How I Meal Prep + What I Eat In a Day

For almost as long as I know I have had a 3/4 rice, 1/4 vegetables diet. Off late I have been reading so much about the perils of a high carb diet – more so because I barely eat proteins. I am a non vegetarian but I prefer a vegetarian Indian diet.

For the 1st few days of starting to change my diet, I tried to include more chole and rajma but oh boy I was bloating & farting throughout the day. I had to replace it with non vegetarian sources. I tried the western meal prep recipes and couldn’t do it for more than 1 week because I am not the best at western cooking. So I decided to add Indian touches to the protein part of it since I couldn’t have mildly flavoured meat/fish. So currently, I am very. happy with my portioning – 1/2 vegetables, 1/4 animal protein, 1/4 starch + fats. I also avoid dairy (because I am casein sensitive and because dairy is just not the best thing in general), gluten and sugar (also because there are so many bad things we hear about these food groups). My 1st eye opener for my diet was Lara Briden ( I had mentioned about her in the hair fall post). I mention her a lot but that’s just because of the impact she’s had in my life. Even the macro portioning is inspired by her own Instagram posts showing her dinner.

Organic – All my animal products are organic. You don’t want the additional hormones and antibiotics from them. My vegetables are a mix of organic and regular based on these lists – Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen.

Glass boxes – I prefer glass boxes to plastic for health reasons. As an added bonus, they are so easy to clean! In India I used to use the Borosil ones. You can check them here.

Lunch

My current meal prep schedule – Cook on Saturday for Saturday and Monday (4 portions; 2 dinners and 2 lunches). Cook on Sunday for Sunday and Tuesday(4 portions). Cook on Tuesday for Wednesday and Thursday(4 portions). Cook on Thursday for the next day (or I will eat at the food court because they have pretty good options sometimes) and eat some boiled eggs and fruits for dinner. So I only cook 1 day in a working week which is good with my work and gym 🙂

Storing and Heating – I keep them for 3 days only in the fridge. But if you keep it in the freezer, it will stay fresh for weeks. I heat them in a microwave which is why it’a more important to use glass and not plastic.

Vegetables – I simply steam them(put in a pan, add some salt, cook on lowest heat, stir once in a while) till they are soft(about 90% cooked) and I prefer the taste of these steamed veggies – beans, carrot, cauliflower, brocoli and beetroot. I don’t mind eating them like this so I don’t have to sneak them in.

Protein – I make quite elaborate dishes with them and get my inspiration by searching for recipes on YouTube

Starch – It’s mostly rice because it’s something that is easier to eat with the Indian dishes than potatoes. I have about 1/2 a cup of cooked rice. If you eat that much rice and just vegetables, you will probably be hungry in an hour. That’s why protein is important. It will keep you full for longer.

Fat – I love coconut oil and olive oil

Other Meals :

Breakfast and snacks

2 boiled eggs/ Protein sambar, A bowl of fruits (blueberries/papaya/kiwi/cantaloupe), A smoothie with spinach and a few pieces pineapple with 1 tsp each of hemp seeds, chia seeds and ground flaxseed

Snacks – Trail mix of almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds

Beverages – No tea or coffee on a daily basis. Although I love to have the Starbucks Almond milk coffee with no sugar once in a while.

Dessert – 2 bars of 80% or above dark chocolate is great as a dessert.

I don’t track my calorie intake because I don’t have a weight goal. I am more concerned about portioning. I don’t get bored with the dishes because I make different types of protein dishes – prawn coriander, chilly basil fish, chicken capscium, egg katli etc. I keep looking for new recipes on YouTube.

Yes I am already thin; No I am not on a diet; No I am not starving; I am just making a healthy change to my lifestyle. So weight loss is not my goal and I am sorry but I don’t have any advice to give on that.

I hope I’ve answered all your queries. If you have any more doubts, please comment 🙂