Meal plan - Help!

[TomH96]

So, this is my first week with a proper meal plan, im using the 'MealPlan' app from the apple app store, I love it and it works well. I'm an avid cook and I happily know my way around the kitchen, however im a little stuck with ideas and new recipes to keep things interesting while also healthy! 

Tonight I have pork loin, lean meat and protein rich for a post workout boost, yet im so stuck trying to work out what to put with it! 

I'm into most things food wise, but if I can stay away from crunchy veg then I will lol! Ill happily smash through a bowl of peppers if they're softened, but give me a stir fry and I'd rather go hungry haha! 

So, does anyone have their favourite 'Go-To' meals to make?! 

[Dominique]

What’s your goal with meal plans? I’ll assume it’s weight loss, or let’s say "weight management". If so, I believe it’s more important to educate yourself about the nutritional and caloric value of the various ingredients of your meals, rather than looking for specific recipes.

Being an avid cook, you have a big advantage over people who can’t/won’t cook and therefore mostly depend on eating out and buying pre-prepared meals. Make the most of that advantage by "tuning" your meals so as to align them with your goals in terms of weight management and general health. There’s no shortage of recipes to try: they’re all over the internet, complete with video instructions and all. The challenge with tasty foods is they’re often high in calories and not always healthy, so try to find ways to keep them lower in calories and make them healthier. For instance, you can use more spices and less butter/cream, cook in the oven rather than in a frying pan etc. Indian cuisine is a great way to make bland veggies taste delicious, to give one example.

[TomH96]

Indian cuisine sounds like a fun way to spice up some recipes! 

I'm looking to loose weight. My calorie deficiency is 1,000 calories per day as a minimum, im running 4 times per week, along with one yoga session per week and one 10+ mile bike ride per week. My work is very sedentary so this helps me keep on top of things. 

I tend to base my meals post workout around protein with some carbs also, where I try to avoid carbs if I haven't worked out before that meal. 

Yesterday I ran after work so I had a small portion of penne pasta with chopped tomatoes, smoked mackerel and some spinach, onion and peppers. 

I'm just struggling to keep coming up with ideas of what to eat etc. However, I might check out ready meals in the super market and see if I can recreate a healthy version at home. 

Ill keep the thread updated! 🙂 

[emili]

@TomH96 so... how is it going? do you have recipes you can share??

[lavabelle]

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Yesterday I ran after work so I had a small portion of penne pasta with chopped tomatoes, smoked mackerel and some spinach, onion and peppers. 

YUM! Just wanted to say YUM! I tend to eat the same few meals over and over, it makes knowing what my calories are much easier and I am not having too re-calculate everything daily. I would not get bored eating the same delicious meal over and over. I am not a happy cook...I only cook because I have too. I hope you find some delicious meals to keep your palate happy! Please continue to share what you eat...it sounds delicious 🙂

[LisefromCanada]

I love to cook too - but shortly before meal time, I am struggling with what to make.  This week I used a 7-day 1,500 calorie vegetarian meal plan that I found on the web.  I bought any missing ingredients, before starting - and the plan and these meals are working amazingly well for me and my husband.  This week the plan I used was at:  http://www.eatingwell.com/article/289024/7-day-vegetarian-meal-plan-1500-calories/

The plan includes recipes, mains, sides, snack ideas, pictures, calories, etc.

You can search the web for food plans for the appropriate number of daily calories for you.  And there are several non-vegetarian food plans as well.

Good luck and enjoy the adventure.

[36swan]

Pork, even loin, is an intrinsically fatty meat, and needs fruit to cut through it.  You could have baked it in a little apple juice or cider, or used them with a little mustard and olive oil to make a vinaigrette, then coat and bake it -  alongside an apple stuffed with a few walnut pieces and raisins and some root veg.  Or stuff the loin with dried apricots, prune or dates and a few chopped nuts and bake it in foil. Pork also goes well with rhubarb.  Or cook it however you want - skewers? BBQ?  and make spicy fruit salsa with fresh orange or mango or whatever, onion, chives, chilli, lemon or lime juice and parsley to go with it (whatever fresh herbs you have, not dried). It's also great curried if you have the spices and a tin of tomatoes. Just keep any oil to a minimum though you need a tiny bit for the texture. With a curry I would add more vegetables than pork to lower the calorie count and make it last 2 days or freeze half. (A cheese and cider sauce is nice with it but definitely not if you're watching your weight).    

[36swan]

Pork, even loin, is an intrinsically fatty meat, and needs fruit to cut through it.  You could have baked it in a little apple juice/cider, or used them with a little mustard and olive oil to make a vinaigrette, then coat and bake it -  alongside an apple stuffed with a few walnut pieces and raisins and some root veg.  Or stuff the loin with 2 or 3 chopped dried apricots, prunes or dates and a few chopped nuts and bake it in foil. Or cook it however you want - skewers? BBQ?  and make spicy fruit salsa with fresh orange or mango or whatever, onion, chives, chilli, lemon or lime juice and parsley to go with it (whatever fresh herbs you have, not dried). It's also great curried if you have the spices and a tin of tomatoes. Just keep any oil to a minimum though you need a tiny bit or a low fat spray to toast the curry spices. With a curry I would add more vegetables than pork to lower the calorie count and make it last 2 days or freeze half. (A cheese and cider sauce is nice with pork loin but definitely not if you're watching your weight.)    

[TomH96]

Hey! Sorry for the delay, im not always on here! 

I'm now into week 1 of month 2 and im finding it much easier to meal prep and plan for the week. I'm now running 3 times per week with one yoga session and another exercise on the weekend too. Knowing the weights of things in relation to serving sizes is great for me when I know how hungry I am. 

I have kind of adapted that pasta recipe to work with a lot of ingredients, depending on what I fancy! Typically, the base is just softened onion with half a tin of good quality chopped tomatoes. I build this up to suit, including peppers a lot of the time to add some natural sweetness, with protein servings being typically mackerel or ground beef. I haven't tried it with chicken as yet though! 

Another favourite is a salmon fillet, skin removed but the fillet placed back onto this, it saves any of the fish being lost due to it sticking! 

Just take the fillet, coat the top in green pesto and grate a small serving of Parmesan over the top, I cook this at 180c in the oven for 12 minutes. Normally served with steamed veg or something similar! 

I'm looking to start an Instagram page for my cooking and nutrition, purely to just keep track of what I make and what I enjoyed! If i go ahead, ill pop the username on here for you to check out! 

[TomH96]

@tomsfoodplan is the instagram! 

[Nadeem67]

Hi there TomH96

I am also a big Indian food fan. But I don't know how to calculate calories in an Indian meal. Can you please guide me how to approach, tackel this problem ??

Regards 

[TomH96]

Typically with home cooked food I would work our the portion size of each ingredient I’m using. From there, work out how many calories are in that portion. You’ll then be able to add those up for all the ingredients and have a total calorie count for the dish you’re cooking. Then weigh the full yield and work out how many is in one portion 🙂