Recommendations on my diet

Eve_Dublin

Hi everyone,

Would you mind if I stuck up my diet here to see what others think? Not really interested in loosing weight although I could probably do with loosing a few pounds. I'm 5 foot 5 and about 9 stone and I have my weight on bum, thighs and boobs. I'm more interested in just being healthy, I guess. Any recommendations would be very much appreciated:

Breakfast:

Cup of tea with milk (semi-skimmed)
2 slices of brown sliced pan toasted with scrapping of margarine. I live in Spain where the bread slices are smaller than Ireland.

Lunch:

Two slices of toast with full tin of sardines in olive oil on top with slices of tomato and sometimes soup.

Few pieces of fruit (kiwis, satsumas, grapes, pears usually)

Cup of tea with milk and few glasses of water


Dinner:

Brown pasta/Beans/Chickpeas/spud (vary depending on mood)
Piece of grilled fish
Loads of steamed veg

Few cups of tea with milk

No variation on that really. I'm kind of boring eater when I cook for myself. Pure laziness.

My snacks include: Roasted Sunflower seeds in salt (I eat a lot of these), fruit, wasabi peas (deep fried peas covered in wasabi sauce...I'm addicted), Werthers Originals, maybe a chocolate bar per week (Kinder Bueno)


Is that a well-balanced diet? Would could I add or take away to get all the nutrients I need? I think I might be overdoing it on the snacks lately but I quit the fags over 3 months ago and this is to keep my mind of it. I only eat fish btw.

Thanks in advance.

EileenG

You can probably see yourself when you type it out that a very large proportion of your diet is either bread or pasta. The fish is good and vegetables are good, so is the sunflower seeds.

Overall, it's not at all bad, I'd just look at replacing some of the bread/pasta with other things occasionally. Perhaps add an egg to breakfast?

El_Dangeroso

Please swap the margarine for the exact same amount of butter, same calories but a million times better than the chemical-filled excuse for sludge that is 'spread'.

Or better still, like Eileen suggested, two boiled eggs and a little butter is a nutritious breakfast and will keep you going nicely until lunchtime.

Potato and beans/chickpeas (soak them overnight first) are better than pasta (even brown).

You don't specify vegetables, but dark green leafy ones are best. Keep the veggies varied too.

Werther's originals aren't the best obviously, but you prob know that already

You're so lucky to live in a country with a great choice of local fresh food, and the sunshine.. jealous!

Eve_Dublin

Okay thanks a million guys. Sorry but do you think I should leave out the bread and just have the eggs by themselves in the morning :eek: ? I guess I've been brought up on the idea that a meal is not a meal without carbs. That would probably fill me up but psychologically I'd feel like I didn't really have a meal. How do you get over that kind of thinking? Is brown bread really that bad? They're small slices.

Yep, it's very easy and cheap to eat healthy in Spain. Fish is sooo cheap here, it's fantastic. I'm very lucky in that respect.

My vegetables include: spinach, brocalli, cauliflower, French beans (I steam these) and peas and carrots boiled.

Would I soak the chickpeas and spuds to remove the starch?

And I'll gladly take you up on the suggestion of the butter. Just afraid that if it's there, I'll end up using more of it.

EileenG

Make a massive omlette with a pile of veg and a couple of eggs, and you'll be stuffed. You will not miss the bread.

Margarine is a fake food, butter is the real thing. Transfats are now being recognised as a health hazard, and margarine is one of the main sources.

Eve_Dublin

Will be implementing the changes this week. Thanks a million for advice.

fattybumbum

Saw a mention of making an omlette...
I sometimes have an omlette and i make it with 1 full egg and some egg whites, then add in things like spinach, tomatoes, onion, peppers...
Nutrionally how is that??
Its so hard to find tasty and QUICK food that are not bad for u

Thanks

EileenG

Medium egg is about 80 calories, large about 100. Egg whites are about 10 calories each. Spinach and peppers etc are so low cal that you can discount the amount you'd put in an omlette.

Nutritionally, it's an excellent breakfast.