What I Eat (Cause Everyone Wants to Know)

I get asked all the time what I eat, and I always wonder if the answer is disappointing to people because honestly, I don't eat anything secret or fancy or special. 


There is no magic to this at all. It's just a collection of food that results in enough calories to create a moderate deficit and provide the macronutrient breakdown that I want (roughly 30% fat, 30% protein, and 40% carbs). The only thing that really changes from day to day is what I have for dinner, simply because making food in bulk and portioning it out for myself on Sunday saves time and thinking later in the week. My days are busy, and I don't have time to stand around making food! The only special thing I do is weigh my portions on my digital kitchen scale. It keeps me honest.


So, here it is: my daily plate. Nothing fancy, just nice clean fuel for a busy lady! Oh and btw I am not a food photographer so you won't see any of this on Pinterest.

Breakfast: 2 egg whites and 1 egg mixed up and baked with 10 grams of feta cheese, a handful of spinach, some tomato and some red onion. I make five of these on Sunday, pop them in the oven, and have one each morning on whole wheat toast. I also have a cup of coffee with reduced fat milk.

Snack: 150 grams of Cabot Lowfat Greek Yogurt with 100 grams of frozen blueberries and 10 grams of slivered almonds.

Lunch: During the winter I have 1.5 cups of turkey chili, which I make on Sunday from 1 pound of turkey; 1 can each of organic black beans, kidney beans, and tomatoes (all undrained); a bunch of chopped cilantro, a chopped red onion, and about a cup of frozen corn. Add chili pepper and lime juice, let it simmer, and portion out into 5 containers for a grab-and-go lunch. I have this with one sliced apple and 10 grams of all-natural peanut butter. When the weather warms up I will go back to my Change Your Life Salad: spinach, strawberries, baked turkey, and feta cheese.

Snack: An orange, four or five strawberries, 10 whole natural almonds, and 2 ounces of Boar's Head Ovengold Turkey or sliced turkey if I baked one over the weekend.

My version of a turkey burger. :)

Dinner: This is where it gets more complicated. The base of my dinner is a big salad: spinach, tomato, cucumber, red onion, banana peppers, black olives, and green pepper. Then I add the protein du jour: Mondays that's a 4 ounce turkey burger, Tuesdays and Thursdays that's a 6 ounce chicken breast. On Wednesday I make homemade pizza (50-75 grams of Biboli Whole Wheat crust, crushed tomato, spinach, onion, with 1 ounce of mozzarella). I add 7 grams of Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing to my salad if I feel like I want it.  On Fridays we order Papa John's for dinner and I have 300 grams (roughly 2 slices) if I am not running the next day and 400 grams if I am. :)


Dessert: If I'm still hungry after the kids are in bed and I haven't collapsed yet, an orange is the perfect dessert!


Weekends: I stick to this plan for the most part, but usually deviate at some point depending on what we're up to around town. Saturday nights we usually grill so I'll have a small filet mignon and occasionally a glass of wine, and on Sundays we usually have breakfast for dinner: scrambled eggs (half whites), 2 pieces of Applegate Farms (clean) bacon, and a whole wheat waffle with a drizzle of honey. 


No I don't have a splurge meal! Since I have detoxed from sugar I don't get those cravings anymore. But that's not to say I eat a perfectly balanced diet every day. Sometimes I use too much salad dressing and sometimes I want a big cheeseburger and a Guinness and sometimes I have one. Sometimes on Saturdays I drink too much wine and subsequently eat too much cheese and crackers. But not often enough to matter.


And yes there are days when I screw it up! Usually when my family is in town and I'm putting out trays of snacky stuff that I don't usually eat, or when I'm on vacation and decide to chuck it all for a few days and eat whatever looks good at the time. It doesn't take much of that before I am craving a return to the routine! I truly do love eating healthy food above all.


95% of the time, this is my diet. I love it! It works well for me and I feel very nourished and content. I eat every three hours or so and stay satisfied all day long. Keeping to a routine like this and keeping my calories clean and balanced makes it very easy for me to get out there  and (you know what comes next) get healthy!