Eat great and lose weight
The beauty of this 7-day menu plan from feel great weight dream team RD Marissa Lippert? You can mix and match to create your own customized diet (we did promise it would feel great, after all).
Choose one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and two snacks a day. Your total calories will be around 1500 (roughly 300 for breakfast, 400-450 for lunch, 450-500 for dinner, and 100-200 per snack).
Breakfast ideas
- Enjoy 3/4 cup museli cereal with dried cherries and pecans with 1 cup skim, low-fat or unsweetened soy milk.
• Spread 2 tablespoons of light cream cheese on 2 slices of pumpernickel bread and top with 3 to 4 pieces of smoked salmon and sliced red onion or capers.
• Warm up and get energized with 1/2 cup quinoa cooked with 1 cup skim, low-fat or soy milk and 3/4 cup diced apple. Mix in a dash of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.
Whole-wheat pancakes and baked eggs
- Indulge in 3 silver-dollar sized homemade whole wheat-oatmeal pancakes (half whole wheat flour, half rolled oats) topped with 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts and 1 small barely ripe banana, sliced. Drizzle 2 teaspoons maple syrup over top. Enjoy with a small skim, low-fat or unsweetened soy latte.
• In medium-sized ramekin, sprinkle 1 egg with salt and red pepper flakes and drizzle 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil over top. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes and serve with 1 cup sliced onions and red bell pepper mixture sautéed in 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil and 2 pieces turkey bacon. Pair with 1 slice rye toast.
Shrimp stir-fry
- Stir-fry 1/2 cup pre-cooked brown rice with 2 teaspoons peanut oil, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, 1/2 cup green peas, and 1/2 cup diced tofu OR 2 oz peeled shrimp. Scramble 1 egg and lay over top of mixture. Garnish with 1 tablespoon diced scallions.
