Rachel's Fit Health

imstephanieeee asked: Hi Rachel! :D Starting off, I just wanted to say I love your blog and every piece of information you post is a new fact I never knew. :O The thing is, I'm 16 years old and my dad does the grocery shopping and he only buys the junk because it's cheaper. I get him to buy a few things, but nothing like almond milk or grapefruit or things like that because it's too expensive. I was wondering if you could post a week worth of a meal plan a young person like me could eat who doesn't do the shopping?:)

That’s a great question! First off, good for you for wanting to make healthy changes in your life, and do it the right way! Being a grad student, I’m always looking for ways to save money at the grocery store, too! Here is the meal plan, followed by a few tips:

Breakfast

I start breakfast with protein, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.

Eggs, spinach and oatmeal are my staples.

I know most high school students don’t have time to cook in the morning, so I’d suggest:

1 egg +1-2 egg whites

½ cup oatmeal (old-fashioned) + ¼ cup skim milk. (If desired add a few raw (means unsalted and not roasted) almonds for healthy fat. Try using a small amount of honey rather than white sugar).

If you aren’t an oatmeal fan, try multi-grain toast.

Healthy Snacks (for midmorning and after school)

20 Unsalted almonds + piece of fruit

½ cup to 1 cup plain yogurt or plain greek yogurt(try Dannon Oikos)+ 10 Unsalted almonds+ ½ banana

1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter on top of a rice cake. Can add ½ banana on top*

Smoothie- plain yogurt, fruit(bananas are inexpensive), can add nuts or peanut butter

Lunch

Try to eat protein + complex carbs+ vegetables

Protein-chicken, or if your dad buys lunch meat, stick with ham or turkey, & try to get low-sodium if possible. If you like cheese, get mozzarella- it is a lower fat cheese relative to the others! You can also try tuna w/ hummus instead of mayo

Vegetables-Celery, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans are typically the cheapest vegetables. Bring cooked vegetables or raw vegetables- a bag full of raw green beans is great! Or try a tomato, avocado, cucumber salad w/ a little olive oil and vinegar!

Complex carbohydrates- Multi-grain bread for a sandwich, or eat the meat separately and bring ½ cup of brown rice, oatmeal, ½ sweet potato, or ½ cup of whole-wheat pasta

 Afternoon snack- see above

 Dinner

Try to eat protein + complex carbs+ vegetables

Protein- chicken, ground sirloin (hamburger meat) or a sirloin steak, pork tenderloin, fish

Vegetables- same as above. I usually prefer my vegetables cooked for dinner!

Complex carbs- Stick with foods from the list above. 

If you’re hungry at night, try to stick to foods with protein, like cottage cheese, eggs, chicken or yogurt!

As you can tell, these foods require preparation and aren’t “convenient.”  This is what turns a lot of people away from the “healthy” lifestyle. What do you think our grandparents brought to school? Nothing processed! Don’t rule a food out because it requires preparation- learn how to cook it! I have recipes for chicken breasts and vegetables in past posts, and you can always google how to cook something :)

Tips:

Prep For breakfast: You can make a single serving of oatmeal in the microwave, or make 5 servings on the stove on Sunday and save it for the week. Rather than cooking the eggs each morning on a pan, make hard-boiled eggs on Sunday! Eat 1 full egg + 1-2 of the whites each morning with the oatmeal. No cooking required :)

*try Meijer brand natural peanut butter, or Smuckers. Ingredients should only be peanuts, salt.

*Rice cakes are around $2.40 for 16 cakes, so they are cheaper than using bread! I wrap the rice cake in a paper towel to keep the peanut butter on the cake, and put it in a ziplock.

*Bakery breads are typically better than packaged breads because they are limited on preservatives. You can always slice up the loaf and put it in the freezer after a few days to preserve it. Toast your bread and then make a sandwich!

Hope this helps! This is generally how I eat every day, too. Eating well does not have to be expensive! Stick to the basics :)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!