You don't have to sacrifice your food quality or your health to eat on the cheap. I've lost almost 40 pounds this year (The Hubs lost around 40, too) by sticking to a better diet and cooking at home - and I didn't have to spend exorbitant amounts of money on "diet food" to do it either!
Here are a few examples of the meals we've eaten over the past week. I originally wanted to document an entire day, but more often than not I scarfed down my food before I could snap a photo. Oops...
Breakfasts:
This week, I've been steadily working through the Bagel Thins I bought in bulk from Big Lots. The picture below is a pre-workout breakfast: a Cinnamon-Raisin Bagel Thin with Aldi Pumpkin Cream Cheese and a hard boiled egg. The Hubs likes his with a smathering of peanut butter and homemade low-sugar strawberry jam. Oh, and we eat tons of bananas. At least one each at breakfast.
We usually don't eat a lot of wheat-based foods, but I do love me some bagels. They are my guilty pleasure! The other mornings, I had 2 hard boiled eggs with a big bowl of watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, and blueberries. Should I mention the mass quantities of coffee The Hubs and I go through on any given morning? Delish!
Lunch:
Our lunches vary from day to day. Most of the time, we have leftovers from the night before with a green salad, side of fruit, and a yogurt. Today's lunch was leftover Salsa Verde Chicken and another gigantic bowl of melon, and The Hubs brought some extra fruit and yogurt to tide him over until dinner.
This lunch was from a no-leftover day: turkey and swiss (with gobs of mustard and lettuce) on thin sandwich bread, tons of grapes and blueberries, and homemade garlic-dill pickles.
Dinner:
I like to keep dinner pretty simple. It's usually a combination of a meat/seafood/bean dish with a big, green salad, and 1-2 types of veggies. For example, the other night we had Salsa Verde Chicken (yum) topped with a little bit of sharp cheddar cheese and homemade pickled onions, and a huge watermelon and feta salad.
The meal picture below consisted of 2 chicken drumsticks (grilled with wing sauce...The Hubs cooked), grilled corn, and grilled okra and banana peppers from the garden. We had a big green salad with tomatoes and lite dressing on the side as well. I'm happy to have the night off when he cooks, no matter what he makes!
Snacks:
Yep, we snack as well. Our snacks vary depending on what we have, but The Hubs usually has a piece of fruit and one (or two or three) light yogurts. Every day. Without fail. He can really put it away! I like to snack on almonds, fruit, and fruit/veggie smoothies during the day. If I have hard-boiled eggs in the fridge already, I'll eat one of those after a workout.
So, you may have noticed that we eat a helluva lot of fruits and veggies. I could probably live off of vegetables if it weren't for The Hubs' insatiable appetite for meat. The other day, I was asked about how many servings of each food group I eat, and I honestly had no clue. I don't keep up with that stuff! If I had to guess I would say...
2 - 3 servings of healthy oil and fat (found in olive oil, nuts, avocado, salmon, etc.) 2 - 3 servings of grains (mostly rice, quinoa, and whole-wheat products)
2 - 3 servings of dairy
3 - 5 servings of meat, beans, and seafood
4 - 6 servings of vegetables
4 - 6 servings of fruit
What I do know is this: I pay attention to my portions. When I stick to proper portion sizes, I save calories and grocery money.
I hope you enjoyed seeing what The Hubs and I live off of! Hopefully I'll remember to take some more pictures next time.
- Maggie White
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