Healthy Meal Plan For Weight Loss | 5-Day Free Menu
This 5-day sample meal plan for weight loss is all about eating more, not less.
You learn about lots of healthy, filling meals and snacks that can help you not only weigh less but also feel your very best.
This healthy meal plan for weight loss includes all kinds of satisfying, hunger-curbing foods like mustard-coated salmon, sweet potatoes, and hearty Italian-style soups.
By switching from a bowl of cold, dried cereal to one of hot whole-grain cereal and fruit, youd take in approximately 100 fewer calories each day. That one simple change to your daily diet could help you drop about 10 pounds in one year. Plus, hot cereal has more staying power. It tends to fill you up better and longer than dried cereal.
If desired, add a little nonfat milk or soymilk and a packet of sugar substitute (a good choice is Splenda).
1 steamed 6-inch corn tortilla with fresh or grilled vegetables (such as onions, green bell peppers, and tomatoes) and no-added-salt salsa.
Warm the tortilla between slightly moistened paper towels in the microwave for about 1 minute, then top with veggies and salsa; fold
For your salads, break out of the lettuce-and-tomato box. All kinds of veggies and fruit can go into your salad. Try diced sweet potatoes, yellow squash, red bell peppers, cucumbers, red cabbage, red onions, and more.
And always keep in mind that no oil, even so-called good ones, should be considered a weight-loss food. Coating your salad with oil can tally up as many calories as a scoop of premium ice cream.
Make your own. Its easy! From one 14-ounce can of no-salt-added cannelini beans, spoon out 2 tablespoons of beans. Puree the rest. In a medium nonstick pot, saut 5 cloves of chopped garlic until translucent. Add 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth and 1 head of escarole, chopped, or a package of frozen chopped spinach. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add pureed beans, red pepper flakes and black pepper, to taste, and cook 1 minute longer. Garnish with the beans you spooned out plus, if you desire, a little chopped red bell pepper. Refrigerate or freeze what you dont eat for easy soup prep for a future lunch or dinner.
Especially popular among our guests at the Pritikin Longevity Center are Greek-style yogurts such as Oikos and Fage. So rich and creamy tasting! If you need a little sweetness to cut the tart flavor, simply add diced banana, or stir in 1 packet of Splenda
A gigantic Farmers Market-style salad with a variety of fresh seasonal produce and fresh herbs, such as fresh baby arugula and radicchio, and red wine vinegar sassed up with a little horseradish. Enjoy visiting your local Farmers Market every week and asking the vendors, Whats new and tasty this week? What would make great ingredients for my salad?
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When dining out and ordering fish, request that your fish not be salted or basted in calorie-dense ingredients like olive oil and butter. Healthier cooking options include steaming, broiling, or grilling.
Contrary to popular belief, potatoes are a great food for helping you lose weight. Its what we put on top of our potatoes butter, cheese, and bacon bits that turn them into waistline-busting foods.
Egg white omelet stuffed with 1 cup of assorted grilled vegetables, such as onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli, and a dollop of nonfat ricotta cheese.
In a nonstick skillet misted with a little cooking oil spray, stir fry until brown diced baked potatoes with sliced onions, sliced green bell pepper, freshly ground black pepper, and paprika.
Yes! Cocoa can be part of a healthy meal plan for weight loss! For cocoa: Mix nonfat milk or soymilk, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, and 1 packet of sugar substitute, such as Splenda (if desired).
Like vegetables, fruits are fabulous weight-loss foods because theyre big foods, that is, foods that are bulked up by lots of fiber and water. With big foods, youll be eating a lot of food (which will satisfy your hunger) but not a lot of calories.
Heres a great example: For the same number of calories that are in a handful of peanuts (about two ounces), you can eat 2 pounds of strawberries (about five of those green boxes that strawberries come in.) Eating big foods like strawberries, salads, and other fruits and vegetables can prevent hunger from taking over and taking you places you dont want to go
Big salad of baby greens with Pritikin-Style Thousand Island Dressing, which has less than one-quarter the calories and sodium of regular Thousand Island Dressing. What a gift for your heart and waistline! To make dressing, combine thoroughly the following: cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt, cup fat-free sour cream, cup unsweetened, low-sodium ketchup (good brand is Westbrae), teaspoon oregano, and teaspoon granulated garlic.
Sandwich of fresh roasted turkey breast (3 to 4 ounces) with 2 slices of low-sodium, whole-grain bread with assorted veggies, like baby greens and sliced tomatoes. Smear the bread with 1 tablespoon of low-sodium stone-ground mustard.
Did you know that bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips? Thats why its so important to look for low-sodium varieties of bread (a good brand is Food for Life).
Keep stocked in your refrigerator or freezer a box of veggie burgers (look for low-sodium varieties). Veggie burgers are a much better choice for your waistline and heart than ground meat. Veggie patties have only about half the calories of regular red meat patties, and zero heart-hurting saturated fat. Plus, theyre so easy to cook just one or two minutes in the microwave. While toasting your whole-wheat bun, take from your pantry a jar of roasted red bell peppers and top your veggie patty with a couple of luscious slices. Smear your bun with a little low-sodium Dijon mustard.
1 or more cups (its hard to go overboard on fresh veggies!) of steamed fresh vegetables, such as asparagus, broccoli, and/or cauliflower, with lemon juice and sauted garlic.
Hot whole-grain cereal, such as oatmeal, cracked wheat, barley or polenta, made with 1 cup nonfat milk or soymilk and 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.
There are many great choices of whole-grain hot cereals; just make sure you buy one with no added sugar or salt.
If desired, add a little nonfat milk or soymilk and 1 packet of sugar substitute (a good choice is Splenda).
Look for fat-free low-sodium varieties, or make your own.
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Did you know that four ears of corn has the same number of calories as one medium serving of French fries? (The corn tastes better, too.)
cup 1% no-salt-added cottage cheese with cup to 1 cup fresh diced fruit, or use pop-top canned fruits packed in juice or water, no sugar added.
A big salad of baby spinach and other fresh veggies, such as sliced carrots and tomatoes, topped with your favorite canned no-salt-added beans. Toss salad with about teaspoon of wasabi (to taste) and 3 to 4 tablespoons of rice vinegar.
Look for no-salt-added varieties of canned beans since rinsing the beans through a colander removes only 30% of the added sodium.
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Give your brown rice a nice savory spin by adding freshly minced garlic. At the last minute, add in fresh herbs like thyme and Italian parsley and just about any vegetable you have on hand, like chopped cucumbers, celery, onions, and tomatoes.
If you've enjoyed this Healthy Meal Plan for Weight Loss, you'll love the Weight Loss Spa Menu
Red Bean and Leftover Veggie Soup
While there are probably plenty of pre-made bean and veggie soup options that just need a few minutes to heat through on the stovetop, making your own soup is really easyand a great idea for your health. Homemade soups are much lower in sodium about 100 milligrams or less per 2-cup serving. By contrast, 2 cups of many canned soups contain a blood-pressure-busting 1,200 milligrams or more, a worrisome amount considering that health experts recommend consuming no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium for the entire day. This is also a great way to use up all those leftover vegetables in your crisperpretty much anything works in this soup.
Directions:Put into a soup pot 1 can of no-salt-added red beans (drained), 4 cups low-sodium vegetable juice like Knudsens Very Veggie Low-Sodium Juice, 2 to 3 teaspoons oregano or Italian-style seasoning, and 2 cups of any veggies you already have sitting in the refrigerator bin, such as carrots, celery, and onions. Rough-chop the vegetables into bite-size pieces and bring to a boil, simmering until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. If desired, top with a tablespoon of fat-free sour cream.
Put together a sandwich of tuna (canned preferably low-sodium, light, and packed in water) with 1 tablespoon nonfat mayo or nonfat plain yogurt, chopped celery, and onions, topped with baby spinach or peppery arugula, on 100% whole-wheat bread (low-sodium)
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Enjoy the rich flavor of sweet potatoes? While home on Sundays, cook up a batch. Wrap each one in foil and bake for about an hour at 425 degrees F, or until their luscious, sweet juices start to ooze out into the foil. At work the following week, just pop one in the microwave for a quick warm-up. Theyre loaded with taste, so they dont need any extra toppings. If you want a little zest, swirl in a teaspoon or two of no-salt-added Dijon mustard or a quarter cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt.
A big salad with a variety of lettuces, plus tomatoes, cucumber, and any other veggies you have in the fridge, including varieties youve never thought of adding to salads but actually taste delicious, like sliced fennel.
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Ah, quinoa. This healthy, rich-tasting whole grain/seed has so many nutritional riches that it puts refined grains like white rice to shame. Tofu is the perfect sidekick because its both waistline-friendly (per bite, tofu tends to have about one-third the calories of meat and poultry) and heart-friendly (tofu has no artery-damaging saturated fat or cholesterol).
Directions: Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in cold water. In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa with 1 tablespoon curry powder and 1 teaspoon turmeric. Add 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the water is absorbedabout 15 minutes. Stir in 1 cup shredded carrots and 1 cup cubed firm tofu. Makes about 4 one-cup servings. Refrigerate remaining servings for an easy, healthy snack or meal later in the week.
Blend together until smooth and creamy your favorite fresh berries, silken tofu, Splenda (if needed), and a little vanilla extract.
Think oatmeal is boring? You havent tried Chef Anthonys sweet/ tangy Oatmeal Supreme, always a favorite among guests at Pritikin. Its a great meal for losing weight, and starting your day.
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If desired, add a little nonfat milk or soymilk and 1 packet of sugar substitute (a good choice is Splenda).
Open up a big bag of baby carrots and dip them into your freshly made no-oil-added, no-salt-added hummus. Simply whip up in your food processor a can of no-salt-added chickpeas/garbanzo beans, fresh tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic, a jalapeno pepper (if you like your hummus hot and spicy), and fresh herbs like cilantro and dill. Add a little water, if necessary, until the desired consistency is achieved.
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Butter beans are as delicious as they sound: big, meaty and filling, with a mild flavor that works well with bright, assertive flavors like lemon and scallions.
1 can no-salt-added butter beans cup chopped scallions (also known as green onions)Juice from half a lemonRed chili pepper flakes, to taste2 to 3 cups chopped fresh Romaine lettuce and/or baby arugula
In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter beans, scallions, lemon juice, and pepper flakes. Spoon over lettuce greens.
Sear, skin side up, a 4-ounce cut of salmon in a hot nonstick skillet and cook until well browned on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook till slightly translucent in center, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer salmon to serving dish. To skillet add teaspoon grated orange peel, 3 ounces orange juice, and cup white wine. Boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves. Spoon sauce over salmon.
Cooking up soba (the Japanese word for buckwheat) noodles instead of white-flour noodles is a great way to cut calories. A cup of soba has just 113 calories; a cup of white pasta, about 200. Plus, soba noodles are full of fiber, protein, and B vitamins.
Combine in large bowl:2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeds removed, and sliced tablespoon paprikaPinch cayenne pepperPinch black peppercorns, freshly ground cup fresh lemon juiceLet cucumber mixture sit for a few minutes while you cook 8 ounces of soba noodles according to package directions. After cooking and draining sobas, toss in bowl with cucumber mixture and gently blend.
Pour a 6-ounce bag of pre-washed baby spinach in a hot wok sizzling with a small amount of water or white wine, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and minced garlic. Stir spinach till wilted.
Smoothie made in blender with 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt, cup crushed ice, banana, and fresh or frozen berries.
Tags: meal plansweight loss
Eugenia Killoran has been the food and fitness journalist for the Pritikin Program since 1992. She has published more than 3,000 articles, lectures, and book chapters on a wide variety of healthy living and weight-loss topics.
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Healthy Meal Plan For Weight Loss | 5-Day Free Menu
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