I wanted to share what I typically eat in a day because I am commonly asked what I eat or people tell me that they just don’t know what healthy foods to eat or meals to make. The thing is though, healthy means something different to everyone and there is no shame in that. I’m not saying that if think going through the McDonalds drive-thru is healthy then that means it is healthy. No, I mean that we all have to learn and understand what good nutrition means to US. We are all different and require different types and amounts of nutrients. My current goals could be the same as some of yours, but how we get there is going to be different because we all require something different.
Below is a day of my eats from this past Saturday. All of these meals completed my individualized macro bank for the day. If you have no idea what I mean by “macro bank” check out this post. I typically eat anywhere from 4 – 6 meals a day because that is what I have found works best for me and my lifestyle. Maybe some of you don’t have the ability to do this and can only eat 3 meals a day. That is totally fine! It takes time, a little bit of effort and commitment to find your healthy lifestyle but it is so worth it. Once you have this down you will be able to say adios to crash diets and yoyo dieting and say hello to living a non deprived, fulfilling and rewarding healthy lifestyle!
Meal 1: Leftover Crockpot Steel Cut Oats with Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter and black coffee
Let’s be honest here, that wasn’t my only cup of coffee! I usually have about 3 cups. Before I headed to the gym I wanted a little something in my system and since I was lifting that day, I went for some carbs.
Meal 2: Protein Shake with Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin toast (it is way cheaper in stores)
I had this right away when I got home from the gym for a nice post workout breakfast. Protein and carbs are necessary for muscle repair and growth. If the right amount of protein and carbs aren’t consumed when putting your body under a lot of stress, it starts to pull its fuel from your muscles which you don’t want!
Meal 3: My go to salad bowl
As much as macronutrients are important so are micronutrients. My go to lunch lately has been a big salad loaded with a carb, protein, fat and sometimes additional veggies. This salad has jasmine rice, ground turkey, green beans, avocado and Hampton Creek Just Truffle Mayo (much cheaper at Target).
Meal 4: Protein ice cream with Kind banana nut clusters
I have protein ice cream every single day no matter what. I had some room in my macros so I topped it off with some banana nut clusters.
Meal 5: Sirloin steak with steamed broccoli and mashed white sweet potato
I made this dinner within minutes. If you follow me on social media, you will know that I am always talking about the importance of meal prepping and always making enough to have leftovers. I don’t like leftover steak but this steak was a thin cut so it took no time at all to cook. With the broccoli and sweet potato, I just pulled it out of the fridge and heated it up. Boom. Steak dinner in minutes.
Just as often as I talk about the importance of leftovers, I talk about the importance of meal prepping and planning. Yes, those are two different things!
Meal Prepping and Planning Tips
- When cooking a meal at home, make enough for leftovers the next day or even for a few days.
- Prep foods in bulk – this way you don’t have to eat the exact same thing every singe day meal after meal. You can pick and choose what meals to put together depending on the foods you bulk prepped.
- Create a weekly menu before going grocery shopping – I did this for a very long time when I first started paying attention to my nutrition. I planned what I was going to have for break, lunch, dinner and snacks for the week and then I only bought those items. Money saver tip too!
- Make simple meals with simple ingredients – just because you want to start eating healthier doesn’t mean you have to cook up some extravagant meals all the time.
- Track your meals in your food tracker the night before and make sure those meals are packed and ready to go for the next day to grab and go. Fail to plan, plan to fail.