Clean eating meals do not have to be super intense to make. I am no chef, so I stick to basic meals of meat and vegetables. I’ll throw in some complex carbs occasionally including oatmeal, whole wheat bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc. I try to keep all of my meals clean eating friendly using minimally processed foods.
Even though I aim for less processed foods, sometimes I need quick, grab-and-go foods to take with me. Lately I’ve been busy at work (including weekends) and I am not in the office as much in the afternoons. I don’t want to skip a snack/meal in the afternoon so I’ve been packing Quest bars to get me through until dinner.
Check out all of my clean eating meals throughout the day. If you have any questions then feel free to email me at eatliftplayrepeat@gmail.com. Don’t forget to read yesterday’s Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Week 31 post.
4:30am – Pre-workout:
The first thing I do each morning is drink 1 liter of water. On days that I workout in the morning, like this day, I consume half the liter plain, then use the other half to mix my pre-workout supplement, MusclePharm Assault. Other mornings when I don’t work out first thing, I’ll drink the entire liter plain.
I also like to have a little something to eat before my workout, but not too much. I had 47g banana before my workout. Since I work out before eating any real meal, I’ll have 1 BCAA capsule pre-workout and another post-workout.
6:30am – Meal #1:
Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal. I’ve been addicted to hot oats the last few weeks… so many combinations and so delicious! This particular morning I had 1/3c quick oats mixed with 2/3c water and 2 whipped egg whites. I microwaved that on high for 90-120 seconds. Then I mixed 1/2 scoop MusclePharm Isolate protein (vanilla) into the cooked oats and added the toppings. The toppings included 1/4c blueberries, 1tsp pepitas, 3mL maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon.
I mixed the other half of the protein powder with water and had that on the side. Then I had one cup of coffee with breakfast and took a to-go cup with me to work.
Calories: 310
9:15am – Meal #2:
I was surprisingly hungry early in the morning! Normally I’ll try to eat my mid-morning meal between 9:30-10:00am, but I was definitely needing some food earlier. My mid-morning meal was 7oz 2% Greek yogurt mixed with 1/3 scoop MusclePharm Isolate protein (vanilla). I sprinkled 1/3c puffed kamut cereal (similar to puffed rice cereal), 1tsp chopped pecans, 1tsp pepitas, 40g sliced banana and a dash of cinnamon.
Calories: 260
12:15pm – Meal #3:
My lunch for the day was 4oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs with mustard, 100g broccoli, 50 grams of carrots and 1/4c 1% cottage cheese mixed with 2-3 drops vanilla crème liquid stevia and cinnamon. I eat the cottage cheese last as a “dessert” since it is made sweet.
Calories: 295
4:00pm – Meal #4:
Lately I’ve been busy in the afternoon and I am not in the office quite as much. I’ve been packing Quest bars to take with me to eat on the go. I ate one Oreo Quest bar in my car on my way into town.
Calories: 180
6:45pm – Meal #5:
Dinner was thrown together last minute with what we had on hand. I made some horribly awkward sweet potato wedges that were brushed with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt. The wedges were baked at 425° for 15 minutes. We also sautéed shredded Brussels sprouts in the cast iron skillet with about 1Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled salt and pepper.
I had 5 lean meatballs that I made during meal prep a few weeks ago (I pulled them out of the freezer), 1oz avocado, 3.5oz sweet potato and 100g Brussels sprouts. I estimated about 1/2Tbsp oil total for the potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
Calories: 425
Well that was everything I ate and drank for Mel’s clean eating meals. All in all, I consumed 1,575 calories including 157g protein, 122g carbs and 51g fat.
Clean eating meals do not have to be difficult to make or involve crazy foods. Simple, whole ingredients can be used to make healthy, yet easy meals to eat throughout the day. If you have any questions then email me at eatliftplayrepeat@gmail.com.
