Healthy Meal Ideas

TommyKnocker

Hi All

I know that there are healthy meal ideas contained in the lots of the individual threads on this forum, and I have read the stickies here and on the Diet & Nutrition forum, however I thought it might be helpful to have a thread with healthy meal ideas all in one place.

I have very recently started to analyse my diet, as I am not getting the results I was hoping for from the gym.

My goal is to gain a little muscle mass as cleanly as possible. I am currently in the gym 6 times per week, with Sat, Mon & Wed for cardio sessions (2 x 1hr Spin and 1 x 50 minute between rowing and crosstrainer intervals) and Sun, Tue and Thur are weight sessions (3 weeks into Strong Lifts 5x5 program which is similar to SS). See http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055632313

I am currently compiling a list of the foods I eat and their nutritional data (Protein, Carbs & Fat content) and have been surprised to find that my breakfast alone is circa 1,100 calories with an 11% protein, 31% Carbs and 56% fat split :eek:.

My Current breakfast for instance is

50g Musili
25g mixed seeds
10g Almonds
10g Hazelnuts
10g Walnuts
20g Brazil Nuts
30g Gogi Berrires
40g Grapes
30g Blueberries
30g Blackberries
30g Rasoberries
40g Strawberries
200ml Avonmore Slimline Milk (Fat Free)
1 Muller Vitality yogurt drink

3 Fish oil tables (Seven Seas)
1 Multi Vit
1 Joint Ace (Glucosamine & Chondroitin)

1 Mug Green Tea

I guesstimated that this would be around 600/650 cals and thought the protein content would be higher and the fat content lower

I have been 161bs (give or take a lb or 2) for the past year and I am around 13%-14% body fat with a 30"/31" waist, which for a 46 yr old guy @ 5' 6" is not too bad (I think). I was measured with calliphers 2 months ago at 14.1% and I think I am slightly leaner since then. As I have been the same weight, though dropped BF for the last year, I am guessing that I am eating around maintenance. However at this time I have absolutely no idea what that figure is.

Once I have my daily calorie intake worked out, my aim would be to add about 10%-15% to my maintenance figure, starting off with a 40%, 40%, 20% (protein, Carbs, Fat) split and then tweak it to get the results I am looking for (understanding of course that I am no spring chicken).

So if there are any other more experienced folks here, who are as anal about their diet as I currently am and have ideas for healthy meals which are pretty close to the 40%, 40%, 20% split, please post them here, as it would certainly help me and may also help others.

Best Regards & TIA,

M

bambera

hi, this might help, its further on down the Fitness forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055573795

big syke

Check out the stickies here and on the nutrition and diet forum.

TommyKnocker

Hi There

Hi All

I know that there are healthy meal ideas contained in the lots of the individual threads on this forum, and I have read the stickies here and on the Diet & Nutrition forum, however I thought it might be helpful to have a thread with healthy meal ideas all in one place

Been there and done that already I have also read the Recipies thread here and some of the recipies look quite interesting.

As I said I was a little shocked to find that what I thought was a ok, healthy breakfast turned out to be around 1,100 calories with quite a high % of Fat (all be it healthy fat).

So I thought that if the more expreienced folks on here, who had already been through the process of working out healthy balanced meals, would share them, it would provide valuable ideas to myself and I am sure others as well.


Best Regards,

M

corkcomp

B-Builder wrote: »

Hi There



Been there and done that already I have also read the Recipies thread here and some of the recipies look quite interesting.

As I said I was a little shocked to find that what I thought was a ok, healthy breakfast turned out to be around 1,100 calories with quite a high % of Fat (all be it healthy fat).

So I thought that if the more expreienced folks on here, who had already been through the process of working out healthy balanced meals, would share them, it would provide valuable ideas to myself and I am sure others as well.


Best Regards,

M

its going to be very difficult to come up with one size fits all healthy meals, the breakfast you mentioned above seems to be pretty good (aside from the cals but based on your stats it prob isnt doing you any major harm:D) but for a more sedentary person that could be 70% of daily maintenance cals!! if you want to drop body fat you could always eat the same b/fast but reduce portion so its down to 6 or 700 cal?

TommyKnocker

Hi Corkcomp

I understand what you are saying about 1 size fits all meals. But this is not really what I am looking for.

I was jut really asking for some ideas of what others who monitor their diet eat at different meals.

As I posted above, until this morning I actually thought that my breakfast was around 650 cals, 700 at most with a more even ratio of macro-nutrients. I was totally shocked to see it came in at over 1,100 cals and the fat % was through the roof Also this is not a big portion (size wise). It 3/4 fills an average breakfast bowl.

I eat this breakfast around 05:30 ish and would be ready for another meal at 08:30 - 09:00. This second meal would probably be 2-3 oat cakes with some peanut butter and an apple and sometimes a banana also.

Still working out what my daily total is and what the macro-nutrient breakdown is.

Then I will revisit the different meals and try to make them more even.


Best Regards,

M

Sangre

B-Builder wrote: »

As I posted above, until this morning I actually thought that my breakfast was around 650 cals, 700 at most with a more even ratio of macro-nutrients. I was totally shocked to see it came in at over 1,100 cals and the fat % was through the roof Also this is not a big portion (size wise). It 3/4 fills an average breakfast bowl.

75g of nuts and seeds alone and you don't think this is a big portion? You must have a far bigger appetite than I do. That looks like an absolute monster of a breakfast to me!

rccaulfield

Jeez man- thats a mother of a breakfast-also training 6 times aweeks not gonna last in fairness-go easier on yourself-the whole building a bit of muscle is just as much about rest days then training days! Ps dont guess your calories.

TommyKnocker

Hi There

Sangre wrote

75g of nuts and seeds alone and you don't think this is a big portion? You must have a far bigger appetite than I do. That looks like an absolute monster of a breakfast to me!

Honestly I never bothered about the weight of the nuts and seeds till yesterday :rolleyes: It was just 8 almonds, 10 hazelnuts, 6 half walnuts, 6 brazil nuts and a sprinkle of seeds mixed into some musili with some berries added too.

I expected the nuts and seeds to add protein to my breakfast with some healthy fat. Instead it added quite a lot of (healthy) fats with a little protein. So I need to rethink my breakfasts straight away

rccaulfield & Sangre wrote

Jeez man- thats a mother of a breakfast

That looks like an absolute monster of a breakfast to me!

It doesn't look that much in a bowl and I would not be stuffed after it. Just satiated.

rccaulfield wrote

also training 6 times a weeks not gonna last in fairness-go easier on yourself-the whole building a bit of muscle is just as much about rest days then training days! Ps dont guess your calories.

I have actually been training 6 times a week for the last year now and believe it or not in the last two months I have actually cut down the amount of training I am doing on advice I received from this forum. Sad as it may be I actually enjoy working out.

I was doing Cardio and Weights 4 times a week back to back and then two days of just cardio. For example on a Saturday I would do

45 min Spin Class
20-25 min Rower (Concept II) Intervals. 6km in total
30 min Crosstrainer Intervals (easy level 10, hard level 14)
60 min Weights (was doing 4 day split, and getting nowhere)
20-30 min Abs

I was into distance running until I picked up a plantar injury, so long training sessions are no problem to me. I enjoyed them and the feeling of being fit.

Point well taken on guessing calories and lesson well and truly learned That's why I was asking about meal ideas. Just to get an idea of what the more knowledgeable folks hear put together for a balanced meal.

Best Regards,

M

P.S. Thanks all for the input so far

Mellor

I'd try and sort the PCF (protein, carb fat) split of your brekkie first. This should help you with bulking. Nuts are great in small portions, but its not a good idea to use them as the main energy provider in your brekkie. They are full of oil, as you now know, And while its a good source of oil 600+ calories is too much from oil alone in the morning. By all means keep them in your diet, but spread them out over the day.

Try to up the carbs and protein %s.
My brekkie tends to be almost 50/50 Carbs/protein with little fats, they come later when carbs trail off.
What are your maintenance cals? What is your target brekkie cals.

corkcomp

if you need big portions to feel satisfied then you probably need to look at lower calorie foods like apples, pears, porridge etc, you could eat a lot more of these for a lot less cals .. man, it must be one hell of a bowl if all of the above doesnt fill it? As mellor pointed out nuts are great but your probably going a bit heavy on them (the problem is that they are calorie dense so if you try to eat enough of them to feel full you could be getting well into 4 figures on the cals!)

retenzo12

from my reading of this thread the op is looking for some ' healthy meal ideas'. I think he has established himself the carb protein fat ratio is not ideal and would therefore like suggestions of alternative meal ideas. I think the op has a concrete direction of where his training in the gym is going and feels that it is his diet holding him back not work out.. Just a thought for anyone else responding..

TommyKnocker

Hi All

Mellor wrote

My brekkie tends to be almost 50/50 Carbs/protein with little fats, they come later when carbs trail off.

Can I ask for examples of what you have for breakfast please?

I also try to eat the bulk of my carbs early in the day and taper them off as the day progresses. However I workout after work, between 18:30 ish and 20:30 is. Have a shake after workout (2 scoops of Whey, 1 scoop of glucose, 5g creatine & 5g of glutamine) and dinner when I get home, which could be around 21:30. Dinner would usually be Tuna & salad or Chicken/Turkey/Fillet Steak and some mixed veg.

What are your maintenance cals? What is your target brekkie cals.

Using the Katch Macardle Formula (as it takes lean mass in to the equation)

Katch Macardle Formula

370 + (21.6 * LBM in kg) * activity level

• [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job) [/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)[/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) [/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) [/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) [/FONT]

My Figures

Weight: 73kg
BF %: 13%
Fat Weight: 21lbs
LBM: 63.63kg

370 + (21.6 * 63.63) = 1744

1744 * 1.725 = 3008 cals for maintenance

Add 15% for muscle gain (3008 * .15) = 451

Daily calories required for goal = 3,459

Divided by 6 (number of meals per day) = 576 cals per meal

I don't mind breakfast being a little more as I can adjust the other meals to compensate.


corkcomp wrote

If you need big portions to feel satisfied then you probably need to look at lower calorie foods like apples, pears, porridge etc, you could eat a lot more of these for a lot less cals

Is Musili not comparable to porridge?? Porridge is oats, correct? and Musili is made up of a high percentage of oats. I cannot stand warm cereals of any kind. This is why I chose Musili, as I thought I was getting most of the benefits of porridge, cold.

I do eat quite a bit of fruit, more than the 5 servings per day you see reccommended

Man, it must be one hell of a bowl if all of the above doesnt fill it?

lol

If you think back a little while, Kellogs were giving away breakfast bowls when you sent in tokens from their cereal packets. Well that is the size of the bowl and my outlined breakfast fills this bowl a little over 3/4 ful.


retenzo12 wrote

from my reading of this thread the op is looking for some ' healthy meal ideas'. I think he has established himself the carb protein fat ratio is not ideal and would therefore like suggestions of alternative meal ideas. I think the op has a concrete direction of where his training in the gym is going and feels that it is his diet holding him back not work out.

This is exactly what I was looking for when I started this thread. I now understand that the macro-nutrient value of my breakfast (and quite possibly my other meals, still working these out) is out of whack for what I am trying to achieve, and was hopng that some of the more experienced folks on here who have gone through the porcess of analysing their own diet would post meal examples, which I could get ideas from.

However in saying that I am thankful for the feedback that I have received, which has been very useful and given me things to think about.


Best Regards,

M

abcjonesy

B-Builder wrote

"Is Musili not comparable to porridge?? Porridge is oats, correct? and Musili is made up of a high percentage of oats. I cannot stand warm cereals of any kind. This is why I chose Musili, as I thought I was getting most of the benefits of porridge, cold"

Hi, I thought the same til this morning. There is a thread on the nutrttion&diet forum called "healthy breakfast ideas". The regular posters explain it there

Mellor

B-Builder wrote: »

Hi All
Can I ask for examples of what you have for breakfast please?

No problem, but its worth baring in mind that even though we are pretty close in LBM. My caloric intake is considerably less than yours. (I'm in the gym 3 or 4 days, but work at a desk so I use a 1.375/1.4 factor, i'm also on a defecit at the minute)

This morning I had oats and stawberrys.
34g oats (i'm not that anal about portion size, they come in single packets)
40g Strawberries
Water for oats, a dash of 0%fat milk when out of microwave)

This comes in at about 150 cals. The oats swell up a huge amount with water, and are very filling.

There was no protein here, as I was bringing a tin of tuna, 2 eggs and some dry salad on a wrap to work, but I forgot my lunchbox

If I was on a similar calorific daily amount to yourself, I'd include two eggs with breakfast, and go for a bigger portion of oats and more milk, full fat

TommyKnocker

Hi Mellor

Mellor wrote: »

This morning I had oats and stawberrys.
34g oats (i'm not that anal about portion size, they come in single packets)
40g Strawberries
Water for oats, a dash of 0%fat milk when out of microwave)

This comes in at about 150 cals. The oats swell up a huge amount with water, and are very filling.

If I was on a similar calorific daily amount to yourself, I'd include two eggs with breakfast, and go for a bigger portion of oats and more milk, full fat

Thanks for the input.

Can I ask

Can I not eat the oats without cooking/microwaving them?

I can't stand hot gloopy serial :eek: It reminds me of when my Mum would have us eat cornflakes with hot milk in winter when we were younger. Vile stuff

Also apart from the eggs and possibly tuna with a couple of slices of wholemeal bread toasted, are there any other good sources of protein suitable for breakfast, or do I just need to get away from the tradition of cereal for breakfast and start having Chicken and Turkey with veg for breakfast also? This would surely feel strange at the start While I don't buy into the eggs are bad for you, 2 eggs 7 mornings a week I'm not so sure about.

Finally (for now) can I ask about the full fat milk?

I spent a week or two at the start of the year (new years resolution ) weaning myself off full fat milk and on to Avonmore slimline 0% milk. At that time I was trying to drop my BF% and I have just stuck with the 0% milk as I want to make any gains as cleanly as possible, without increasing my current BF% too much.

I have read on here and at other sites on the web about drinking what I would consider large amounts of full fat milk while bulking (I have read of folks consuming a gallon a day :eek:), but would this not make a large % of any weight gained fat weight, which would vanish when you started to lean out?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks a million for taking the time to respond.


Best Regards,

M

jambi

Hi there,

I eat oats in the morning without cooking/microwaving them. Just throw them in a shake with some milk.

Not sure if I can really give you specific meal ideas but here is my diet for a typical day. You might be able to get something from that. I can recommend quinoa just for a change from rice/pasta. I get meat from butchers and oats/grains/spices etc from health food shop.

7am
Handful mixed fruit raspberry/strawberry/blackberry/blueberry/grapes etc
Probiotic yoghurt drink
Shake with 150g oats, 500ml whole milk, 2 scoops choc impact blend protein

10am
2 x McCambridge brown with Flora
2 boiled eggs (white only)
Fruit apple/orange/banana

1pm
100g quinoa or wholewheat pasta or brown rice
Steamed or boiled veg broccoli/carrot/cauliflower/peas/sweetcorn etc
Grilled chicken breast (lightly flavoured with piri piri, coriander, crushed chilli, garlic etc)
or homemade grilled steak burger

3pm
Fruit apple/orange
Nuts almond/hazelnut/cashew/brazil

5.30pm
100g quinoa or wholewheat pasta or brown rice
Steamed or boiled veg broccoli/carrot/cauliflower/peas/sweetcorn etc
Grilled chicken breast (lightly flavoured with piri piri, coriander, crushed chilli, garlic etc)
or homemade grilled steak burger

7pm
Pre train: Pulse

9.30pm
Post train: Revovery XS
Banana

10.30pm
Scambled Egg (4white, 2yolk)
Tuna (JW no-drip sunflower is great!)

TommyKnocker

Hi Jambi

Thanks for the response re the uncooked oats and also the example diet plan.

Much appreciated.

The Quinoa is something I had heard about on here and intend to check out as it has a pretty good protein value.

Again thanks a mill for the input.


Best Regards,

M

Mellor

B-Builder wrote: »

Can I not eat the oats without cooking/microwaving them?

I can't stand hot gloopy serial :eek: It reminds me of when my Mum would have us eat cornflakes with hot milk in winter when we were younger. Vile stuff

I don't like it when they are gloopy either, but i like it warm. I tend to make it with less water than others. Makes it thicker, similar consistancy to mash spuds I suppose.

Another option that you might prefer is oat pancakes.
Oats, an egg, milk, mixed together, into the pan with a tiny bit of oil, flip halfway, 3 mins later you have a pancake that is nutritionally ideal. Feel free to add, flax, husk, seeds, nuts to the mix, blueberries and strawberries added go great too

Also apart from the eggs and possibly tuna with a couple of slices of wholemeal bread toasted, are there any other good sources of protein suitable for breakfast, or do I just need to get away from the tradition of cereal for breakfast and start having Chicken and Turkey with veg for breakfast also? This would surely feel strange at the start While I don't buy into the eggs are bad for you, 2 eggs 7 mornings a week I'm not so sure about.

My only source of brekkie protein is eggs, I just don't find chicken appealing that early. If I was on a high cal diet, I might just grin and bear it. But i'm quite low at the minute.
I don't think eggs are bad though. Good source of protein and omega 3 (good fat). One of the only natural sources of vitamin D. Even though i'm on a low cal diet, A 6 pack of eggs a week would easily fits it (veggie ommlette FTW)

I have read on here and at other sites on the web about drinking what I would consider large amounts of full fat milk while bulking (I have read of folks consuming a gallon a day :eek:), but would this not make a large % of any weight gained fat weight, which would vanish when you started to lean out?

This is a common misconception. Eating fats, and foods with fat in them does not make you fat. Its a huge flaw of the english that fat is both a adejective (overweight) and a noun (olive/nut/fish oil etc).
However, because fat is so much more calorie dense than other nutrients, it needs to be kept in check. All those nuts you eat in the morning, prob have a lot more fat in them than the difference between switching from full to 0% fat milk.
People drinking huge amounts are on 3000-4000 cal diets, at 20% fat this is 800 cals or c.90mls fat a day.
I drink semi-skimmed, mainly for taste, but also because I feel I get enough fat from meat, eggs and cooking. Assess your whole diet, and adjust the fat up or down to 20% via the milk you use or the nuts you eat

TommyKnocker

Hi Mellor

Cheers for the response and the great advice. Very much appreciated.

Anybody else want tp post meal ideas, basically meals that you yourself eat and which you would consider healthy.

Circa 500/550 cals would be great, but I can make any necessary adjustments required.

Again, Thanks all for your input.


Best Regards,

M