Eating more fruit and veg

[QueenPaw]

Starting this to keep me accountable!
I am lazy with fruit/veg, I like it and eat most stuff if it's put in front of me
Decided rather than a "diet" I want to up my fruit, veg and salad and that way naturally cut down on the processed carbs etc as hopefully I should be fuller from the more low calorie/high volume stuff

Tonight's meal
Cheese (I did weigh 30g as well, cheese is life), mushroom omelette with salad
White chocolate protein yoghurt with strawberries (I only eat them when British ones are out and these were delicious)

Feel free to add ideas or join in please

We have swapped tortilla for Chinese lettuce leaf with any sort of Mexican type dish. It is so much nicer. Crunchie, strong, green lettuce acts as the wrap - just load on the filling.

Maybe you need to add in more dense protein heavy vegetables to fill up maybe - so lentils, pulses, beans etc instead of salad?

I do 2 poached eggs every day either on:

Smoked salmon, avocado, cherry toms

Or on

Thick slices is beef tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms.

Replacing the carb with substantial veg.

Also add spice. We copy WagaMamas Bang Bang Cauliflower - with either roasted cauliflower or broccoli. Add small amount of Schratchi or sweet chilli sauce to everything.

We also pack out a spag Bol with a prepped frozen bag of fine chopped onions/carrot/celery mix. Also frozen spinach cubes - sling them in every thing.

Don’t bother with too much fruit.

Like your idea of poached eggs as a salad dressing.

Oh and for lunch today I had tomato / mozzarella / avocado / basil / black olives / balsamic vinegar salad (no oil) - I could eat that every day for the rest of my life!

I agree eith plenty of spice and flavours.
Yogurt or quark can make amazing dressings or dips when you mix them with sauces/spices/herbs/all of it ha. It can really elevate even a simple veg to completely different levels. Sriracha is a must in my fridge for these things.

I am basically brutally stocked up on condiments, herbs, spices so even if I eat broccoli every day for a month, it would always be different 😁 Come to think of ot, it actually dod happen that I eat cauliflower for like 5 days straight once🙈

I’ve lost 1.5kg in the last week, although I have been on 1200 calories a day as well.

B: Toast, satsuma
L: Smoky red pepper & chickpea soup, apple
D: Chicken parmigiana, lettuce, courgette

I need to start skipping breakfast I think to get my calories down lower
I'm 5ft 10 and fat but unless I'm below 1100 a day I don't lose due to thyroid. Having a bad day TBH and thinking well I may as well eat my usual food and take a multivitamin given it makes no difference

Stopped eating toast, crumpets, a lot of carbs, all the sugary crap I was eating and gained a pound. Seems the only way I lose weight is when I fast 16hrs and stay under 1100 which makes me hungry

Do you workout? And is your GP sorting that thyroid? Make sure you are on them ro help you there.

You can get lots of food into 1100 cal. It will be mainly veg and protein. Still can be really filling and tasty, so don't throw in the towel, yet. Veg and fruot isn't just for the vitamins. I still take multivitamins. It's for your digestive too.

I get you with the fast though. I can't do it.

I can't exercise due to medical issues so no (and I miss it a lot)
Thyroid seems ok level wise but I'm constantly tired as whole host of health issues mostly autoimmune which means I struggle with energy to cook (working FT wipes me out)
I'll perk up tomorrow probably but just having a miserable day
Going to try swapping it up for
B - protein shake (87 cals)
L - scrambled egg and veg or thins/chicken/ham and salad
T - "normal" meal but with loads of veg

Food order includes meatballs to have with a tomato sauce and veg, and chicken to make salt and pepper chicken with er, veg!

I attached 3 of my lazy dinners.
Note, I don't count spring onion or ginger though. Or herbs.
So the fish dish had some spring onion, chili, fresh ginger and then pickled ginger which aren't counted and just 10ml soy, but I was lazy to change it so left it.

The one with trout had just black pepper on fish, quark mashed in potatoes with bit of salt, pepper and frozen chives. The oil from the trout then really nicely flavours the veg. Add bit of garlic and any spice you fancy. Very simple. Both these fish are a 1 pan lazy (and quick) dinner so very little effort and washing.

I make my own tomato sauce, but you could easily get some with similar calories. You need quite little. I have a laddle on the pasta and it's enough actually. (65g of dried asda gf spaghetti makes 150g cooked. Probs same with other spaghetti.)

You can really make good and satisfying dishes in 20 min on one pan. More elaborate stuff I batch cook.

Hope this gives you some idea. It's nkt high class cooking, but it's good. I can do better as well, just want to add🙈

Thanks

My usual food before I started would have been
B - marmite rice cakes and eggs!
Lunch - normal bread sandwich, normal crisps (not baked), probably no salad, choc bar or mini cake thing
Tea - usually batch cooked pasta bake/cottage pie type thing with veg in but none on the side

@QueenPaw

I can't exercise due to medical issues so no (and I miss it a lot) Thyroid seems ok level wise but I'm constantly tired as whole host of health issues mostly autoimmune which means I struggle with energy to cook (working FT wipes me out) I'll perk up tomorrow probably but just having a miserable day Going to try swapping it up for B - protein shake (87 cals) L - scrambled egg and veg or thins/chicken/ham and salad T - "normal" meal but with loads of veg

Food order includes meatballs to have with a tomato sauce and veg, and chicken to make salt and pepper chicken with er, veg!

Aw that is hard.

You will have hard days, but you will find something what suits you.
It's absolutely great how you are going and that you even though about changing something. That's big jsut by itself, you know.

It's emotional eating I think I struggle with. If I'm tired or grumpy and hungry, I tend to reach for carbs or sweet stuff. It's so easy to grab toast or cereal!

It is!

Have you tried cooking some good meals for freezer? That genuinely saved my arse! Once in a while I whip up my slowcooker and make 20 protions of chili or curry😂 Sometimes I cook extra portions when making something like lemon chicken and freeze them as well. Just to have quick and accessible variety. There is usually at least 5 types of ready meal in my freezer, plus other stuff. It's so handy for days when we are tired or cba.

Yeah I usually cook 4-6 portions of everything as I live alone! Think the problem is I've been planning like "oh after work I'll whip this up" and then it comes to it and I'm "ugh, toast is easier" so I need to batch cook more and have the veg alongside it rather than fooling myself I'll spend 45 mins cooking after work!

You eill get a hang of it😁 everyone needs bit different systems.

Haven't RTFT so apologies if I'm repeating other posters.

I'm not overweight but have high cholesterol, and am seriously sugar addicted, or at least I was. Barely ate any fruit and veg, now probably have 5-8 portions a day. I have seriously addressed my diet.

What I find helps me is preparing a 'snack box' in a morning with different fruit and veg in which are ready to eat, for example:- pepper sticks, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, an apple, grapes, chopped up strawberries, ready peeled oranges. Then I either incorporate them in to my meals or have them as lots of little snacks throughout the day. I just aim to eat everything by the end of the day. Having it there ready to eat means I eat them even when very busy.

I also like a breakfast smoothie with fruit, oat milk, oats and hemp protein powder. It's a good way to start the day off with a big portion of fruit. I know it's a lot of sugar but the added protein makes it better I think.

If you like lentils, I would try substituting meat dishes for lentils. Things such as lentil curry, chilli, bolognese etc are really nice if seasoned loads. Lentils count as one of your five a day I believe so it's a good way to not feel like you're eating loads of veg when you actually are. Trying to force down a plate full of greens is hard work for me so I had to find ways of getting the fruit and veg in that I liked.

Good luck! X

A friend of mine had is getting GUSTO delivered for 2 meals a week. He does the vegan one - so loads of veggies all the work done - he reckons it’s about £5 a head - no wastage and even includes the all of the herbs / spices.

That might help you out for a bit?

Don’t worry about exercise - it’s 90% food related. Also I am really insulin sensitive so if I have one biscuit I inhale the packet and then I am starving the next day. So I have done 16:8 and it really helps cut the cravings. It’s fine to have a treat / dessert with your meal but then be done with it for the evening.

Sleep and water are also important. I don’t think that you are eating enough on 1100.....maybe eat more volume of healthy stuff.

Don’t give up - you have incorporated some great habits - and inspired many on this thread.

Just get through meal by meal. I think it’s about keeping it v v simple. Same breakfast / lunch / brunch every day and then vary the evening meal - keep the core ingredient the same but vary it each week so Monday’s are mince base - first week it’s chilli, next is spag Bol, next is chilli,

Look at it as nutrition - giving yourself a gift rather than depriving yourself.

Most important thing is never let yourself get hungry and out of control.

I used to get gousto but I can't afford it ATM (it's £35 a week and then I have lunches/breakfast on top) and my usual food budget is about £30-40 total
I did enjoy their meals though. Need to up my water definitely and been trying to remember to take my vitamin D and multivitamin (I'm vitamin d deficient)

Yeah. They are pricey!
I like to look at their website sometimes for inspiration.
Bbc good food has nice recipes too.

If you get ingredients like herbs or ginger, don't worry. Just use as much as you need and chop and freeze the rest. Herbs do well in a freezer, I freeze my harvests for winter and always have frozen ginger in there too.😁 And tumeric. And smoked salmon... And mini yogurts. 2 hotdogs..... And....
Oh my. I just can't throw things away so...

Here are my plans for tea for the week (and next week really) so I know what I'm eating. I can be miserable until tomorrow then I need to get on with it

Lunches - I am v v limited on time so likely ham salad thins with cucumber

Salt and pepper chicken - chicken with peppers, onions with veg fries and salad or veg
Meatballs - cook in a tomato and garlic sauce probably with onion, peppers and some other bits. To have with the frozen egg fried rice (has sweetcorn and peas in)
Chicken sausages with kinda fried rice (mushrooms, onion, cherry tomatoes, spinach, eggs and rice)
Cottage pie out the freezer with steamed veg
Veg pasta bake out the freezer
Quorn nugget salad
Omelette and salad

Then next week I have a few days off work - I need to batch cook a cottage pie and a pasta bake with loads of veg in

Greek yoghurt and berries if I'm hungry or banana or apple and peanut butter

Hope you felt better yesterday @QueenPaw, and it’s good to have a loose plan.

B: warmed frozen cherries, Greek yoghurt, almonds
L: toast, Swiss chard, poached egg, tomatoes
D: spicy Spanish rice with pork & prawns (contained green beans, peppers and onions)

...and crisps, and dark choc gingers 😳...

Still feeling shite, I think shielding for so long has finally cracked me. I'm also vitamin d deficient which isn't helping my miserable side waiting for repeat bloods to see where it's at now

Plan for today is a salad.. probably quorn nuggets because it's what I fancy, then some strawberries and Greek yoghurt

The lockdown is getting to people who normally don't crack. Eg me🙈
So many people I know lost it a bit.

Just keep doing what you are doing, add substantial veg, take your vit d and give it time. Your body will eventually thank you.

And wait when the extra fibre kicks in when it come sto toilet time

I'm on codeine so already struggle a bit there
I've just had a look in the cupboards and thinking about making sweetcorn fritters

Sweetcorn fritters! There's tomato and gherkins and spring onion in there too

@QueenPaw sorry you are still not feeling great. Sweetcorn fritters look lovely.

B: Toast, kiwi
L: Ham roll with lettuce & tomato
S: Toast & jam (needed it after 7 mile walk)
D: Roast pork, potatoes, carrots & peas. Homemade apple crumble to follow.