The Meal Plan

This week I stuck to eating the same thing every day. I found this method of eating to make it much easier to plan meals on a limited budget. And, despite eating the same thing, it was a varied diet in that I consumed different types of food (fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, etc.).

Anyway, for the first part of the week I documented every meal. This was time consuming and I don't want to do it anymore. So I'm compiling and documenting the meals I eat here so I won't have to type them up any longer on a daily basis. If I eat anything else, however, I will document it on the blog both in terms of how much it cost me and also the nutritional values.

The following satisfies the SNAP Snacking Experiment^*:

Breakfast

Ingredients:

• Plum Tomato: .5 cup
• Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms: .5 cup
• Spinach: 1 cups
• Red Pepper: .125 cups
• Olive Oil: 1 tbsp
• Egg Whites: 7.5 tbsp
• Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss Cheese Wedge: 1 wedge
• Tabasco Original Hot Sauce: 1 tsp
• Natural Psyllium Fiber: 1 tsp

Satisfactions of USDA's Dietary Guidelines:

• Fruit Servings:
• Tomatoes: .5 cups/1.5 cups remaining
• Vegetables:
• Mushrooms:.5 cups/2 cups remaining
• Spinach: 1 cup/1 cup remaining
• Red Pepper: .125 cups/.75 cups remaining
• Oils:
• Olive Oil: 15 grams/7 grams remaining
• Dairy:
• Cheese: .25 cup/3.75 cups remaining
• Protein Foods:
• Egg Whites: 4 ounces/2.5 ounces remaining
• Grains:
• Bread: 1.5 ounces/5 ounces remaining
• Calories: 305/2087 remaining

Morning Snack

Ingredients:

• Granny Smith Apple: 1 cup
• Kalamata Olives: .25 cups (1o olives)
• Red Grapes: 1 cup (20 grapes)
• Jiffy Reduced Fat Peanut Butter: 2 tbsp 

Updated Satisfactions of USDA's Dietary Guidelines:

• Fruit Servings:
• Tomatoes: .5 cups/1.5 cups remaining
• Apple: 1 cup / .5 cups remaining
• Olives: .25 cups / .25 cups remaining
• Grapes: 1 cup / Fruit satisfied.
• Vegetables:
• Mushrooms:.5 cups/2 cups remaining
• Spinach: 1 cup/1 cup remaining
• Red Pepper: .125 cups/.75 cups remaining
• Oils:
• Olive Oil: 15 grams/7 grams remaining
• Dairy:
• Cheese: .25 cup/3.75 cups remaining
• Protein Foods:
• Egg Whites: 4 ounces/2.5 ounces remaining
• Peanut Butter: 1.25 oz / 1.25 remaining
• Grains:
• Bread: 1.5 ounces/5 ounces remaining
• Calories: 305/ 1782 remaining

Afternoon Snack

Ingredients:

• Multigrain Cheerios: 1 cup
• 1% Milk: 1 cup

Updated Satisfactions of USDA's Dietary Guidelines:

• Fruit Servings:
• Tomatoes: .5 cups/1.5 cups remaining
• Apple: 1 cup / .5 cups remaining
• Olives: .25 cups / .25 cups remaining
• Grapes: 1 cup / Fruit satisfied.
• Vegetables:
• Mushrooms:.5 cups/2 cups remaining
• Spinach: 1 cup/1 cup remaining
• Red Pepper: .125 cups/.75 cups remaining
• Oils:
• Olive Oil: 15 grams/7 grams remaining
• Dairy:
• Cheese: .25 cup/3.75 cups remaining
• Milk: 1 cup / 2.75 cups remaining
• Protein Foods:
• Egg Whites: 4 ounces/2.5 ounces remaining
• Peanut Butter: 1.25 oz / 1.25 remaining
• Grains:
• Bread: 1.5 ounces/5 ounces remaining
• Cheerios: 1 oz / 4 oz remaining
• Calories: 220/ 1459 remaining

Lunch

Ingredients:

• Old Fashioned Quaker Oats Oatmeal: 1 cup
• Maple Syrup: 2 tbsp
• Cinnamon: pinch
• Natural Psyllium Fiber: 1 tsp

Updated Satisfactions of USDA's Dietary Guidelines:

• Fruit Servings:
• Tomatoes: .5 cups/1.5 cups remaining
• Apple: 1 cup / .5 cups remaining
• Olives: .25 cups / .25 cups remaining
• Grapes: 1 cup / Fruit satisfied.
• Vegetables:
• Mushrooms:.5 cups/2 cups remaining
• Spinach: 1 cup/1 cup remaining
• Red Pepper: .125 cups/.75 cups remaining
• Oils:
• Olive Oil: 15 grams/7 grams remaining
• Dairy:
• Cheese: .25 cup/3.75 cups remaining
• Milk: 1 cup / 2.75 cups remaining
• Protein Foods:
• Egg Whites: 4 ounces/2.5 ounces remaining
• Peanut Butter: 1.25 oz / 1.25 remaining
• Grains:
• Bread: 1.5 ounces/5 ounces remaining
• Cheerios: 1 oz / 4 oz remaining
• Oatmeal: 1 oz / 3 oz remaining
• Calories: 425/ 1034 remaining

Dinner

Ingredients:

• V8 Original Low Sodium Vegetable Juice: 1 cup
• Petite Potatoes: .5 cups
• Organic Shelled Soybeans: .5 cups
• Quinoa: .25 cups
• Diced Tomatoes: .5 cups
• Mixed Vegetables: 1 cup
• Baby Carrots: .375 cups
• Olive Oil: 1 tbsp
• 1% Milk: 2 cups
• Multigrain Bread: 1 slice

Updated Satisfactions of USDA's Dietary Guidelines:

• Fruit Servings:
• Tomatoes: .5 cups/1.5 cups remaining
• Apple: 1 cup / .5 cups remaining
• Olives: .25 cups / .25 cups remaining
• Grapes: 1 cup / Fruit satisfied.
• Diced Tomatoes: .5 cups / already satisfied
• Vegetables:
• Mushrooms:.5 cups/2 cups remaining
• Spinach: 1 cup/1 cup remaining
• Red Pepper: .125 cups/.75 cups remaining
• V8: 1 cup / Satisfied
• Mixed Vegetables: 1 cup / already satisfied
• Baby Carrots: .375 cups / already satisfied
• Oils:
• Olive Oil: 15 grams/7 grams remaining
• Olive Oil: 15 grams/1 gram remaining
• Dairy:
• Cheese: .25 cup/3.75 cups remaining
• Milk: 1 cup / 2.75 cups remaining
• Milk: 2 cups / .75 cups remaining
• Protein Foods:
• Egg Whites: 4 ounces/2.5 ounces remaining
• Peanut Butter: 1.25 oz / 1.25 remaining
• Soybeans: 3.5 ounces / protein foods satisfied
• Grains:
• Bread: 1.5 ounces/5 ounces remaining
• Cheerios: 1 oz / 4 oz remaining
• Quinoa: 1.625 ounces / 1.375 ounces remaining
• Multigrain Bread: 1.5 ounces/ Grains Satisfied
• Calories: 994/ 40 remaining

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* This meal plan actually shorts the USDA's Dietary Guidelines by 1 gram of oil and .75 cups of dairy. So maybe once a week I'll add those into the meal somehow.