[Boomcha]

So far I've just cut back volume and focused on healthy food but now is the time for me to pay more attention to calories. I see it's going to take some time to get into a regular and accurate tracking groove! I joined daily plate so that's a start.

Have any of you started by using pre-created menus for the total daily calories to get a good idea of what it should look like then moving to customization?

If any of you can point me in the right direction to find some samples I'd b very grateful.

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

I found this sample menu on the net a while back and use it as a guideline only as I think it was originally designed for children and/or teens by the food choices. I think there are too many carbs from sugar in this plan, so I changed some things as you can see in the notations, ie subbing sugarfree puddings and yogurts; plus eating an orange instead of juice which adds volume and fiber to this plan. By doing this, you could have more vegetables instead: Check out the VOLUMETRICS plan on the net (just google it); I found many helpful ideas from that plan too.


Menu for 2000 calories
13% protein, 62% carbohydrate, 25% fat
----------------------------------------------------

BREAKFAST --

1 oz. ready-to-eat whole grain Cereal-- 1 serving from BREAD, CEREAL, RICE & PASTA GROUP (3/4 to 1 cup)

1/2 - 3/4 cup 1% or skim fat milk-- 1/2 serving from MILK, YOGURT & CHEESE GROUP. NOTE: THIS FOOD ALSO CONTAINS FAT

3/4 cup orange juice -- 1 serving from FRUIT GROUP
*** have a whole orange or banana instead ***


Snack --
1 cup lowfat lemon yogurt-- 1 serving from MILK, YOGURT & CHEESE GROUP. NOTE: THIS FOOD ALSO CONTAINS ADDED SUGARS; so I would make that 1/2 cup no sugar added yogurt; by having 1/2 cup, you can have more at another time (like a piece of cheese for a snack).

LUNCH --
3 oz. roast turkey (deli) 3 oz-- MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, DRY BEANS, EGGS & NUTS GROUP NOTE: THIS FOOD ALSO CONTAINS SOME FAT; Note: you can have any deli meat like turkey, chicken, ham, or beef (2 slices).

2 slices wheat bread-- 2 servings from BREAD, CEREAL, RICE & PASTA GROUP

1 piece of lettuce and 1 slice of tomato + 1/2 carrot and 1/2 stalk celery-- 1 serving from VEGETABLE GROUP

2 tsp. mayonnaise-- 2 servings from FATS, OILS, & SWEETS GROUP

1 medium apple or other fruit -- 1 serving from FRUIT GROUP


SNACK : have a SOURCE OR ASTRO yogurt instead (35-40 C's) OR an apple or other fruits (< 100 C's)

1 large chocolate covered peppermint patty-- 1 serving from FATS, OILS, & SWEETS GROUP (or have 1 oz dark plain chocolate instead to cut sugar)


DINNER TIME --

1 cup mixed salad greens-- 1 serving from VEGETABLE GROUP

1 tbsp. lite Italian salad dressing-- 1 serving from FATS, OILS, & SWEETS GROUP; OR 1% sour cream @ 20 calories per tablespoon

1 serving Black Bean Stew (This is a combination dish--visit the Cyberkitchen for the recipe!). One serving contains about 1 cup of cooked black beans (2 oz. from MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, DRY BEANS, EGGS, & NUTS GROUP) and 1/2 cup cooked vegetables (1 serving from VEGETABLE GROUP). NOTE: THIS DISH ALSO CONTAINS SOME FAT

1 cup cooked rice-- 2 servings from BREAD, CEREAL, RICE & PASTA GROUP

1/2 cup steamed green beans-- 1 serving from VEGETABLE GROUP

2 tsp. margarine-- 2 servings from FATS, OILS, & SWEETS GROUP, opt

1 wheat dinner roll-- 1 serving from BREAD, CEREAL, RICE, & PASTA GROUP

1/2 cup fresh strawberries-- 1 serving from FRUIT GROUP

SNACK --

1 peanut butter cookie-- 1/2 serving from BREAD, CEREAL, RICE, & PASTA GROUP. NOTE: THIS FOOD ALSO CONTAINS FAT AND ADDED SUGAR (you could have a fruit OR a rice cake instead (60 C's) OR 6 whole wheat soda crackers (78 C's) with a bit of peanut butter or cheese.

3/4 cup skim fat milk-- 1/2 serving from MILK, YOGURT, & CHEESE GROUP. NOTE: THIS FOOD ALSO CONTAINS FAT

Here is the approximate number of servings from the food groups. Please note that this is just an estimate and should be used as a guide. You can sub similar items in each day to vary this menu, ie for dinner ~ 3-4 oz lean meat + more veggies. There is leeway on this plan, depending what you have for snacks, you can free up 100-200 calories for your snacks or more protein as well: with changes, this plan is only about 1850.

Totals:

6.5 servings from the Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta Group
3 servings from the Fruit Group
3 servings from the Vegetable Group
2 servings from the Milk, Yogurt, & Cheese Group
5 oz. from the Meat, POULTRY, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs & Nuts Group
About 8 1/2 tsp. added sugars in foods; 57 grams of fat (from the fat naturally in food plus added fat) Note: this could be lowered.

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[Boomcha]

Merci!!