and very quick meals:

Mexican Rice (note: brown rice is healthier, but we use white because of $$)

Ingredients

• Rice (1-2 cups for 2 adults)*with the idea of leftovers

• 1.5 Avocado (for 2 adults)* with the idea of left overs

• 1-2 cloves of Garlic

• Lime juice

• ¼ Onion

• Salt and pepper

• Salsa (homemade is healthier)

• 1 packaged of Veggie ground beef (e.g., Yves Veggie Ground Beef)  OR 1/2 lbs-1lbs of lean ground beef/chicken

• 1 package of taco/burrito flavouring (light)

Directions:

• Cook the rice

• Cook the ground beef and add the taco flavouring as directed

• While the first two are cooking make your guacamole by adding the avocado, lime juice, raw diced onion, garlic, and pepper in a bowl. Now mash the hell out of it.

• Add the meat/veggie meat to the rice and stir

• Serve in a bowl (or plate haha) with 1-2 tablespoons of guacamole and as much salsa as you want

Alrighty! Well, I hope y’all found this post helpful in some capacity. Again, I am not a nutritionist, but I find that this semi-meal plan thing I follow works well for me and gives me lots of energy for my work outs.

As always, questions, comments, or concerns are greatly appreciated and anticipated.

For more information on nutrition take a look at my previous blog posts!

~Byn