Eating well deliciously!
Of all the diets and ways of eating that I’ve tried in my efforts to lose weight, I only feel compelled to write about the keto diet. In all reality, I wasn’t impressed with my initial results after strictly following the keto diet for Read more
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After years of trying a multitude of diets and continuing my search for one that will finally give me the results I want, I learned about the keto diet. I did my due diligence to find out what was required of this diet and what sacrifices I would have to make to see results. I learned that keto is basically a high-fat, low-carb diet on steroids. I have done low carb before but this was on another level and this was going to be challenging.
Since I had no idea where to begin and there are so many versions of this diet available on the internet, I decided to try a 9-week keto diet that came with a complete daily meal plan. I thought that this approach was perfect because all I had to do was follow the meal plan easily. It turns out that having a meal plan is great but eating meals that are off-putting, not so much. I mean I had to eat a slab of butter for breakfast for chrissakes! Ick!
To wit this post. To prevent my fellow keto dieters from the fate of having to eat an entire wheel of brie or a slab of butter with cucumber for a meal, I’ll post an entire day of keto diet meal ideas and foods that are totally customizable as they are interchangeable. I promise you won’t have to scarf down unadulterated fat for any meal.
I have already published some breakfast keto-appropriate recipes on this blog and some of them are keto-friendly. I won’t go into full recipes for this post, but will rather offer some keto breakfast meal ideas using keto-approved breakfast foods. You can mix and match to come up with a varied and balanced keto breakfast for every day of the week.
Keto Breakfast Foods
Using the above list, you can come up with myriad keto breakfast meals or check out my recipes for some more ideas. I enjoy eating the same breakfast each day and don’t find it boring at all as I can always tweak it to make it more interesting.
What’s my usual breakfast? Almost every day I have 2 eggs, a handful of strawberries, turkey bacon, coffee with MCT oil, and/or creamer. That’s it. Sometimes I’ll change out the meat or the berries, add cheese to the eggs, or add a low-carb roll or biscuit. This simple breakfast keeps me full for upwards of 5 hours!
Use your imagination and enjoy all these healthy keto diet breakfast foods!
Coming up with a list of keto snacks is relatively straightforward with the easiest of all available options being nuts. Nuts are full of good fats and are energy dense so they will keep you sated for several hours. There is an amazing variety of nuts available and each provides different nutrients that support and replace the ones you may be missing by omitting/lowering carbohydrates from your diet.
In addition to nuts, you can try other energy-dense foods that don’t require cooking and preparation. Here’s a list of keto snack ideas that you can put together to come up with a flavor profile you enjoy.
Keto Snack Foods
You can mix and match any of these keto snack foods or enjoy them individually on their own. Just be sure to follow the serving sizes recommended by your version of the keto diet or what you require for your daily macros.
Keto lunches are usually comprised of a lean protein and a side of vegetables. Again, the beauty of keto is that you eat real foods that require minimal preparation to enjoy. You can also adjust the diet to omit foods you don’t like and add the ones you do. On my 9-week keto diet plan, for example, one of the keto diet meals for lunch included tuna fish. I don’t like tuna fish, so I subbed in canned salmon.
Keto Lunch Ideas/Combos
You get the gist. Select a protein and pair it with some kind of vegetable and you’ve got your quick and easy keto lunch.
Keto dinners are basically a repeat of lunch – that is a protein paired with a healthy, low-carb vegetable. From time to time I add a low-carb cheese biscuit made with Carbquick for a nice carby twist. I also sometimes have some homemade keto bark or keto chocolate mousse to round out my keto dinner.
Keto Dinner Ideas/Combos
The combinations of meat paired with vegetables are limitless so there’s no reason to be bored eating keto diet meals.
Many people are afraid to try the keto diet because they’re afraid of the amounts of fat that they’re required to eat or feel that they’d miss eating carbs. I understand this thinking as I thought so myself. I was concerned about eating all the fat that’s required for this diet, specifically saturated fat. Too much of anything is not good, but I still wanted the other benefits of the diet.
I have since learned that fats are not the enemy but I still didn’t eat a lot of the meals that came with my keto diet plan because they were too high in saturated fat for my taste. So while it’s great to have a built-in keto diet meal plan, it’s best to make keto meals that are both high in fats and healthy. I did this but substituting Earth Balance vegan spread for butter, eating lean proteins (I don’t eat pork and rarely eat red meat) and I use an ungodly amount of avocado!
In summary, I think it’s always better to adjust any standard keto meal plan by including foods you enjoy and that are intrinsically healthy. Do you follow the keto diet? Share some of your keto meal ideas with me in the comments. Happy eating!
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Whether you’re trying to lose weight or you’re on a restricted diet, it can become very difficult to come up with tasty meal ideas every day of the week. Trust me I know – you’re on a diet or you want to eat healthy but there’s only so much salad you can eat amirite?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. I have a few tried and true healthy diet meal ideas that you can mix and match to come up with well-rounded and delicious meals any day of the week.
This post is the first in a series that will focus on healthy diet meal ideas and recipes that fit various lifestyles like keto/low carb, paleo, and vegan/vegetarian. Today we’ll present a full day’s worth of meals and snack ideas that will work for different diets and lifestyles.
As we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s the fuel that revs our metabolism and gets us ready for the day. All too often, too many of us do not take the time to have, much less, enjoy this loveliest of meals!
I’ve already made several posts about quick and healthy recipes for breakfast and for dinner. These posts contain many versatile ideas that can serve as a go-to for any meal. I won’t go through those again, but I’ll just add a few more ideas in this post in the form of a meal for a day. Breakfast coming up!
This is a quick breakfast that hits a few essential health points. It’s full of a soluble fiber found in oatmeal that helps to lower cholesterol and keep you full for hours. The banana adds potassium, carbs to keep you full and a hint of sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth.
If you’re using berries instead of the bananas, you will have a bit fewer calories and higher anti-oxidant benefits. You can also lower the calorie content of this breakfast idea by making the oatmeal with water. If calories are not a factor, make your oatmeal with a vegan milk of choice for a creamier more satisfying oatmeal.
If you want a bit more sweetness, use a sugar-free sweetener. I prefer monk sweet with stevia but there are lots of other choices out there, use the one you like.
In my opinion, it’s best to forego snacks and instead enjoy three main meals every day. However, I know that there will be times when we can’t have a main meal and only have time for a small snack to keep us going until the next meal.
The following snacks are deceptively simple but chock-full of nutrients that many of us may miss in our regular diet. First up:
Nuts are one of the most energy-dense foods you can consume. They are full of healthy fats that can keep you full for hours. Different nuts have different nutritional profiles, so it’s best to get a mix. Brazil nuts, for example, contain high amounts of selenium, fiber, and protein.
Have between 5 to 7 tablespoons of raw nuts at most once every day – This is enough to sustain you for 3 to 4 hours until your next meal.
Berries provide a nice punch of sweetness and cheese rounds out their sweetness with a savory creamy component. The berries are anti-oxidant rich, contain resveratrol, are fiber-rich, and full of vitamin C. The cheese is calcium-rich, contains good levels of protein to fill you up and best of all is delicious.
Have a handful of any berries or a mix of your favorite ones. Enjoy no more than an ounce or two of your favorite cheese.
After breakfast, lunch should be your next heaviest meal of the day. This meal should be a balanced one – a protein source that’s about the size of your palm, ideally a moderate amount of complex carbs, and half a plate of vegetables, ideally the green, leafy kind.
Since this site is about providing quick and healthy meals, these lunch ideas will be just that – quick to make and healthy for you.
A wrap is one of the most portable and versatile meals available. You can purchase pre-made white meat chicken from brands like Purdue, Trader Joe’s, Applegate Farms, etc. or just cook your own by seasoning and cooking strips of seasoned chicken breast meat in a bit of olive oil.
You can also use a store-bought wrap but as always, make sure the ingredients are few and healthy. I like to make my own wrap or tortilla from einkorn flour. Butter or romaine lettuce leaves can also serve as a low carb wrap option.
Assemble your wrap by smearing your tortilla or wrap of choice with condiment(s) of choice – Mayo, mustard, etc. Next, add a layer of mesclun veggies then your chicken strips. You can embellish with as many healthy toppings as you like. For example, a bit of shredded cheese for a flavor and protein boost and avocado for healthy, filling unsaturated fats.
Enjoy your wrap with a refreshing soda and lime or water.
There is no meal more versatile than the simple salad. Using a great variety of green leafy vegetables for a base, the humble salad can be loaded with healthy and delicious toppings to create a satisfying meal.
I like to use mesclun greens as the base for my salads, but you may use iceberg, romaine, kale or any kind of green that suits your fancy. Now for the toppings for our salad – anything goes here, so raid your pantry or fridge for any of these:
This is by no means an exhaustive list of toppings, the sky’s the limit. You can make an anything-goes salad on any given day mixing and matching healthy toppings for limitless possibilities.
Be sure to always stick to simple salad dressings like lemon juice, vinegar, oil, etc. If you prefer store-bought dressings, just be sure they have whole, simple ingredients.
You can pre-make your anything-goes salad ahead of time to take to work the next day. Using a compartmentalized serving dish helps to keep things in order and fresh.
The last meal of the day – dinner. I don’t think many of us put much thought into what to make for dinner. Especially if you work a 9 to 5, have a family, and have to make dinner every night.
Dinner need not be as heavy as breakfast or lunch. A serving of healthy protein alongside healthy vegetable sides is all you need at the end of the day.
I have already posted some quick and healthy dinners here, but I’ll offer a couple more ideas in this post as well. These will not be full-fledged recipes, but rather a brief list of ideas you can whip up in no time flat.
This meal can be ready in as little as 15 minutes! If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that my air-fryer puts in heavy duty throughout the week. It is truly a miraculous cooking tool. I use my air fryer to make this simple garlic lamb chop recipe that’s delicious as it is quick and healthy.
To make this dish, simply mince 3 cloves of garlic and rub the paste over both sides of 2 (or more depending on the size of your family) lamb chops that have been sprayed with cooking spray – shoulder or loin cuts are good.
Next, add dried rosemary, salt, and pepper to both sides of lamb chops. Sprinkle a few drops of Worcestershire sauce over each side as well. Air-fry at 380 – 400 for 6 to 8 minutes per side depending on how rare you like your lamb.
Pair the lamb chops with any sides you like. I sometimes pair them with cauliflower fried rice, slices of avocado, or a refreshing salad. Use your imagination and what’s in your fridge and pantry.
Believe it or not, you can enjoy a nice steak for a mid-week dinner without the need for a grill and a lot of time. This recipe is extremely simple and straightforward – the only caveat is you have the necessary spices on hand.
The secret to this easy and delicious steak is garam masala. Garam masala is a blend of Indian spices – most notably coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg and clove.
Make sure your steak is fully thawed before you begin. Next, apply a thin layer of olive oil to your steaks add salt and the garam masala to taste on both sides of your steak.
Sear steaks in a hot cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Depending on the thickness of your steak and how rare you like it, let the steak cook for 3-5 minutes per side.
Enjoy with a side of garlic mashed potatoes or roasted Brussels sprouts.
I hope I’ve shown by now that creating quick and healthy meals is not impossible or daunting. The secret to creating a variety of healthy meals is in preparation. Preparing for each week’s meals in advance will put you at great advantage when you actually make them.
Depending on your WOE, go grocery shopping for appropriate proteins, vegetables, spices, and healthy pre-made sides on Saturday. Portion out and freeze all proteins for each family member in advance.
When ready to prepare your meals for each weekday, simply pull out the amount of protein you need from the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw out overnight. Cook the next evening using one of our easy recipes and/or pairing it with any healthy sides you enjoy.
Let me know if you’ve tried any of our meal ideas in the comments!