Healthy Meal Plan For Weight Loss

Breakfast

Tips for Planning Meals on a Budget:

1. Oatmeal with Fresh or Frozen (No Sugar Added) Fruit
2. Oranges or tangerines make a great snack on a healthy meal plan.
3. By switching from a bowl of cold, dried cereal to one of hot whole-grain cereal and fruit, you’d 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.
4. Tea or Coffee
   • If desired, add a little nonfat milk or soy milk and a packet of sugar substitute (a good choice is Splenda).

Mid-Morning Snack (enjoy only if hungry)

1. Veggie-Salsa Tortilla
   • 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
2. 1 Navel Orange or 2 Tangerines

Lunch

1. 2 Cups Mixed Greens with 1 Cup of Other Veggies, Chopped, Dressed with Aged Balsamic Vinegar.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Hearty Italian-Style White Bean Soup
   • This Healthy Meal Plan for Weight Loss includes hearty soups.
   • Make your own. It’s easy! From one 14-ounce can of no-salt-added cannellini beans, spoon out 2 tablespoons of beans. Puree the rest. In a medium nonstick pot, sauté 5 cloves of chopped garlic until translucent. Add 2 cups of 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 don’t eat for easy soup prep for a future lunch or dinner.

Mid-Afternoon Snack (enjoy only if hungry)

1. 6 Ounces of Nonfat Plain or No-Sugar-Added Yogurt with Your Choice of Berries Swirled Throughout. 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
2. 1 Apple
3. Desserts like yogurt and berries should be part of your healthy meal plan. You’ll still lose weight!

Dinner

1. Salad
   • A gigantic Farmer’s 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 Farmer’s Market every week and asking the vendors, “What’s new and tasty this week? What would make great ingredients for my salad?”
2. Salmon with Sweet Chilli Sauce (3½ to 4 ounces)
   • 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.
3. Baked Potato with 2 Tablespoons Fat-Free Sour Cream and a Sprinkling of Chives or Scallions
   • Contrary to popular belief, potatoes are a great food for helping you lose weight. It’s what we put on top of our potatoes – butter, cheese, and bacon bits – that turn them into waistline-busting foods.