what do you eat in a day?

[kimby98]

I'm a newby to the MWP, and I haven't completely started yet, because I'm still lost on what to eat, i.e. meal ideas. I know the book has recipies, but I work full time and I'm in nursing school, so I'm looking for a few more conveient foods. I'm wondering what the successful people eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Any ideas would be great! Thank you so much!

[sksamboots]

Hello,

I'm currently doing Mary's Mini; which is really easy. All I eat is potatoes all day.

Good luck to you on your journey

[Letha..]

Hi Kimby98,
I'm doing Mary's Mini too and I just eat rice, lettuce & apples. I did MWL all last year and have a recipe blog that has some menu examples.

http://mwlfood.wordpress.com/

Best wishes.
Letha

[Anna Green]

When I'm being successful and short on time, lots of potatoes. Fruit. I try to make big pots of stuff to eat on all week. Sometimes I just throw a bunch of frozen veggies in a pot with a starch (can also be frozen) and some seasoning (frozen onions, bellpepper) and spices and herbs. Sometimes with the veggies and starch I put curry and veggie broth, or a new seasoning pack I pick up to try, or marinara and water for soup. This can take 5 minutes to throw together and then time to cook while you are doing something else like studying. Can't say I always get the veggies right, sometimes they get cooked too much but generally I always like what I make. You can also take whatever is in your pot and put over rice or potatoes. Hope that helps. Once you have a few things you like you can eat them frequently.

Oh and frozen peas, corn, broccoli, spinach, lima beans or whatever veggie you like with some seasoning mix on top in the microwave is good. Add some low salt veggie broth and you have a soup.

[MaryW]

One of the great things about eating this way is that you can eat the same things over and over and not get tired of them. At least I don't! Pick out a few favorites and make them again and again.

Breakfast--hash browns with different sauces/seasongs or oatmeal with different fruits/sweeteners

Lunch--I love black bean salad (black beans, red pepper, corn, salsa, cilantro). You could also do a grain salad and vary the grains, vegetables, and dressings. Or if you must eat out, have a baked potato (or two) with a side salad from Wendy's, steamed veggies and white rice from a Chinese restaurant, or a foot long veggie sub from Subway.

Dinner--rice and vegetables with soy sauce or salsa or spaghetti sauce

Soups are good too. I just put on a pot of broth and start throwing stuff in: bags of frozen veggies, cans of tomatoes, cans of beans, diced potatoes or rice. Add some seasonings (italian blend, chili powder, mrs dash) and simmer 20 or 30 mins.

[Chumly]

Yesterday I had:

Breakfast: brown rice with blueberries and ground flaxseed
Lunch: vegetable/bean soup, papaya and a salad with balsamic vinegar
Dinner: more vegetable bean soup with brown rice

Michael

[sanlee]

I use a lot of McDougall packaged foods for the convenience.

Breakfast: McD oatmeal -- I add flaxmeal and bran for extra fiber.

Lunch & Dinner: I love the new McDougall boxed soups!!!! I usually add a bag of cauliflower or other veggie and sometimes a cup of rice, depending on what flavor soup I use. Delicious -- and I get an extra meal out of it.

Other times I'll have meals like those posted above

[kirstykay]

Kimby98-I think this is a great thread! It would be fun if everyone posted their favorite meal or tried and true recipe here, and then we all can share ideas. I know for me, Letha's blog is a huge help! Also, there are recipe ideas on www.pcrm.org But I think the most important thing to do when you're getting started is to keep it simple. Especially since you said your schedule is tight. Stir-fry is always quick and easy and delicious!
There are a lot of simple, quick and easy recipes in the McDougall Quick and Easy cookbook. But, you can look up so many of the recipes on this site in archived newsletters, that I don't know if it's essential to buy a cookbook. Also I don't know if you've been to the Recipes thread, but there are some ideas there for simple meals. If you're pressed for time, it's good to think in terms of things you can cook in bulk and then use all week, that way, you're not starting from scratch every day. I love soups and stews for this reason, especially in the winter.

I made this yummy recipe for my family the other night (I sort of combined two recipes to come up with this-one was on the can of creamed corn and one was from the PCRM website), My family loved it! We had this and a green salad for dinner, and then my husband took the leftovers to work for lunch.

Potato Corn Chowder

½ large onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled & diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 C water

4-5 medium potatoes, unpeeled & diced small
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ tsp ground tumeric

4 cans creamed corn
1 can sweet corn
2 cups light vanilla soymilk

Add first 4 ingredients to a large stock pot and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. While veggies simmer, dice potatoes and add to vegetables. Add corn and creamed corn. Add spices. Simmer on med at least 1 hour (to let flavors meld), stirring occasionally. Add soymilk and simmer on low an additional 20 minutes, being careful not to boil.

Serve Hot

[Bambie113]

Hi Kimby,

I work full time and go to school at night also, my meals through the day are just like everyone elses, simple and easy. Oatmeal ,tea from starbucks & a piece of fruit for breakfast @9am, I dont' eat this all at once, the fruit is normally an hr or so after the oatmeal (Keep in mind you eat until you're full, so I eat my oatmeal and am comfortably full and then I start getting hungry again at 10ish so I eat my fruit), then at 11:30am I have a huge baked potato (prebaked and microwaved) with salsa, and microwaved frozen broccoli for lunch. then probably an apple for snack or brown rice (precooked on Sunday) and sometime either before (7pm ) or after (10:30pm) classes I have a huge plate of yummy hashbrowns. Good luck hope you can find some things that work for you in your busy schedule!

[desertwind56]

Kimby98 – Welcome! I’m pretty new as well. I had the realization a few days ago that (sort of an epiphany) that a meal only needs to be starch and a vegetable. And a potato or sweet potato can be a meal by itself.

I had been making this much harder than it needed to be. I did the Mary’s mini for 10 days and that was an eye opening experience.

In case you haven’t read it here is the link to Mary’s mini. Dr. McDougall talks about simple eating.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/june/marys.htm

A quote from the link:
While root vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes provide well-rounded nutrition—grains and beans lack sufficient vitamins A and C to be eaten alone; therefore add some fruit and/or green and yellow vegetables to make your grain and bean meals complete.


Also, here are a couple of links to some posts by Jeff Novick on making some simple meals:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10519

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7168

kirstykay – That potato corn chowder looks really good!

Connie M.

[raimel80]

Hey Kimby. I am doing my last pre-req for nursing school right now. I hope I get in this year! I am doing mary's mini too. Super easy and no brainer food. Potatoes all day long. Sometimes I make a gravy recipe for the top. And If i feel like it I will have some veggies or 1-2 pieces of fruit. It makes life really easy not having to think about it. I sitll cook for my kids but they eat a lot of potatoes too! I will throw together some spaghetti for them or macaroni noodles with cheeze sauce and broccoli. Or let them make pita pizzas with soy cheese. Simplicity is my thing right now!

[Gramma Jackie]

I've only been doing this less than a month, but my normal day goes like this:

Breakfast: McDougall approved cereal and lite soy milk

Snack: piece of fruit or rice cake

Lunch: Leftovers from the night before but usually rice, potato or yams and a green vegetable or salad. If I don't have leftovers I eat soup and or salad.

Supper: A rice or potato dish and green and or yellow veggies or bean chili

Snacks: fruit and/or rice cakes

p.s. I FINALLY found McDougall instant soup cups at Whole Foods and I stocked up on them for quick lunches and to take on trips. You can also order them online. They are great for lunches if you work or go to school.

http://www.rightfoods.com/

You might also get some ideas from this website . Just be sure they fit into the McDougall program (no oil, etc):

http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

and this one

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/