Eating for a Day the Trim Healthy Mama Way

You can read my Trim Healthy Mama overview here.

And you can read about my own 6-month THM journey so far here.

I mentioned earlier in the week that one of the reasons I believe THM is a sustainable plan for me (and anyone) is because it's a balanced plan of eating - you aren't cut off from entire food groups, you aren't required to say no to a second helping, desserts aren't banned.  Of course there are seasons of life (in the Church year and in family life) when self denial is called for, and there are seasons that lend themselves to joyful, gratitude-infused indulgence (Thanksgiving, I'm looking at you!), but neither extreme is appropriate for everyday, healthy, balanced living.  God has given us a variety of good foods for enjoyment and sustenance, and eating the THM way is a way to enjoy and benefit from them while trimming down and improving health.

I get a lot of questions about when I can eat, what I can eat, what I can't eat, and what the heck do I eat all day.  Here are two typical days' worth of food.  With some pictures :)  (And just in case you're still curious, there's a whole bunch more pics at the end.  Your mouth might start to water.  Don't say I didn't warn you ;) )

Day 1

5:45 AM - coffee with a dash of unsweetened almond milk

(I drink black coffee later in the morning, but first thing after waking up, I usually need a splash of milk in it.)

7:00 AM  - more coffee (black), 2-egg omelet with zucchini, mushrooms, and <1 ounce feta cheese, 2 pieces of turkey bacon (S meal)  (lately, I've been having regular bacon.  Either is fine.)

Throughout the morning, I'll sip on a THM "Shrinker"

(I'm not a fan of the odd names they give things, so I usually call it a tea drink...)

Usually I'm too busy to eat any more in the morning, but if I get really hungry, I'd probably have a very small handful of mixed nuts around 10. (S snack)

1:00 pm -  almond flour crusted baked chicken breast strips (left over from night before) with cheddar cheese, lettuce, and Frank's hot sauce on a low carb wrap, steamed green beans with shredded Parmesan cheese, water, skinny chocolate (old THM book pg. 371, new cookbook 377)

Afternoon - I'll sip on on a THM drink that has ginger and apple cider vinegar, which they call Good Girl Moonshine, but please don't utter those ridiculous words in my presence.  It's a ginger drink.  I typically flavor mine with herbal tea.

6:00 PM - Turkey kielbasa, steamed cabbage, roasted radishes (tossed with sunflower oil, salt, and pepper)  (S Meal)

This is a wildly popular meal at our house and we have it about every other week if not once a week.  Two of my children have started eating the radishes, for everyone else, I serve boiled red potatoes.  

9:00 PM ish - Cottage Berry Whip 

(cottage cheese, stevia sweetener, frozen berries) (FP dessert)
(old book pg. 379, new cookbook pg. 374)

Day 2

5:45 AM - Coffee with a dash of unsweetened almond milk

6:30 - more coffee, Trim Healthy Pancakes (made primarily from oats, cottage cheese, and egg whites), topped with greek yogurt and fresh berries (E meal)
(old book pg. 223, new cookbook 259)

Morning, after breakfast - a "shrinker"

9:30 AM - an iced Chai tea latte (w/ protein powder) and an everything bagel pretzel (S snack)

1:00 PM - "deconstructed" Philly cheesesteak (sauteed onions, mushrooms, green peppers, and roast beef with pepper jack cheese melted on top) and salad (greens, carrot shavings, red pepper, sunflower seeds, and low carb ranch dressing), skinny chocolate (S meal)

Afternoon - ginger drink

5:30 PM - Lemon Butter Baked Tilapia, steamed green beans with shredded Pecorino Romano, Bread in a Mug (old book pg. 265, new cookbook pg. 203)  (my family Parmesan  quinoa instead of bread-in-a-mug)

9:00 PM - 1/2 c. greek yogurt sweetened with stevia and a dash of defatted peanut flour, with crushed peanuts and 1/5 chopped Lily's chocolate bar.  (S dessert)

*   *   *   *   *   *

Wondering what else I might make for myself for breakfast or lunch??

Additional breakfast ideas...

Berry Coconut Crisp (S) with a splash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Egg white omelet, Ezekiel bread with Laughing Cow lite cheese and Polaner jam,
greek yogurt with berries (E)

blueberry baked oatmeal (E) with greek yogurt

Ezekiel break with Laughing Cow lite cheese and Polaner jam, apple slices and
greek yogurt peanut butter dip  (E)

Scrambled egg with zucchini, mushrooms, and ham, blueberry cream cheese pocket
(fried in coconut oil) (S)

egg white omelet with veggies and Frank's hot sauce, hot quinoa with greek yogurt
and warm blueberries (E)

Additional lunch ideas...

I frequently have dinner leftovers for lunch, but I'd say about 50% of the days I make a "new" lunch for myself.  (these photos are heavy on the kale.  Almost every day for lunch I have baked kale or steamed green beans.  For some reason, the green beans didn't get their picture taken very much...)

Lettuce boats a la PF Chang's, kale chips (S)  (leftovers from night before)

Turkey, cheese, lettuce, dill pickle, and mustard in a red pepper, kale chips, skinny chocolate
w/ pecans and shredded coconut (#)

Lean turkey, lettuce tomato, mustard on Ezekiel bread, greek yogurt, quinoa, and berries (E)

2 Lite Rye Wasa crackers with lean turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard, kale (again!),
carrot sticks, and apple slices with greek yogurt peanut butter dip

Got any questions for me??  I'm not going to make the mistake of promising to post something tomorrow or the next day... but I WILL have a few THM family-friendly dinner recipes coming up  soon.  One of these days.....