In 2017, I decided to cut the snacking down a lot and try to eat 3 good, home-made, and mostly plant-based, meals for the most part (that's not to say I don't eat out or takeaways sometimes - just much less frequently than I did before!).
I've lost 2 stone so far (although not intended as a "diet" as such) and just love the food that I eat, I can't believe I tried so many crappy diets when I could just eat good food :) A typical weekday goes like this:
Breakfast:
Boiled egg and a slice of wholewheat toast and butter OR a bowl of porridge with a big dollop of cherry jam. Also a cup of tea, followed by a cup of coffee :)
Lunch:
Usually some sort of homemade vegetable soup OR some kind of salad with mozzarella and a home-made dressing OR any leftovers from dinner the night before.
Dinner:
Some sort of veggie chilli, curry/daal or casserole with wild brown rice OR a stir-fry with wild brown rice OR haddock/salmon with baked potato wedges/other root vegetables and salad OR a pasta dish with a veggie sauce (e.g. home-made kale pesto, tomato and chilli, mushroom and chard).
I sometimes have the odd baked chicken thigh (usually with some sort of homemade marinade) with veggies but I don't actually cook meat at home very much anymore.
Dessert (which I have most days :D)
Meringue with cream/greek yoghurt and berries OR good quality chocolate OR hot chocolate/cacao with marshmallows
I don't tend to snack all that much now. If I'm really hungry mid-afternoon, I'll have a handful of almonds or cashews or some greek yoghurt.
I guess I have quite a few "cornerstone" recipes that I can then diversify in the herbs and spices I use, which is a good tip for mixing things up, while still keeping things manageable - a new dressing, sauce or seasoning can completely change the taste of a dish!
Additionally, I have started eating veggies seasonally due to getting a veg box locally every week (I don't know what I'm getting until the day before delivery, although it always includes some kind of leafy green, potatoes and onions/carrots as well as a variety of other seasonal produce). This has forced me to adapt to what I have to hand and try new things, so I'd recommend this if you want to mix things up a bit. If I'm stuck for inspiration, I just google the ingredients I have and want to use! BBC Good Food is fab, and a lot of blogs have good, workable ideas.