Creating healthy & filling meals for breakfast/lunch (pics)

Below are some healthy meals/recipes for breakfast and lunch on a typical day.  I just recently began photographing certain things that I make.  I will continue to do so to encourage everyone to take the time to cook and create healthy meals.

Just taking the time to cook something for yourself throughout the day is much better than always going out to eat or running out to the local fast food joint for a snack.

Below are some healthy, easy-to-make meals:

Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich

What's in it?

• fresh tomatoes (any kind will do -my favorites are roma tomatoes and grape tomatoes)
• fresh mozzarella cheese
• salt, pepper
• one thin slice of salami
• fresh basil leaves 
• English Muffin Toast

Great lunch idea! Or breakfast, if you do not enjoy typical breakfast foods.  Really easy to make!

Chicken Wrap and Fruit 

What's in the wrap?

• freshly made chicken breast (cooked with a bit of water in the sauce pan and sometimes a bit of garlic salt on either side.  (no butter needed) 
• lettuce
• 1 tsp of Ranch dressing spread out on the wrap
• cheese
• one slice of bacon (optional and used occasionally) chopped up 
• chopped up onions
• good wraps to choose from: green veggie wraps, flour tortillas, whole wheat wraps, etc.  
• It's not too big of a deal which wrap you use, sorta just depends on your preference.  

Turkey, Avocado, Tomato Bagel 

What's in it?

• freshly sliced tomato
• sliced avocado 
• two thin slices of peppered turkey
• cream cheese on half of the bagel 
• bagel

Triple Salad Lunch 

What are all of these? (from top to bottom right to bottom left)

• Tomato Mozzarella Salad (homemade)
• Pesto Tortellini Salad with peas
• (made at Caputo's) 
•  Chicken nut Salad (made at Caputo's) 

Very filling and lots of different tastes going to give you the energy you need throughout the day!
 


Below are some healthy meal options if you are at a restaurant for breakfast/lunch:

Caprese Benedict (Substituted with egg whites)
(University Club in Chicago)

What's in it?  

• English Muffin
• beefsteak tomato slices
• basil
• buffalo mozzarella
• egg whites

 Delicious, healthy meal for brunch! 

(All photos taken via my iPhone)

Sicilian Egg White Scrambler (Egg Harbor)

What's in it?

• Three egg whites scrambled with
• spinach
• tomato
• onion
• & topped with
• oregano
• Parmesan
• low-fat mozzarella
•  served with a wheat English Muffin & fruit

Very filling and satisfying! 

Good eats & not so good eats

Making subtle changes to the way you eat is another step in the right direction toward developing a healthier lifestyle.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it's all about eating less or cutting out foods completely because that's just no way to live.  However, I am going to share with you some helpful tips about how food is processed and how often we should really be eating certain things!

Eat lots of these:

• lean meats
• poultry (chicken, turkey) 
• your body digests poultry in a day so this is a good food to eat
• fish
• fresh fruits
• fresh vegetables
• wraps
• will include recipes for some really delicious, healthy and easy to make wraps later on
• salads (boring, I know, but there are ways to make a healthy salad delicious)
• I will also include some recipes later on with some homemade dressing ideas as well
•  eggs
• if you eat a lot of eggs, try taking some of the yolks out
• oats and whole grains

Eat less of these: 

• ice cream
• red meats 
• red meats take 3 days to digest, so if you're eating red meat on a daily basis, your system will become clogged and it will be hard to maintain a healthy weight
•  fried foods and fast foods
• something I didn't realize and learned the hard way:
• Ramen noodles are deep fat fried.  Even eating one packet without the seasoning packet is not very good for you
• There was a time period where I was eating these a lot because it was quick, cheap, and easy to make, but certainly not worth what it did to my body 
•  bread
• you don't need to cut it out completely, but if you eat it on a daily basis or every other day basis, make sure it's whole grain, potato bread, honey wheat, or multi-grain, even sourdough is better than bleached white bread

If you've started the water challenge, you'll begin to know when you actually feel hungry.  Keep it up and take this information into consideration when preparing your daily meals.

Breakfast: fill your breakfast with grains, protein, and carbs for energy.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and starts your metabolism to begin burning calories for the day.

Lunch: protein, fruits, veggies, wraps, etc.  Keeps your body nourished and continues that caloric burn.

Dinner: lean meats (occasionally red), fish, chicken, poultry, fruits, veggies.  Eating past 7/8p.m. is not something you should do on a regular basis.  Your body does not have time to digest all of that food before you go to sleep for the night.  It's healthiest for you to eat before 7p.m.

Feel free to post comments, questions, or anything below!