Day in the Life: Mel’s Meals is intended to show you that clean eating meals don’t have to be difficult to put together or consist of weird foods. I try to keep things pretty simple, even though I’ve been branching out a little in terms of making recipes during meal prep. These new recipes help to keep me from getting too bored with my meals.
I started documenting how many calories go along with each meal. In the past, I’ve had people mention how much food I consume. I know, I do eat a lot! However, my calories are not outrageously high because I am eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and complex carbs. I aim to keep meals between 250-350 calories.
If you have any questions about how I prepared a certain meal or how I cooked a certain food, then feel free to ask! I encourage it. I love discussing food and my eating habits in hopes of giving you ideas for healthy, clean eating meals. Comment below, send me a Facebook message or email me at eatliftplayrepeat@gmail.com. Don’t forget to check out yesterday’s Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Week 24 post too.
4:30am – Pre-workout:
I started Monday bright and early! First I drank 1/2 liter of water then used the other half to mix 1 scoop MusclePharm Assault, my pre-workout supplement. My morning pretty much always starts with 1 liter of water. Even when I travel I try to have a liter of water handy in order to start hydrating right away.
Before I left for the gym I also had 2oz 2% Greek yogurt mixed with 3 drops liquid Vanilla Crème Stevia and cinnamon, plus 30 grams sliced banana.
6:30am – Meal #1:
Breakfast was a big bowl of proats (protein oats) and coffee. Now that the mornings have gotten chilly I have been craving hot oatmeal. I’ve been experimenting with adding egg whites to my oatmeal for that extra protein. I start by whisking two egg whites in my bowl. Next I add 1/3 cup quick oats and 2/3 cup water and stir that together. Then I microwave the oats on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. I usually set it at 2 minutes and start checking it after 60 seconds.
Warning: you do have to check these oats frequently in order to avoid the dreaded boil-over! I hate when I let that happen.
I watch the oats through the microwave door and open the door right before the oats run over the sides of the bowl. Then I’ll stir the oats a bit, pop them back in the microwave and continue until the oats and egg whites are cooked. It takes a little bit longer than making plain quick oats, but it is worth the extra time in my opinion.
After I cook the oats and egg whites, I stir in protein powder. This particular morning I mixed in 2/3 of a scoop MusclePharm Isolate protein (vanilla). I say 2/3 of a scoop, but I measure mine on a food scale and it is 18 grams of protein powder. Before enjoying the oats, I topped them with 3/4 Tbsp Buff Bakes Snickerdoodle Almond Butter (measured on a food scale as well) and 30 grams sliced banana.
Calories: 300
9:45am – Meal #2:
My mid-morning meal was 1/5 of the frittata that I made over the weekend which contained zucchini, kale and cottage cheese. One serving of the frittata had roughly 175 calories and 21 grams of protein.
I like to have closer to 30 grams of protein per meal, so I also packed 2% cottage cheese (about 1/3 cup).
Calories: 245
12:15pm – Meal #3:
Lunch was two meatloaf cups, 3oz green beans and 1 cup spaghetti squash topped with parsley and 1tsp crumbled feta. I adjusted the meatloaf cup recipe from last week slightly and they ended up being just over 100 calories each with 12 grams of protein.
Calories: 275
4:00pm – Meal #4:
My mid-afternoon meal was a typical meat and vegetables combination. I had 3.5oz pork loin, 50 gram broccoli and 150 grams (roughly 1 1/4 cup) roasted root vegetables.
Eating meat and vegetables in the afternoon helps to keep me full until dinner time and it is lower-carb then other meals so that I can save those for breakfast and dinner.
Calories: 285
6:30pm – Meal #5:
Dinner was a plate of loaded sweet potato fries! The Broncos played Monday night so Donny & I decided to make loaded fries to eat in front of the TV. My plate consisted of 3oz Alexia Sweet Potato Fries topped with 4oz diced chicken thigh, 2Tbsp 505 Green Chile, 1oz mashed avocado and a sprinkle of Cholula.
Surprisingly, I still had a few carbs left so I had 60 grams of gala apple. I’d sliced a couple apples late last week and didn’t use them, so I decided to finish off the bag. I love how sweet a gala apple is. It was almost like dessert! Almost.
Calories: 420
Well that was everything that I ate and drank in terms of Mel’s Meals. I must not have had enough water over the weekend, because I drank a ton of it on Monday! I had one liter first thing, then 5 or more throughout the day! That’s a lot of water, but it helps flush out the crap I ate over the weekend (I’m looking at you ice cream).
If you have any questions about what I ate or how I prepared it, then check out yesterday’s post Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Week 24. If you have questions beyond that, then feel free to ask! I’d love to tell you more and discuss my eating habits.
