Hi Elle,
I lost track of which thread that was on but will try to answer these and your other questions about typical meals here since this forum doesn't move as fast. I do no grain, no sugar, no soy, minimal casein, and wine & legumes occasionally (~2 times a month). Fat comes with my protein, and then I top up with coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, olives, nuts and nut butters. I have a problem with PB causing cravings for vast quantities, so I don't keep it in the house (I'll buy just the amount to put in a recipe if I need it). I have no problem limiting macadamia or almond nut butter, so I suspect the PB thing is due to it being a legume.
I aim to get my minimum protein (81g) from animal sources & the rest comes from whatever else I eat, totaling an average of 100g/day. I aim for up to 30g net carbs (ECCs) and can go up to 35 before I start getting hungry with cravings. My carbs mainly come from induction veggies, nuts & berries, & the small amounts in eggs, heavy cream & full fat cheese (the only dairy I eat since high fat dairy has minimal casein). If I'm making a casserole or slow cooked meal, I will add a few higher carb veggies like carrots & turnips to add to the texture & taste, as long as I don't go over 10g net carbs per serving.
I do live a different lifestyle - the kids are grown & out of the house and my SO works out of town 3-5 days a week, but eats like me when he is here, occasionally adding potato, rice or pasta to go with what I make. Because these things stuff up my head within 30 minutes, they no longer interest me.
I aim for <30g net carbs, 100g protein & the rest is fat (my average for the past year was 72% fat, 21% protein, 7% net carbs). I start my day with a weigh-in and open my DietPower software to enter breakfast and start thinking about what to eat the rest of the day. Since I take my lunch to work, I prepare lunch and breakfast (and sometimes dinner if I am really busy) simultaneously. If I’ll be home for dinner, I plan most of my full day’s food in the morning. If I’ll be going out to dinner, I aim to get 50g protein and up to 15g ECC in the first half of the day.
A typical breakfast is 2 mugs coffee each with 1/2T heavy cream, 2 eggs, ~1.5oz of cheese, half a sausage, 1T butter & some herbs (I buy cheese & sausage on sale & pre-package indivual servings in snack baggies & store them in the freezer in one big freezer bag).
Lunches on the go are a can of sardines in mustard sauce or beef jerky + 2oz nuts. Otherwise I have a big salad with canned tuna/salmon or leftover meat/poultry and 3T mayo or full fat salad dressing. I cook big roasts and put leftover meat/poultry/fish in individual servings in the freezer too.
Most of my weekday dinners are made totally or partially in advance. An easy one is to steam some raw or frozen veggies with one of my servings of frozen meats & then top it all with butter, ghee or oil. I have a big stainless steel pot with a steamer insert & once the water starts boiling, the veggies are steamed & the frozen pre-cooked meats are ready in ~10 minutes; I even do this for guests - more time to socialize and everything stays moist. Other dinners are one-dish meals that I invent as I go and make in advance and freeze the leftovers in individual servings. When I go shopping I typically buy whatever meat/fish/poultry items are on sale that week (after carefully perusing the flyers in the newpaper) and some veggies that would go nicely with them. I either roast the meat plain or design a casserole around the leftover roast meat or the raw meat I’ve bought. Then I use DietPower's recipe function to put together things like a) ground lamb w/spinach, cauliflower, tomatoes & greek spices b) chicken soup w/ lots of chicken & veggies. I use the protein content of the meat to decide how many ~25g protein servings I’m making, then add in veggies until I’m up to ~7g ECC/serving, then I add fat to get each serving up to a satiating amount of fat & calories.
My meals add up to ~1650 cals & then I have room for decadent comfort foods (~300 cals); I think this is what cured me of “emotional” eating. My favourites are homemade chocolate/coconut oil bark made with nuts & stevia, hot cocoa made w/heavy cream & stevia, 1-2T of macadamia nut butter, or some nuts (I always have nuts in the office & car so that I never get caught with nothing to eat when I need something). Rather than snarfing down my comfort foods, I like to take a 5-10 minute break to savour them in silence & often close my eyes to clear my mind, relax and de-stress. It is amazing what a mere 5 minutes can do.
My SIL has 5 & 8 year olds & has adopted many of these methods for breakfast & lunch. She still tends to cook dinners from scratch most days, but now cooks extra and plans ahead what to do with the leftovers so that she gets at least 2 nights “off” a week.
|