I am curious about how some you prepare your meals when trying to eat clean and healthy. A.) How many of you keep your diet as simple as possible by not adding any additional ingredients to the meal? B.) How many follow recipes to enhance or change the flavor?


For myself, I am trying to keep it as simple as possible as it is the quickest and easiest way to prepare healthy food. However, I am finding the variety in taste to be quite limited which leads me to have many cravings. I've considered following clean eating recipes,like the clean eating recipe book by Tosca Reno, but I really do not look forward to the prep work required to make "tasty" healthy meals. Is eating a simple, plain diet something that a person gets used over time? I ask because I have been having a hard time sticking to simple, plain meals. Also, when it comes to making tasty recipes, doesn't it becomes more difficult to gauge the portion size of protein/carbs/fats in the meal?


What approach do you take when it comes to preparing meals? I would really like to know what different peoples approaches are to healthy eating habits?

i keep it simple. i dont have alot of variety in my diet...but i dont need it either. i usually plan my meals for the week in advance...which always saves prep time! i've always been a very 'plain' eater. lots of egg whites, oats, tuna, chicken...all plain, but i enjoy it that way! if i'm getting a little fancy, i'll add cinnamin, splenda or ground flax seed to spice things up a bit! LOL...maybe i'm a weirdo :p

I have to agree with nic.

You don't need huge amounts of variety and you can used to almost anything.

I do not like preparing a lot of meals and I do not have time for it anyway. I found a few staples that are very healthy and easy to prepare, and they also work for our bodybuilding lifestyle.

Find a handful of foods that work for you at different times of the day and stick with what works. Then mix and match to keep it interesting.

I'd make specific suggestions but everyone is different. Just make sure to each fruits and veggies each day to get the required daily fiber. Americans typically are way off on their daily fiber requirements.

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Good luck!

Spices and low cal or no cal condiments keep me from the dieting doldrums. I rub or marinate my chicken, grill whenever possible for the most flavor, season veggies with different types of seasoning mixes (Mrs dash makes a whole array, haven't had a bad one yet ).

I still keep it pretty simple, but the use of a few dashes of seasoning or a little low sugar ketchup or no sugar syrup really help keep my cravings at bay, as does drinking plenty of fresh water.

I'd have to say I eat pretty much the same as Nic902 and mamabear. I've tried just about every combination of diets, low-carb, low-fat, high-carb, high-fat and after all is said and done I've ended up eating basicaly the way I started. My point is if you find something that's getting you the results you like then stick to it. When you make it everyday and everyweek you eventually just start making little variations that won't change the values of your meals very much. I usually allow myself every couple of weeks to have a cheat day where I just eat whatever. I usually try to keep it moderate though because when you get used to eating healthy you'll find that a drastic change on just one day kinda upsets things down below.:puke2: Hope my rambling helped a little.:blah:

I have been eating a "competition" diet since early August. Mind you if I wouldn't cheat so much (a few cookies here and there... :help: !!!!! I am blaming WORK for this:)) ) I would be totally ripped myself and at 15% bf and even maybe lower.

Back on topic, I have oatmeal for breakfast mixed with protein powder and eggwhites and 1 packet of Sweet N Low and started adding 2 toasts, snack/lunch/snack is either horse meat (DONT get me started on this.. its LEGAL in Canada !!), fish (pangasius) and chicken. Along with a shake here and there but that's the gist of it.

I tend to "gain" easily if i eat a few cookies here and there its not even funny but I dont really dwell on it. I do good for a few days and my weight goes back down.

Ok getting off topic here again sorry LOL I should add a bit of variety myself though but it's like I am hesitant to gain a bit of fat. I have done so well and I dont want to hinder my success so far... but I think changes here and there won't hurt. U just have to find something that suits ur "diet"

I have a meal plan for Monday - Friday in which i prepare meats on the weekend and freeze them. all simple with few simple herbs/spices/condiments

On the weekend i get creative and make my food tastier, after 2 years of manipulating my diet and being an engineering student I can figure macros as I am cooking

Also i change my Monday-Friday almost every month

In essence I eat to live mon-fri and live to eat on sat-sun. watching calories and macros all 7 days

Clean eating is not a new concept. They are related in some way on health, fitness and nutrition, fitness competitors, the personal trainer for health-conscious people do not know, eating clean for years. Our eating habits, the type of results you get when it comes to the spread of more than pounds and in good shape. It's impossible to achieve the goals of fitness and weight loss by eating junk food.

Yes, SPICES are the key. Make your main dish a garlic and basil one night. Next time, go Indian by adding curry or turmeric/corriander/cumin/etc. instead. Same bulk ingredients, but the spices will make it taste like a completely new dish.

With the exception of being a beginner, once you get the hang of things, variety is one of the keys to long term success. The reason being is that satisfaction is probably the biggest factor that's going to keep you eating good foods. And if you eat the same thing all the time you will get bored, you will probably want to vomit of just the thought of eating that same meal again, and you will be more opt to crave junk foods. Keep a variety of good foods in your meal plans and you will never have a problem with satisfaction. You will want to stick to it.

There are many ways to do it. I try to include good fats in all of my meals. This really helps out a lot. Some of my snacks include natural peanut butter and/or nayonaise (a low calorie mayonaise made with good fats.

For breakfast I always have some sort of whole grain type cereal with some sort of good fats added along with low fat milk. I try to change it up regularly so that I don't get bored. There are 5 different whole grain type cereals I have to choose from, so I never get bored. To make it taste better I add splenda. I actually do that with a lot of my meals and snacks. Another one of my snacks includes plain no fat yogert in which I add splenda to as well. Sometimes I even add splenda to my sandwiches.

Fruit is another big one. I eat fruit with a few of my snacks per day and I always try different kinds. Fruit is like natures candy to me, and it's good for you.

I think you get the point. If you keep your meals the same it does make it harder to keep track of things. But you will probably have trouble sticking with it. My recommendation is to keep your meals the same, but within reason. For example, I might keep my day time snacks the same and include fruit, but I'll change the type of fruit on different days. This way it makes the meals similar enough to keep track of things, but different enough to keep you satisfied.