Day in the Life: Mel’s Meals is a weekly post where I get to show you everything I eat and drink throughout the day. I want to show you that simple, healthy meals are possible using clean eating ingredients. They don’t have to be difficult recipes or made with weird ingredients. Most of my meals are made with whole foods and very few foods that have been processed. Occasionally I’ll incorporate “convenience” foods, which is perfectly fine every once in a while.
I track everything that I eat in terms of macronutrients. I aim to get 40% of my diet through protein sources, 30% through carbohydrates and 30% from fat. I use My Fitness Pal to track these values and have the app set to those goals. When I prepare my meals for the week I prepare 3 full meals ahead of time. I use breakfast and dinner to “fill in the gaps” in terms of rounding out macros. I also aim for 30 grams of protein at each meal throughout the day in order to keep a steady influx all day long.
I definitely like eating 5 small meals per day with a pre-workout snack in there. Each meal throughout the day is anywhere between 250-400 calories. This eating schedule works for me, but yours might be different! Don’t worry about, just do what works for you.
So I consumed 1 liter of water right away, then another 5 liters throughout the day. I did not do a great job drinking water on Sunday, so I could definitely tell on Monday that I needed a little extra H2O.
Now here is what I ate throughout the day. If you have questions about how I prepared these foods then check out yesterday’s Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Week 11 post.
4:35am – Preworkout:
I was running a few minutes behind, but it didn’t stop me from my usual routine (just a little more rushed!). I started with half a liter of water then mixed the other half a liter with 1 scoop MusclePharm Assault (fruit punch), my pre-workout supplement. I also took one capsule BCAA pre-workout and one post-workout to keep my muscle from breaking down during morning workouts.
I had about 1/3 cup 1% cottage cheese mixed with roughly 1/5 scoop MusclePharm Combat Protein (cinnamon bun). I measure everything using a food scale so I measure in grams, not cups, which is why these values are an estimate. I had 85 grams cottage cheese and 7 grams protein powder but I think it is easier to visualize in terms of cups.
6:30am – Meal #1:
Breakfast was peanut butter overnight oats. I mixed 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 Tbsp PB Fit peanut powder and 1/3 scoop (9 grams) MusclePharm Isolate protein (vanilla). I added 2 Tbsp rolled oats, 1 Tbsp chia and 2 oz 2% Greek yogurt. I let that mixture sit in the fridge all night. Then the next morning I topped the oats with 1/2 Tbsp almond butter and 30 grams sliced banana. Delicious! I needed a little more protein so I scrambled two egg whites with a little salt and cinnamon.
Donny & I were in Denver last Friday and picked up this mini French press! When Donny is out of town I rarely make coffee because I usually drink one cup and the rest goes to waste (even making 1/2 pot doesn’t work for me). Well this little gem was less than $15 and makes one cup of delicious coffee! It is pretty sweet actually. I’ve used it every day since we bought it. I had 1 cup of coffee with a little stevia and 2 Tbsp Half & Half.
9:45am – Meal #2:
My mid-morning meal for this week is one Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cup with 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter and 1/3 scoop MusclePharm Isolate Protein (vanilla) mixed with water. On the side I had 1 egg + 2 egg whites scrambled together with a little salt.
12:15pm – Meal #3:
Lunch was 3.5oz cod, 3oz Brussels sprouts and 50 grams carrots. On the side I had avocado toast consisting of 1 slice Dave’s Killer Bread Thin topped with 1 oz mashed avocado and a little salt. Delicious! I love avocado toast any time of day.
3:30pm
I drink a lot of water throughout the day and I typically have lemon in my water bottles. I have enough lemon usually to fill four liters worth, but never have enough for the 5th liter. Most of the time I’ll just drink the last liter plain, but occasionally I need a little extra flavor. We had some of these True Lime drink mix-ins left from Bobstock. I LOVE the Black Cherry Limeade flavor. So good! They are only 10 calories each, but they do have 1 gram of sugar in them. I don’t consume much added sugar throughout the day so I don’t mind having one of these every once in a while. Not 100% clean eating, but helps me drink more water so I allow it!
4:00pm – Meal #4:
My mid-afternoon meal was 3 oz chicken dipped in yellow mustard, 3 oz green beans and 50 grams bell peppers. On the side I had 1/4 cup blueberries and 50 grams strawberries sprinkled with a little stevia.
6:30pm – Meal #5:
I bought some corn tortillas at Trader Joe’s and I keep craving tacos for dinner! These tortillas from Trader Joe’s are great – they are 50 calories each and only have three ingredients, all clean eating approved! I had two corn tortillas topped with 1.25 oz mashed avocado (1/4 of one medium) and Cholula. I mixed 3 oz chicken with 1/4 cup 505 Green Chile (mild) and microwaved that until warm. I spread a little bit of the chicken mixture on top of the avocado and whatever didn’t fit I ate by itself. On the side I had 115 grams spiralized zucchini cooked in 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and salt & pepper. Super simple, slightly random, yet 100% delicious!
That was everything I consumed throughout the day. I ended the day 162 grams protein (2 over my goal), 123 grams carbohydrate (3 over my goal) and 52 grams fat (1 under my goal). Remember that these numbers are specific to me and my goals. In terms of macronutrients, I consume 40% of my diet from protein, 30% from carbs and 30% from fats. Depending on your weight loss and fitness goals, your percentages will be different. Depending on your height/weight/gender your number of calories will also be different, so your total grams of each macro will be different then mine. Do not follow my numbers exactly – they might not work for you!
If you want to know more about how I prepared certain foods, then check out yesterday’s post Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Week 11. Also feel free to message me on Facebook, email me, text me or comment below.
What was your favorite clean eating meal this week?
