daily meal plan: number one

I get a lot of questions via email and social media about meal planning and product picks, so I decided to start this “Daily Meal Plan” series offering a full day of balanced meal ideas from breakfast to dinner – including product suggestions!

With each meal I make, I aim to include four things (sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t!):

1. Whole grains
2. Lean proteins (including dairy)
3. Fruits and/or vegetables
4. Healthy fat

If you need a little more structure around creating meals or you’re just not really sure where to start,  I recommend the “plate method” (examples of this method can be found at Harvard’s School of Public Health site, the American Diabetes Association site and the USDA “My Plate” site).  This method puts the focus on making 1/4 of your plate lean protein (including dairy), 1/4 of your plate whole grains and the remaining 1/2 of your plate fruits and vegetables all finished off with a sprinkling of healthy fat (such as olive oil, avocado, hummus, etc.).  I like the plate method because it puts the focus on variety and nutrients and takes it off things like calorie counting, measuring and weighing.  It’s a great way to aim for a nutrient-rich diet without being too obsessive.  Again, will every one of your meals look like this?  Of course not!  And that’s not the idea.  The idea is just that it helps you to aim for variety and inclusion of important nutrients.

So without further ado, here’s today’s Daily Meal Plan!

DAILY MEAL PLAN:

BREAKFAST: Two whole grain waffles topped with a smear of nut butter, greek or skyr yogurt and piece of chopped, fresh fruit of choice

Product suggestions:

• Waffles: Kashi 7 Grain, Van’s 8 Whole Grains and Nature’s Promise Ancient Grains…or you can make your own using any of these recipes!
• Greek Yogurt: Fage, Siggi’s and Trader Joe’s
• Nut Butter: Trader Joe’s Creamy Unsalted

LUNCH: Turkey and cheese on a whole wheat wrap with a smear of hummus, lettuce, tomato, onion, chopped veggies (such as carrot sticks or cucumbers) and piece of fruit on the side

Product suggestions:

• Turkey: Boar’s Head Lower Sodium Turkey Breast
• Cheese: Boar’s Head Lacey Swiss or other Lower Sodium option 
• Whole Wheat Wrap: Joseph’s Lavash or Trader Joe’s 100% Whole Wheat
• Hummus: Tribe or Trader Joe’s Organic Hummus

SNACK: Nut bar with fruit of choice

Product suggestions:

• Bar: Kind or Larabar

DINNER: Salmon and mixed veggies (such as mushrooms, peppers and zucchini) roasted with olive oil, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and brown rice

Please leave any questions, comments and suggestions/feedback for how this series can better serve you below!

Note: Product suggestions are my own personal preferences based off careful analysis of nutritional facts and taste preference.  Products provided to me free of charge or on a sponsorship basis will be noted however rest assured I will never recommend a product that I don’t personally use and enjoy!

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