My diet is a bit boring - I could do with some inspiration

[threeeggsontoast]

I’ve just started W3 of MJ and am quite easily sticking to a calorie deficit but my diet is feeling a bit boring. Have you discovered any new foods or products that you’ve enjoyed?

A normal (ish) day would be scrambled eggs for breakfast, sometimes with smoked salmon. Lunch (usually around 2pm) is either tuna salad or a protein shake. Dinner is often the same sort of stuff, either some roast chicken with salad type things or a piece of salmon with veg and a few potatoes. If I’m hungry later, I’ll have half a protein bar. Although I’m generally much less interested in food, I’m a bit bored with the ‘sameyness’ of this. I also think that when I come off MJ, it won’t be sustainable so I’m looking for food inspiration - protein-led and tasty things I can eat while staying in a calorie defecit (around 1200 calories)

Loads of realistic ideas in this thread, and the two preceding:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5325362-what-i-ate-today-on-mounjaro-back-for-round-3

I'm no help really, but I am in the same situation.

I've been trying to liven up chicken and salad by adding curry powder, garlic and ginger to sort of marinade it.

I also make a big pan of soup that keeps in the fridge for a few days (this week's is chicken, onions, carrots, courgettes, stock, parsley, cooked in a small knob of butter) I blend half of it so it's a bit smoother.

Would love some inspiration and ideas!

I eat the same sort of meals I always have, but with generally fewer carbs. So this week have had lentil dal, bean chilli, falafels, quesadilla, pizza (meal out). I'm not veggie but do eat a lot of veggie food.
I do intermittent fasting so no breakfast. Lunch I almost always have eggs of some sort.

I love food and flavours, and know that if I get bored I get despondent and lose my focus.

These are 2 great recipes I do, I don't count calories (I have lost 3.5 stone) but I know these are low calorie recipes.

for lunch I make 3 times this recipe and it will do about 4 lunches. I freeze 2 of them for the following week:
you can buy a ready cooked chicken

140g ready cooked chicken
1 chopped spring onion
juice of 1/2 lemon
fresh or dried dill
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
(a pinch of chilli flakes if you like)
blitz it all briefly in a mixer so it is still quite 'rough'.
have it with tomatoes and/or little gem lettuce/chopped up peppers etc

Supper: (serves 4) Chinese lemon chicken (It is very tasty and easy!)
3 tbsp cornflour
juice from 2.5 large lemons
150ml chicken stock
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove crushed
good pinch chilli flakes
450g chicken breast

chop the chicken into bite sized pieces. in a bowl scatter 2 tbsp of corn flour over the chicken and stir it around so chicken is covered in the flour.

mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl, including the remaining tbsp of cornflour.

get a frying pan nice and hot, tip in the chicken and stir fry it until it is cooked through, pour in the sauce and turn the heat down, stir until the sauce is piping hot.

I've made a feta chicken one tray bake which is basically chopped up fresh tomatoes (any kind, I've tried it with vine and plum/cherry tomatoes both taste lovely and one pack is fine) with italian herbs, olive oil and seasoning, I sometimes add paprika, whatever you have in, you can add in peppers and onions or whatever veg you have or spinach, then add a block of feta and 2 x chicken breasts to the dish. Stick it all in the oven at 200.C for 30 mins and stir it all midway and crush the tomatoes, the feta makes a creamy sauce with the tomatoes. So easy when I don't want to slave over a stove for a fresh home cooked meal. If you want to bulk it up you can add dry small pasta like orzo in at the midway point. It's high in protein and keeps you full.

I get ideas from the 'What I ate on Mounjaro today' threads, such a treasure trove. Also, I googled for high protein breakfast ideas and found recipes for egg white protein pancakes, I add 10g of vanilla whey protein powder to sweeten them a little and then have them with eggs or berries and a dollop of greek yoghurt.

I’ve previously done Fast800 and have a couple of the recipe books from it - I really recommend them - I’ve become veggie now so there are fewer options for me but if you eat meat they are really good. There’s quite a few free recipes on the fast800 website and you can often find the books in charity shops.

@DidILeaveTheGasOn Yay!! I am so pleased you find the threads useful!!
@Incognitoburrito88 I’m a Fast800 fan too but I would also recommend Tim Spector's Zoe cookbook. Plant based with some great ideas!

If I am bored I treat myself to a new cook book. Since starting MJ, I bought the Bold Bean one and one called Pulse (trying to up my protein). I also bought a new Malaysian one so I am trying lots of amazing recipes in there. When I can't be bothered to cook, I make ramen using a ramen base sauce for the broth and half a portion of noodles and you can toss loads of veg in and meat too. I use the wagamama book a lot (feed your soul, it has most of the classic menu options). I also use the curry guy's book, so if you like Indian you can make them at home. I cut right back on the oil, and they taste exactly like curry house curries but healthy. I am batch cooking the curry house base sauce and a kg of chicken tikka today, so then it's super quick to make a curry when you want it. Most of my meals, with rice/noodles etc are 400-600 calories

Thanks so much - I’m interested in Tim anyway so I’m going to get the cook book. My husband is dairy free so we quite often end up eating plant based by default!!

I’m not a massive fan of chat gpt in general but for this it’s actually really useful for some basic ideas then you can adapt, add flavourings that you want, mix up the recipes and enhance it but it just gives some ideas you may not have thought of yourself. If you give it a prompt like:

I want a 7 day meal plan. Calories to total no more than xxxx, 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, macros xx% protein, xx%fat, xx%carbs.

Allergies: xxx
Like: xx
Dislike: xx

This is what it came up with for me:

Day 1

Breakfast:

• 3 egg whites + 1 whole egg scramble with spinach and mushrooms
• 1 slice low-fat cheddar
• 1 slice Ezekiel bread

Snack 1:

• Greek yogurt (plain, non-fat) + ½ cup berries

Lunch:

• Grilled chicken breast
• Steamed broccoli & green beans
• ½ cup cooked quinoa

Snack 2:

• 1 boiled egg + 10 almonds

Dinner:

• Lean ground beef (5 oz) with zucchini noodles and marinara
• Side salad with balsamic

Day 2

Breakfast:

• High-protein cottage cheese (½ cup)
• 1 boiled egg
• 1 slice whole-grain toast

Snack 1:

• Protein shake with almond milk

Lunch:

• Turkey lettuce wraps (4 oz turkey, mustard, romaine leaves, tomato)
• ½ cup cucumber slices

Snack 2:

• Low-fat mozzarella stick
• 1 small apple

Dinner:

• Pork tenderloin (5 oz)
• Roasted Brussels sprouts
• ½ cup mashed sweet potatoes

Day 3

Breakfast:

• Protein pancake (1 scoop whey, egg, oats, cinnamon)
• Sugar-free syrup

Snack 1:

• Non-fat Greek yogurt with chia seeds

Lunch:

• Grilled chicken over large green salad (spinach, romaine, cucumber, peppers, light vinaigrette)

Snack 2:

• Turkey jerky (low-sodium, ~2 oz)
• ½ bell pepper slices

Dinner:

• Stir-fried lean beef strips with broccoli, snap peas, soy sauce
• ½ cup brown rice

Day 4

Breakfast:

• 2 scrambled eggs
• Sauteed kale and mushrooms
• 1 slice whole grain toast

Snack 1:

• Whey protein shake

Lunch:

• Grilled pork loin chop
• Green beans & asparagus
• ½ cup lentils

Snack 2:

• 1 boiled egg + 1 mini Babybel cheese

Dinner:

• Ground turkey meatballs in tomato sauce
• Zucchini noodles
• Side salad

Day 5

Breakfast:

• Overnight oats (½ cup oats, protein powder, almond milk, cinnamon)
• Topped with strawberries

Snack 1:

• ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese
• Celery sticks

Lunch:

• Grilled chicken Caesar salad (light dressing, no croutons)

Snack 2:

• Light string cheese
• 1 small pear

Dinner:

• Lean ground beef taco bowl: lettuce, tomato, black beans, salsa, cheese

Day 6

Breakfast:

• Egg white omelette with bell peppers, mushrooms, onions
• 1 slice Ezekiel bread

Snack 1:

• Protein bar (low-carb, high protein)

Lunch:

• Pork stir-fry with broccoli, snow peas, and bell pepper
• ½ cup jasmine rice

Snack 2:

• 1 boiled egg + 8 almonds

Dinner:

• Grilled chicken thigh
• Roasted green beans
• ½ baked potato

Day 7

Breakfast:

• Greek yogurt parfait with protein granola + raspberries

Snack 1:

• Hard-boiled egg
• Sliced cucumber

Lunch:

• Ground beef patty with low-fat cheese on lettuce wrap
• Pickles, tomato slices, side green salad

Snack 2:

• Cottage cheese (½ cup) + cinnamon

Dinner:

• Grilled pork loin
• Sauteed spinach + mushrooms
• ½ cup wild rice

@PurpleCoo ooooh!! Your food sounds fab! What's the Malaysian cookbook please? I love the mixture of Chinese/Indian spices you get in Malaysian food. Now off to check out the others you mention...

@IReallyNeedThisToWork It's called Sama Sama, and she describes her kitchen as being Malaysian Scottish! There are some pretty interesting recipes and ingredients in there. I loved the cashew chicken made with sambal oelek. One highly rated dish used a packet of oats so simple golden syrup as a sub for an ingredient you can't get in the UK 😂

@PurpleCoo thank you!

Thanks for all these ideas. I just started following some MJ people on Instagram too and there’s quite a few quick options that can be bought from M&S and Lidl so I’m off to have a look!