Weight Loss: Sample Menus/Menu Plans

Oh my word!  I promised y’all some sample menus didn’t I?

I told you the heat melted my brain!

Look, there is nothing spectacular about this, but hey, if it helps anyone with the whole portion control thing and all, then I’m glad to help.  Speaking of portions, sometimes I’ve noted the portions in grams; that’s just how portions are measured here in SA, but they’re pretty much the same as U.S. cup/ounce portions.

Also, I always have a small banana before I work out, that's not noted on here, but just so ya' know.

And one more note, I vary things quite a bit, for example, if I had a bigger breakfast, I’ll try to have a smaller snack and vice versa – it’s all just a guide.

Oh, and here’s a link to some sample menus from one of my aforementioned favorite websites, The Gracious Pantry.

Breakfast (generally around 8-9am):

Coffee w/ rice milk plus:

• 2 pieces whole wheat toast (no butter) with 1 tblsp. (15-16 grams) natural peanut butter, 1 tblsp. jam/jelly
• 2 pieces whole wheat toast (no butter) with 1 tblsp. (15-16 grams) natural peanut butter, ½ sliced banana
• 2 pieces whole wheat toast (no butter) with 2 tblsps. cream cheese or ½ to 1 ounce regular cheese
• 2 pieces whole wheat toast (no butter) with ½ avocado
• 2 pieces whole wheat toast (no butter) with 1 egg (I scramble mine in the microwave!  Works great and makes less of a mess!)
• Bowl of fruit w/ 100 grams of low fat yogurt and a little granola or nuts
• Small banana , 40 grams muesli/granola/ whole grain cereal and 1 cup rice milk (I’d do regular cow’s milk, but it really messes with my IBS, which is sad, because I love it!)
• 2 whole wheat rusks (Rusks are a SA biscotti-type biscuit/scone.  They can be very fattening, full of fat and sugar, but I’ve found some healthier ones.)
  
  

 Snack #1 (about 10-11am):

• Fruit
• Small handful of nuts
• One piece whole wheat bread w/ any of the aforementioned toppings
• Carrot sticks (though is no such thing as carrot sticks in SA, can you believe it?  They do have little, adorable carrot balls though!) w/ lime.  I’ve loved raw carrots w/ lime or lemon ever since I was a little girl :o)
• 1 whole wheat rusk dunked in coffee 
• A teeny piece of chocolate :o)
  
  

Lunch (around 1-2 pm):

Piece of fruit or small salad/carrot sticks/other veggies or low fat snack (pretzels, rice crackers, etc.) plus:

• Sandwich made with whole wheat bread and filled with low fat cold cuts and/or cheese
• Rice/couscous salad
• Big salad with feta cheese or avocado or chicken breast
• Leftovers from the night before

Snack #2 (about 3pm):

• Fruit
• Small handful of nuts
• One piece whole wheat bread w/ any of the aforementioned toppings
• Carrot balls :o)
• 100 grams low fat yogurt w/ a little fruit 

Dinner (usually around 6:30 – 7:30 pm):

This is the meal that varies the most, so it’s hard to make a comprehensive list.  So I’ll just give you a few examples of what I’ve eaten in the past few weeks.

• 2 Small fillets of fish, feta & broccoli salad (by the way, this turned out AWESOME, so I’ll write up the recipe next week.)
• 1 Barbequed chicken breast, 1 portion rice, big salad
• Big ole’ taco salad made with ground/minced ostrich (lower in fat than beef) and homemade salsa (easy on the cheese and greek yogurt instead of sour cream)
• Small pork steak with roasted butternut squash (very light on the butter.)
• Small steak with corn on the cob and salad

Snack #3 (Only if I’m really hungry before bed!):

Always something very light, since I’m about to go to bed, I don’t want anything too heavy.

• A nice coffee or low sugar hot chocolate
• A small piece of fruit
• A teeny piece of chocolate :o)