Lost perspective...what is normal food???

[daisiesdahlias]

So, I am obese and always eaten big portions of high calorie foods really. My parents were v young when they had me and have said they regret the food they raised me on, they didn't know how to cook and never thought about health. Not to blame them, just to give context of my idea of normal growing up.

So, I need to change how I eat. But I feel like I have no perspective on what is normal. A (slim and healthy) friend yesterday said she couldn't make dinner without going to the shop as she had no veg in. I thought - so?? Cheesy pasta, toasties, sausage and mash? I've lost all perspective.

So please tell me - in a normal busy week (not an 'ideal' or 'healthy' week) what are some normal things you have for breakfast lunch and dinner?

Google Mediterranean diet.

Basically "eat food, not too much - mostly plants"

Plus a moderate amount of lean protein.

Cut out all UPF and severely restrict refined carbs and all forms of sugar.

Have you had a meal subscription to help you out with new ideas? Gousto or Hello Fresh?

Alternatively there's a good app called lollipop which does your meal planning and creates a shopping list for you.

This week we're having
Vegan Pad Thai
Sticky Marmalade Sausage tray bake
BBQ chicken cobette tray bake
Stir fried Rice
Chicken Shawarma pitta with salad.

I had to retrain myself the same way as you’re trying a few years ago.

The only way I could do it was to have protein plus veg for every meal, for a few weeks. So a chicken breast + frozen veg, seabass and greens, a salad with prawns etc. It retrained by mind, was easy to remember and got me out of the rut I was in having piles of mash/chips/pasta every dinner and sandwich with crisps for lunch. You also eat less when you have a lot of protein so not hungry. I grew to love it eventually.

Any of the meals you suggest are fine, but I always aim to include 2 veg with a meal. If I had sausage and mash I’d have peas and carrots, for example. If I had a cheesey pasta, I’d have a salad as well. Then it’s portion size as well, for me I’d have two sausages and a heaped serving spoon of mash. I’m not slim, but not obese and aim for a healthy diet without denying myself too much.

@FlowerArranger I know this quote I've read Michael Pollan, just looking for some examples of meals to see what this actually looks like in real life

I wouldn’t have a main meal without vegetables in. So cheesy pasta might be involve spinach or mushrooms, probably with an extra veg or salad on the side. Pie and mash would have 2 veg, maybe carrots and peas which I would always have in.
At lunch I would try to have some vegetable with it even if it’s just lettuce in a sandwich.
I don’t do five a day religiously but it’s a useful thing to aim for to make sure you’re on the right lines. Some days more, if less I need to add some extra.

That's a good idea to get a meal subscription box, or whatever they are called.

We are having chicken wraps for dinner. Which seems quite a summery meal but I've got some chicken left over from yesterday.

So yesterday we had harissa chicken tray bake Chicken thighs, carrots, butternut squash, pepper and courgette in harissa paste.

Today chicken wraps with the leftover chicken and lettuce, avocado, tomato's and the rest of the precious million pound cucumber.

I second the suggestion for lollipop. I love it.

We had "posh egg and soldiers" for lunch.
I've made pork and mushroom stroganoff for dinner. We'll have it with cauliflower rice. DC might bother to make some greens with theirs (I'm out so taking a portion in a thermos flask)

We've also got creamy chicken bake, moussaka, green salad omelette and spicy chicken burgers this week.

Other favourites include Chicken and orzo bake. Chorizo toad in the hole. Fish Mappas.

The meals you've listed are fine, but I'd have veg with them. I always have frozen veg in for when I can't be bothered with fresh.

I also eat low carb(or try to) so replace potato/ rice with cauliflower. If we have burgers I don't have the bun. I have carrot fries rather than chips.

Examples of our weekly menu;

Duck stir fry/chow mein (home made)

Cottage pie, 1/2 mince and 1/2 grated carrot + an oxo cube for the base, minimal mash on top. Side of peas/broccoli

Chicken & cauliflower curry + rice

Salmon with cous cous and asparagus

Mediterranean salad (finely chopped cucumber, tomato, pepper and onions) with chicken and home made tzatziki

Pulled pork batches with coleslaw & lettuce

Chicken yakitori skewers with roasted sweet potato & Mediterranean salad

Spag bol, again, bulk with grated carrot & tomatoes

Essentially, make the bulk of the meal protein and veg, with some carbs. Portion size is a massive thing, I eat off a side plate. Plates my granny has are 1/3 of the size of modern dinner plates, plates have grown along with portions over the years. Drink water or squash instead of pop/alcohol, staying hydrated minimises hunger.

Im also overweight but have a reasonably good 'quality' nutritious diet.

Breakfasts this week will be:
Greek yoghurt, fresh fruit and walnuts
Or 2 boiled eggs

Lunches will likely be:
2 egg omelette with veg and salad and raw sauerkraut
Soup and a slice of wholemeal toast
Mozzarella and tomato salad
Avo on toast with poached egg and raw sauerkraut

Dinners will be:
-Small baked potato, frozen fish and greens
-Home made meatballs in tomato veg sauce with wholemeal pasta and courgetti
-Chicken pad Thai using a kit from the super market with extra added veg
-Sausage and squash tray bake with greens
-Halloumi salad with roasted chick peas and hummus

Then a big lovely takeaway on the weekend, something like sourdough pizza and a gourmet burger and fries. Very calorific but not shit quality if you see what I mean.

The key for me is to cut down on processed ready made food and include a variety of veg

Tomorrow we are having this beef and broccoli which I highly recommend. I put ginger in it as well.

www.myfussyeater.com/slow-cooker-crockpot-beef-broccoli-recipe/

Week days -
Two rounds of toast & marmite Black sugar free coffee ( at about 4.30 am )
Cold Snack two hand build eggs or half grilled chicken breast usually been maranted it something like lemon & pepper or tandoori oil at about 11am
Lunch Hot meal from either batch cooked or left overs , chilli / curry/ stew or cold salad with tinned Mackrell/ pilchards / half chick breast . At about 2pm
Tea - similar to lunch type food at about 6pm
Evening Snack, fruit , Greek yoghurt, pk walkers cheese and onion crisps about 8pm

My food is protein heavy but I have quite a physical job .

I think it's a question of habit. Once you start eating vegetables with most meals you'll notice and miss then when they're not there. If we have something like chilli and rice I would deliberately choose something veg based like stir fry the next day. I would just feel unhealthy if I didn't eat veg regularly and that's because I'm used to it. Doesn't mean I don't also eat a lot of animal products and carbs!

For supper tonight we are having chicken roasted veg and rice traybake - I’ll prob cook some brocolli too - this is 4 chicken legs and 300g rice it will feed dh, me and dc 17 & 19 and have left overs for lunch.

if we have for eg teriyaki chicken and noodles I’ll use 2 x chicken breasts, 4 noodle nests and veg - it will feed the 4 of us plus leftovers for 2 people for lunch.

lunch is generally leftover apart from 17 year old who makes herself salad.

breakfast I sometimes have porridge but generally just have a milky coffee with an apple mid morning. Teens have 2 x mini pain au chocolate and dh just lots of coffee.

we always have 2 or 3 veg or salad with meal eg salmon steaks, jacket pot or salad.

if I’m making a chicken sir fry I’ll use 2 or if they’re v small 3 chicken breasts which will do dinner for 4 and lunch.

Breakfast- a crumpet/ slice of toast /cereal (2 weetabix or something similar). A piece of fruit. Cup of tea
Lunch- today was chicken and stuffing sandwich. I sometimes have a salad with tuna, jacket potato, falafel wrap,
Tea. Tonight is nachos with chilli and guacamole. Rest if the week is going to be pasta with a cherry tomato and basil sauce, Thai veg curry, halloumi bake and then homemade pizza with coleslaw.
I snack on fruit if I get hungry, I don't have much of a sweet tooth but I drink a couple of times a week. I don't drive so walk miles a day and I run 2/3 times a week.

We might have bangers and mash for dinner occasionally, but it would always feature vegetables. Cheesy pasta on its own isn't a meal, and a toastie isn't dinner imo.

I think you need to focus on getting more fresh vegetables into your diet. It's fine to have a fairly narrow repertoire of meals (spag bol, pasta/meatballs, curries, filled jacket potatoes, stews, fish pie etc are all very easy to do) - but they all need to have vegetables! The more colours you eat the better, in vegetable terms; even a tuna jacket potato is much better if you can stick some mixed salad with it.

I have been ill today and wanted something super easy to cook so I got filled pasta to have with pesto, but I also bought a couple of aubergines, some mushrooms and green beans. I will cut the aubergines into cubes and slice the mushrooms and fry them and steam the beans over the pasta. It won’t take any thought or recipe following.

Thanks all very helpful. I think the issue it's highlighted is that I'm a lifelong vegetarian and don't eat enough protein so i use carbs and cheese to fill myself up!

You could buy a microwave veg steamer. I use mine every day. Chop up any veg, add a bit of water, microwave for 2-3 mins depending how done you like them, then chuck on whatever else you're having. Also, make sure you've got a good, sharp knife so that chopping isn't a slog. If you can whistle through a carrot in seconds you'll be more likely to include it in meals regularly.

Well, what do you like to eat? Are there any fruits and vegetables you like? Or particular cuisines? Start with the things you like and ways to make them healthier to start good habits.

I've never known anyone have sausage and mash that's just sausage and mash - would you not normally have peas or carrots or beans or something?

Cheese toasties - you could easily put less cheese in but add tomato, or spinach, or peppers and onions.

Cheesy pasta - when I make macaroni cheese it has leeks and broccoli and bacon in, and then sweetcorn and peas on the side.

I wouldn't serve a dinner without any veg. So with sausage and mash or pasta I'd boil/roast a couple of veg as well. My DC are fussy with veg so I always do one they like (carrots, sweetcorn, peas, one of them likes broccoli, the other likes leeks) then at least one other. If we were having toasties, burgers or pizza I'd do a plate of chopped salad veg. Other meals we frequently have are fajitas, various curries, stir fry, rice dishes like jambalaya or kedgeree, fish pie, cottage pie, tagine, Lasagne. We have various different dietary requirements but I always make sure there is a protein, carb and at least one veg everyone will eat on the table. I lost a fair bit of weight a few years ago and what worked for me was making my plate at least half vegetables for every lunch and dinner. I've relaxed a bit now but I do at least a third.

Get a multilayered steamer, the sort you put over a saucepan, and you can do two veg on the same ring as your potatoes or pasta.

I've never known anyone have sausage and mash that's just sausage and mash - would you not normally have peas or carrots or beans or something?

Me neither, except in the Beano when they had a mountain of mash with sausages sticking out,

I wish I was having bangers and mash for dinner now.

For breakfast I had overnight oats with a banana chopped in (40g oats, 50g Greek yog, 100ml skim milk)

Lunch was a big salad which had sugar snap peas, half a red onion, some spinach leaves, rocket, cherry Tom's, red cabbage, red pepper, cucumber all chopped and mixed plus some chicken off yesterday's roast and the dressing was live apple cider vinegar and olive oil.

My pudding was Greek yoghurt with chopped oranges.

For tea I've had a slice of rye sourdough with avo and salmon and a boiled egg, plus some melon for pudding.

And lots of 90% dark chocolate throughout the day.

Most days are like this.

My family won't eat the same food so make 4 different things most nights.

Our easy meals will be something like breaded fish, rice, carrots and peas.

I do a lot of partial cooking from scratch in the week. So the protein may be pre prepared and I then just chop up veg and add carb.

Another good veg is roasted veg so chop up whatever is lying around (half a courgette, a handful of tomatoes each and some mushrooms for example), sprinkle with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar and roast for 15 minutes.

The BBC’s baked risotto is also great www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/oven-baked-risotto/amp (I throw in whatever veg we have and frequently use cream cheese instead of Parmesan).