Are You a Picky Eater?
I’m lucky I’m not a picky eater. I can adjust and adapt to most types of ingredients I find at the grocery stores. If my typical cheese, meats or veggies aren’t there, I move on and purchase other ones. Just as long as they meet my general criteria of no sugar and grains.
Veggies, Lipids and Protein
Why lipids? Because fat sounds like it will make you fat when it’s actually an essential and healthy part of your diet.1
Most of my meals consist of a portion of veggies, fats, and protein. About 75% of my meals are similar in macronutrient composition. I don’t really keep track of my macronutrients in terms of calories and percentage breakdown.
I know, you’re thinking “BORING!” but I thoroughly enjoy it and crave it when I don’t have the opportunity to eat it frequently like when I’m traveling or eating out too often.
I use different garnishes, seasonings, and natural flavoring to mix up the variety of food I eat. Depending on the market (Asian markets, Ralphs, Costco, Trader Joes etc.) I go to, every time I see something new or different I may want to try (bison meat, white cabbage kimchi etc..), I add it to the mix.
The meal is usually a veggie/protein scramble, where I mix the protein and veggies in a frying pan with avocado oil, or a salad with hard or soft boiled eggs if I don’t feel like scrambling everything together.
Veggies
I load my plate with a lot of vegetables. This is mainly to balance out the meal and to help promote regularity when I go number 2. If I don’t eat enough veggies I tend to be constipated and my bowel movements just aren’t smooth (TMI?). The essentials vitamins and minerals they contain are a plus. I also try to include some type of fermented food like kimchi, pickles or sauerkraut.
I also add 1-2 avocados with my meal.
Examples of vegetables I include in meals: Broccoli, spinach, arugula, cauliflower, mixed greens, tomatoes, kImchi, sauerkraut, onions, pickles.
Protein
I keep my protein pretty simple with grilled chicken, steak, ground beef, pork or fish. Chicken is usually purchased from Trader Joes or Costco (Rotisserie style) and pork/steak from Vons. I try to get grass-fed beef when it comes to steak or ground beef. I also eat 2-4 eggs with each meal.
The Eggs I get are high quality, natural free-range eggs. You can tell by the color of the yolk they are high in nutrients and great quality.
Delicious Dessert
For a finisher and to fill myself up, I eat nuts. In a way, it’s my dessert. It also helps with regularity as it has fiber. Costco’s large bag of macadamia nuts and their mixed nuts is what I normally like to complete my meals with. On occasion, I’ll have an orange, blueberries or some other type of fruit.
After most lunchtime meals I will eat some dark chocolate. I don’t want to eat this too late in the day because of the caffeine it contains. Lindt’s 90% cocoa is my favorite. When I first tried it I thought it was a bit strong and bitter. Now it has become the norm and anything sweeter is almost too sweet.
Spicing It Up
For extra calories and to liven up the meal, I will typically add olive oil, salsa or hot sauce. I may also add garlic and/or vinegar and soy sauce and mix it up as a dressing or as a dipping sauce for the meat.
I use Villa Capelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil. A bit more pricey than the typical olive oil from Ralphs but excellent quality.
A Typical Meal
This diet has helped me maintain a good body composition and has enough protein and fat for the typical workouts I do. I’m usually pretty full after these meals and if I’m feeling more hungry than usual, I’ll add extra eggs, nuts, olive oil or eat some peanut butter after my meal.
What is your typical meal and how often do you have cheat days? Leave your answer in the comments below.
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