The Food Lovers Dietitian Menu Inspiration Series

Welcome to the first in a series of posts that will will show you how to tweak your food loves to fit your healthy weight dreams. This menu inspiration series using the Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner will inspire your day’s meals and snacks.

I will stop after each meal and snack and update the day’s Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner checklist, so you can see how I’m using it to guide the amount of each food. 

I’m also including some Pro Tips, Budget-Friendly Tips and Family-Friendly Tips for those with larger appetites, to help you.

I’ve decided to cover a pattern of three meals and three snacks a day, planning for just a little extra milk to go with tea and coffee (60ml or 1/4 cup). This amount of milk would be enough for a skim piccolo coffee or 2-3 cups of tea or brewed/instant coffee with a small amount of milk added.

If you prefer fewer snacks and larger meals, just add the snacks to the meals by increasing the serving size of meal foods (I’ll show you how to do this).

Do jump onto the Food Lovers Dietitian Facebook Page and share your photos and menu inspiration ideas using the  Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner .

I look forward to seeing how you use these menu inspirations to plan your own day.

Menu Inspiration No. 1

Breakfast

Porridge 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcDTavGDOAf/

Pro-tip 1

I soak my 1/3 cup porridge oats ( 1 larger carb serve) with 1/3 cup boiling water while I jump in the shower! After 30 mins I add the 1/2 cup low fat milk ( 1/2 dairy serve) and microwave the porridge in short bursts to stop it overflowing in the bowl. To get a softer porridge I’ll sometimes add extra boiling water and cook it for longer.

When it’s nicely cooked I top the porridge with a dollop of yogurt ( 1/4 dairy serve), 1/2 cup fruits (1/2 serve fruit) and maybe a pinch of flaked almonds and some fresh mint. A sprinkle of cinnamon works well too.

Pro-tip 2

If you’re not a morning snack eater but prefer a larger breakfast, use more milk and less water to soak the oats, add more fruit and yogurt on the top.

Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner Update (Breakfast)

Morning Snack

Old fashioned Flummery with Fruit

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdhE7tOjfCX/

Another snack favourite of mine is the old-fashioned jelly flummery made with no-added sugar jelly dissolved in just 1/2 cup boiling water and then whipped with 1 can chilled evaporated skim milk. Garnish with 1/2 cup fruit ( 1/2 fruit serve), mint and flaked almonds. One flummery recipe is equal to six 1/2 serves of dairy using the Food Lovers Meal Planner. 

Pro-tip

Using a small sprinkle of flaked almonds as a garnish, is not like using a full fat serve of nuts (which let’s face it is not much) as flaked almonds are so light and you don’t need many.

Budget-friendly tip 1

This recipe also works with double strength skim milk made with 1/3 cup skim milk powder and water to make up to 375ml.

Budget-friendly tip 2

Choose fruit in season, use fresh, poached, frozen or stewed.

Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner Update (Breakfast & Morning Snack)

Lunch

Sliced Chicken Breast Over Salad with Chickpeas

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd9ZQpzDtzY/

For a great lunch salad add 40g ( 1 smaller portion serve) of any lean chicken, meat or fish over salad vegetables (1&1/2  cups or 3 veg serves) with 2 tsp of my favourite salad dressing (1 serve fat) and either a slice of grain bread or 1/2 cup canned chickpeas or corn kernels (1 smaller carb serve) and a dollop of low fat Greek yogurt (1/4 dairy serve)..

Pro-tip 1

I cook extra chicken or meat when I’m preparing an evening meal to use for my lunch salad the next day.

Pro-tip 2

If you’re not planning an afternoon snack you might like to add both the bread and the chickpeas to lunch (2 smaller carb serves) and double the size of your evening dessert (to make it 1 fruit serve and 1/2 dairy serve). 

Family-friendly tip

For larger appetites, serve this salad with extra smaller carb serves.

Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner Update (Breakfast & Morning Snack & Lunch)

Afternoon Snack

Red-Wine Poached Pear and Cheesecake Cream Toast

If I’ve only used 1 smaller carb serve at lunch time (instead of two for a sandwich or wrap), I like to use the other for an afternoon snack. Instead of just adding a a teaspoon of peanut butter or butter spread with jam which is not very interesting or sustaining, I like to use a 1/4 dairy serve and 1/2 serve of fruit. My favourite topping is my Cheesecake Cream (1&1/2 Tbsp) but smooth ricotta or even low fat Greek yogurt work well too.

Here I’ve used 1/2 a red-wine poached pear, (1/2 fruit serve) sliced thinly. I cook several at time and freeze them. I then use 1/2 or one at a time for a snack or as part of breakfast. Other fruit would also work well with this recipe.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb_O4qsjbeq/

 

Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner Update (Breakfast & Morning Snack & Lunch & Afternoon Snack)

Dinner

Kerala Fish Curry with Kachumber Salad, Pappadoms and Raita

https://www.instagram.com/p/Barrq9rjWeH/?taken-by=foodloversdietitian

I love Indian food but often the recipes call for quite a bit of coconut oil and milk, which is lots of Food Lovers fat serves. So I was very excited to find that I could use just 2 tsp of coconut oil  to fry off the seed spices and that only a small amount of coconut milk still gives a full flavour. This recipe is based on the Kerala Meen Mollee I learnt from Brunton’s Boatyard Hotel’s Chef Nitin on my last trip to South India. I serve this with 1/2 cup cooked Basmati rice ( 1 smaller carb serve), Kachumber Salad (1 cup diced tomato, cucumber and red onion with lime juice and fresh coriander) (2 veg serves), 1/4 cup yogurt raita (1/4 dairy serve) and mini poppadoms cooked in the microwave for 1 minute. 

Pro-tip 

Use a smaller amount of full fat coconut milk for the flavour, rather than trying the fat reduced version that lacks the full flavour.

Family-friendly tip

Serve extra boiled rice for those with larger appetites.

Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner Update (Breakfast & Morning Snack & Lunch & Afternoon Snack & Dinner)

Evening Snack/Dessert

Glamour Fruit with Cheesecake Cream

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba-1eVkj9fW/

Like today’s morning and afternoon snacks, this evening snack or dessert uses 1/2 a fruit serve and part (1/4) of a dairy serve. 

The Cheesecake Cream (1&1/2 Tbsp), is an excellent accompaniment to fresh seasonal fruit (1/2 cup).

Pro-tip 1

Serve fruit and the dairy accompaniment in a fancy glass for a special twist.

Pro-tip 2

If you don’t usually have dessert, you might like the add this 1/2 fruit serve and 1/4 dairy serve to breakfast to double the fruit and yogurt.

 

Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner Update (Breakfast & Morning Snack & Lunch & Afternoon Snack & Dinner & Evening Snack)

Food Lovers Dietitian Meal Planner Update (Breakfast & Morning Snack & Lunch & Afternoon Snack & Dinner & Evening Snack & Milk for Tea and Coffee)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first Menu Inspiration and I look forward to sharing more with you.

Do sign up for the Food Lovers Dietitian News and be the first to know when there’s a new post in the Menu Inspiration Series.

Get the Food Lovers Dietitian News 

Please do share your own photos of meals and snacks you’ve created with the Food Lovers Meal Planner on the Food Lovers Dietitian Facebook Page.

 Do connect with  Food Lovers Dieititian Instagram, it’s a treasure trove of great meal planning ideas.

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