That's one reason this diet was so easy - on the one hand it can be a bit monotonous, but on the other, meals are quick and easy to prepare, even if you're on the go and need something to eat out of a cooler bag with no way to heat it up (which is how I spend a large chunk of my life, what with all the running around to get the kids to dance, gymnastics, soccer, etc.).
Below you'll find a sampling of menus that I wrote down each day (more for tracking if any combinations worked better than any others...they didn't, they all worked equally great) and some pictures of meals - I'll add more pictures...I just didn't think to take pictures of our everyday meals but now I realize it might be helpful to everyone checking this page out. I'll also share what I'll call "convenience" products...I've already listed some on various pages of this blog, but I'll put them all together here - these are quick, easy solutions to help you stick to the plan without having to slave in the kitchen!
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Sample Menus (all proteins = 3oz, all fruits, veges, grains = "allowable" amount)
Rock Lobster Tail, Grapefruit sections, Salad Greens, Steamed Asparagus, Melba Toast
Extra-Lean Ground Beef Hamburger Patty with yellow mustard and dill pickle slices, Salad Greens with tomatoes and cucumbers, an orange, Melba Toast
Imitation Crab, Salad Greens with Hearts of Palm, Apple slices, Grassini Breadstick
Cold Shrimp, Salad Greens, homemade ketchup (made with no sugar added tomato paste and substituting Truvia for sugar) with horseradish, sliced Strawberries sprinkled with Truvia, Melba Toast
Hillshire Farms Grilled Essentials Chicken Breast with Buffalo Style Tabasco Sauce, Cucumber and Onion salad, sliced Apple and 2 fat-free Saltine Crackers
Talipia steamed with lemon pepper seasoning, steamed cabbage with salt and pepper, strawberries with Truvia, 1 1/2 Garlic Melba Rounds
Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Breast, Salad Greens, Orange, Parmesan Grissini Breadstick
Southwestern Style Egg Beaters plus one whole egg, scrambled with salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash, steamed Asparagus, 1/2 grapefruit - sectioned, 2 fat-free Saltine Crackers
1/2 cup Non-fat cottage cheese with salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash and a handful of grape tomatoes - halved, an orange, Parmesan Grissini Breadstick
Buffalo Chicken, Steamed Asparagus, an Orange, Grissini Breakstick
Lemon Dijon Chicken, Indian Style Cabbage, Orange Slices, Parmesan Grissini Breadstick (these recipes can be found on the Recipes page)
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Convenience Products
Hillshire Farms Grilled Essentials (all flavors, although the plain allow you to add your own seasonings) - these are the perfect portion size and are precooked so they can be eaten cold or heated in the microwave for 1 minute!
Tyson Grilled & Ready Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast - one bag is 6oz, perfect for 2 to split, or 1 to eat and save half. They offer chicken breast strips and whole breasts too but I haven't used those so I don't know the portion sizes, you'll need to check for yourself!
Oscar Meyer Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Breast - This is the BEST Deli meat out there, and I'm not just saying that because it's the ONLY deli meat I've had in over a month - because I've tried other deli-style chicken breast and they all pail in comparison to this. Get it, you'll thank me later.
TransOcean Crab Classic Chunk Style Imitation Crab - I've used a couple different brands of Imitation Crab and have found this to be the lowest in sugar and carbs, but if you can't find it, look at what brands are available and make the best choice!
All Whites Liquid Egg Whites - these are great if you want to mix in seasonings (I mix in a bunch of whatever looks good - dried herbs, greek seasoning, poultry seasoning, Italian seasoning) the more the better, because even with one whole egg beat in, these things are BLAND ON BLAND - for quick prep, mix everything in a glass bowl and nuke for 30 seconds, mix and microwave another 30 - continue until all egg is cooked. Also, I recommend just the small container - you'll use 3 liquid oz per serving (PLUS the whole egg) and once opened you're supposed to use within one week.
Southwestern Style Egg Beaters - unlike their plain cousin above, these bad boys actually taste GREAT without anything added, but I do usually add some salt and pepper and even a bit of Pace Picante Sauce to spice it up. Technically you can use more than 3oz of these because the onion and green pepper are included in that but I still keep it to 3oz, it's more than enough egg!
Truvia - Stevia is the only sweetener allowed on this plan. You'll find several different brand names available but I found Truvia to be affordable and tasty, which happen to be my two favorite things when it comes to food!
Buffalo Style Tabasco Sauce - OK, this is by far my very favorite discovery on this diet - I smother my chicken in it, and will continue to do so long after my days of eating 500 calories are over. It's calorie-free (for all intents and purposes) and is so good, I literally lick the plate to get every last drop. Seriously, I want to bathe in this stuff.
True Lemon Raspberry Lemonade - this is a powdered drink sweetened with Stevia! BONUS! It does contain 5 calories per serving so that's 1% of your daily allotment, and WELL WORTH IT! They make other flavors too but this is all we've tried so far, but I'm willing to bet the Limeade is also yummmm.
Zevia Black Cherry Soda - another Stevia sweetened drink, this time a soda! But at a buck a can, a little pricey. We relied mostly on our SodaStream for soda water with lemon or lime juice added but this was a nice treat every now and again.
Safeway Select Parmesan Grissini Breadsticks - The picture below is the regular variety, but just this week we discovered the Parmesan style and WOW, why did we have to endure 38 days WITHOUT these?!? Same calories as the plain version, but the hint of Parmesan is well worth seeking these out!
Fresh Herb Salad and Spring Mix - Brand doesn't matter, but Salad Greens are an essential on this diet - they're loaded with vitamins, you'll need the fiber (trust me on that) and they have hardly any calories so you can eat a handful (and by that I mean, as much as you can grab with one hand) at every meal - this is another carry over that we'll stick with as part of a healthy diet. Buh-Bye Iceberg and Romaine, hello flavor!
Red Wine Vinegar - another must have - I don't care what brand, but a few splashes on your salad is all you need to forget about that evil diet killer, Salad Dressing! Over the last 40 days, we've gone through almost a bottle of this Pompeian Vinegar!
Baby Dill Pickles - Again, brand doesn't matter, but get yourself a bottle of baby dills. They have zero calories so you can add one to your meal without any guilt or slice one up and put it on a burger.
Mrs. Dash - any flavor - these are great to add to eggs, cottage cheese, and of course chicken and ground beef. They're all full of great flavors to suit your fancy for whatever you're craving - savory, spicy, you name it. Good stuff...Mr. Dash never complains about bland food.
Ziploc Zip'n Steam bags - The one last thing isn't food at all - it's a way to cook up your meals in no time flat! I use them to steam veggies, fish, sometimes veggies AND fish together! Just add your meats/veges/seasonings, zip, throw in the microwave for a few minutes and voila, instant healthy meal!
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Fill your fridge and cupboard with these items, plus a bag of apples, a bag of oranges, some frozen shrimp (cooked, de-veined) and frozen Tilapia fillets and you're good to go!
nice job. easy to follow. thanks for sharing.
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