First off is it ok to eat turkey bacon and an egg for breakfast? My hubby and I rarely tire of that, he gets 2 eggs, though. We normally dont eat breakfast, so that is good enough for us.
Also, I thought of having tuna with a tsp of light mayo for lunch. Is that ok? Could any of you suggest quick and easy lunch ideas??
Snacks is another concern... normally we love to eat 94% fat free popcorn, but that's a no-no. We have done pistachios (sticking to 30 is hard!!) and low fat string cheese. Any other ideas? Are you allowed 2 snacks a day? I can't remember.
There is nothing wrong with turkey bacon and eggs for breakfast but you should try to find a way to get some vegetables in as well. On the weekend, I saute some mushrooms and onions in a tiny bit of olive oil. Then I mix them in with an egg and fry it. I'm phase 2 so I then put it in a whole wheat tortilla with a little reduced fat swiss. You can also drink vegetable juice with your breakfast but I don't care for that.
I normally eat leftovers for lunch but some other ideas I have tried include ham and cheese rollups (my son loves these as snacks when he is hungry before dinner is ready).
For snacks, I normally eat raw vegetables. Red Peppers with hummus is great. Raw cauliflower and zucchini are good even without any dip. I've also dipped in natural peanut butter if I was out of hummus but remember not to exceed the 2 TBSP allowed - and if you eat nuts you need to reduce or eliminate your peanut butter allowance.
Deviled eggs can be good as a snack or with a meal. Check the book but I think full fat mayonnaise is considered better than the low fat. Tuna is fine as long as you get the kind in water. Look through some of the old threads. We've discussed this topic many times.
I am a former chips, popcorn, pretzel addict. I have found roasted chickpeas really help with this craving - you can find the recipe all over the place just do a Google search on "roasted chickpeas" however, I never use the alloted cooking time - I cook them at 350 (instead of 400) for much longer than stated in the recipe - you want crunchy without being hard as a rock - you have to really watch them and check them often (every 4 mins). You can put whatever spices you like - so you can personalize them.
I also made cheese crisps last night when I was really wanting chips - about an ounce of low fat marble cheese sliced REALLY thin - place on a PAM sprayed plate (very important - don't forget the PAM) and nuke on high for about 2-3 mins depending on your microwave - it really snaps and pops but that is ok - it gets hard - this is what you want.
When done - take out of the microwave - cool slightly then peel off the plate - break into smaller pcs and and enjoy plain or with salsa. Very chip/cracker like!
Of course - you don't want to do this very often - even low fat cheese can be too many calories and fat if eaten too often.
As Barb mentioned, I snack on raw veggies. I made up a batch of Taco soup and froze for lunches - so that I don't have to think about lunch each night. Make extra dinner so that you can have some for lunches.
Also, eggs are not limited (unless your Dr says so) so you can have more than one for breakfast.
The key is to never be hungry - eat if you are hungry - but grab veggies instead of junk.
If you haven't already read the book - I suggest you borrow it from the library and read it - it really clarifies a lot of things. SDB is NOT like Atkins!
And yes you can have two snacks per day and dessert too!
Best of luck - hang around here and you will get great ideas and lots of motivation.
Celery sticks with Laughing Cow Cheese, i do salads for lunch all the time with all different toppings (tuna, grilled chicken, seafood salad, chicken salad), all types of low fat lunch meats and lf cheeses rolled up with a little mayo, baby carrots with OP ranch dressing. on Phase 2 - triscuits with peanut butter, wheat muffins (the one's on the recipe boards), fruit...
I've been snacking on celery or cucumbers that I dip in tuna salad (or chicken salad). Which is a nice protein kick before I work out. Lunch is usually a large salad with either diced ham (small amount) or grilled chicken, egg, FF cheese, & OP dressing. Sometimes for lunch I will make Tilapia filets (I found some that can be microwaved) & 1/2 cup of sliced green beans. I'm a grazer so I spread the nuts out throughout the day.
Hi Lauren...isnt everyone on here so helpful and nice?? This board is such a blessing to me! I am from Newton, where are you at in the lovely Sunflower state?? I see you're a newlywed too. Congratulations! I'm about 2 weeks away from celebrating our 6 month anniversary. How about you? I really like the pic!