Lightweight Eats

If you've ever read a women's magazine, you'll know that a typical dinner for women is an egg white omelette with broccoli. Not! It turns out, even if you want to keep a trim figure, you have to actually eat, y'know, calories.



Believe me, I've tried skimping at meals. I ended up making up all of those calories at snack time on much less well-rounded foods.

So, here's how you put together a well-rounded meal that will actually satisfy your caloric needs. If you're a normal, active human being, you probably need to be eating 500-750 calories per meal. (Pro-tip: that's a LOT of egg whites and broccoli. Not recommended.) Let's assume you need about 700 calories, to make the math easy.

The Basic Components
1. Starchy food - 300-400 calories
That's a lot of food. We're talking two cups of cooked rice, 3 medium flour tortillas, about a quarter pound of pasta, or half of a baguette. Other options include quinoa, oatmeal, pita bread, polenta, potatoes, soba noodles, tortilla chips, pretzels, graham crackers, cold cereal, bagels, etc.

2. Protein-rich food - 100-200 calories
A solid meal has 20-30 grams of protein. Starchy foods and vegetables usually have some protein, so aim for 15-20g in this ingredient and you're doing well. Some examples: a half block of tofu, a half can of beans, 16 ounces of soy milk, half of a Tofurky sausage, a quarter cup of nutritional yeast, a serving of protein powder, or a Gardein beefless burger patty.

3. A plant or two - 50-100 calories
Vegetables and fruits definitely need to make an appearance on your plate, but they also don't have many calories. They should be a part of your meal—not the whole thing. I like to have fruit with breakfast and snacks, and veggies with lunch and dinner.

4. Sauce - 50-150 calories
Sauces make the meal. They're also a great way to adjust the calorie count on your plate. If you're looking to gain weight, use the sauce to add fat and calories. If you'd rather eat more pasta, go light on sauce or use a veggie-based sauce.

Some sample meals:
- Three cups of corn flakes with walnuts, soy milk and frozen blueberries
- Two cups of rice, half block of tofu, broccoli and teriyaki sauce
- Three tacos with a half can of black beans, cabbage slaw, salsa and/or guacamole
- A big pile of pretzels and veggie sticks with a bean dip (like hummus or black bean dip)
- Savory oatmeal with two tablespoons of nutritional yeast, two tablespoons of sunflower seeds, fresh spinach and cashew cheese

Veggie and tofu stir fry + rice

Bagel + PB + berries + banana

You'll need to eat THREE of these meals a day to fuel a decently athletic lifestyle, plus snacks if you work out a lot. If you're not exercising much, scale these meals back to the low end of the calorie range, or eat smaller snacks.

Advanced tips:
- Mix a starchy protein with a fatty protein to make a well-rounded meal without a specific starch (e.g. chickpeas and walnuts on a salad)
- Use whole grains in at least one of your three meals
- Vary your starches, proteins and veggies over the week to get a good mix of nutrients (i.e. don't eat rice, tofu, broccoli and teriyaki sauce at every. single. meal.)

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