Balancing Meals & Servings

BALANCED MEALS

Breakfast:	Lunch:	Dinner:	Snack:
1 serving of fruit 1 serving of whole grain 1 serving of protein 1 serving of plant based fat	2 servings of vegetables 1 serving of whole grain 1 serving of protein 1 serving of plant based fat	2 servings of vegetables 1 serving of whole grain 1 serving of protein 1 serving of plant based fat	1 serving of fruit 1 serving of whole grain 1 serving of protein 1 serving of plant based fat

SERVING SIZES

PRODUCE:

Veggies: (lunch & dinner)	Fruit: (breakfast and snack)
1 cup fresh 1 cup frozen ½ cup canned ¼ dried	1 piece, about the size of a tennis ball 1 cup fresh or frozen ½ cup canned (no sugar added) ¼ cup dried (unsweetened)

WHOLE GRAINS:

1 slice of whole grain bread ½ whole grain English muffin or whole-grain pita ½ cup cooked brown or wild rice, whole-grain pasta, or quinoa ¼ cup uncooked oats 2 cups air popped popcorn 2 taco sized whole-corn tortillas

PROTEIN:

Meats:	Milks:	Cheeses:	Vegetarian:
¼ cup of egg whites 3oz chicken, turkey, or fish	1 cup skim or soy milk 6oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt	½ cup nonfat cottage cheese ¼ cup nonfat ricotta or cream cheese 1 slice reduced fat cheese ¼ cup reduced fat shredded cheese	½ cup cooked beans or lentils ¼  package of tofu or tempeh

PLANT BASED FAT:

1 Tbsp oil 2 Tbsp nuts 1 Tbsp nut butter 10 olives ¼ medium avocado 2 Tbsp 70% dark chocolate chips

FREE EXTRAS:

Spices Seasonings Natural zero calories sweeteners like Stevia

OPTIONS & VARIETIES

PRODUCE: fresh or frozen with no sugar or salt added

Vegetables:		Fruits:
Artichoke Arugula Asparagus Beets Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Cucumber Eggplant Endive	Green Beans Kale Mushrooms Onions Peas Peppers Romaine Snow Peas Spinach Squash Sugar Snap Peas Tomatoes Zucchini	Apples Apricots Bananas Blackberries Blueberries Cherries Cranberries Dates Figs Grapefruit Grapes Kiwi Mangos	Medjool dates Melons Oranges Papayas Peaches Pears Pineapple Plums Raspberries Strawberries Tangerines Watermelon

WHOLE GRAINS & STARCHES: ½ cup, deck of cards, ¼ of plate

Breads & Pastas:	Cereals, Grains, Seeds: ⅓ cup	Starches:
Whole Corn Tortillas Whole Grain Bread Whole Grain English        Muffin Quinoa Pasta Rye Whole Grain Pasta Whole Grain Pita	Barley  Brown Rice  Buckwheat  Bulgur  Kamut Millet  Oats Popcorn Kernels  Quinoa Spelt  Wild Rice Whole Grain Couscous	Beans Corn Lentils Parsnip Peas Potato Pumpkin – 1 cup Squash Varieties  Sweet Potato

PROTEIN : (Lean meats, beans, low/nonfat cheeses)

Meats:	Vegetarian:	Dairy:
Chicken Tuna Turkey Eggs/Egg Whites Salmon Shrimp	Beans Chickpeas Edamame Lentils Soymilk Tofu Tempeh	Nonfat Cottage Cheese Nonfat Greek Yogurt Nonfat Milk Nonfat Ricotta Cheese Reduced Fat Cheese

PLANT BASED FAT: (All nuts, seeds, & nut butters should be unsalted and unsweetened containing only the nut itself)

Nuts:	Produce:	Seeds:
Almonds Cashews Hazelnuts Peanuts Pecans Pine Nuts Pistachios Walnuts	Avocado Coconut Dark 70% Chocolate Olives Olive Oil	Chia Seeds Flaxseed Pumpkin Seeds Sesame Seeds Sunflower Seeds Tahini

Thai Yellow Curry Bowl

Vegetarian or Carnivor - pick your poison.

Ingredients

• Yellow Curry Paste
• Coconut milk or coconut cream, depending on how thick you want it
• Veggies galore. Literally ALL the veggies. Just throw 'em all in your pan. In order from longest to shortest cooking times of course.
• Optional:  Caulifredo Sauce to make even thicker/creamier

Today I used

• Broccoli
• Zucchini noodles
• Carrot shavings -  vegetable peeler
• Snow peas
• Cauliflower

I also wanted to add

• Bean sprouts
• Chicken, beef, or tofu
• Yellow squash
• Fresh basil
• Cilantro

Directions

1. Add a small amount of oil to the pan followed by curry paste
2. Add any aromatics like onions first
3. Add veggies in order from longest to shortest cooking times, sautee for a bit
4. Add coconut milk/creme to reach desired consistency - can be anywhere from a soup or a sauce
5. Add optional cauliflower alfredo sauce
6. Cook down for a while until all veggies are tender and have absorbed flavor. 
7. Take off heat and let sit for at least 20 minutes to impart flavor

Yellow Curry Paste

This paste is awesome. Its very easy to make, but it does take some time. It's extremely versatile in that you can use it in stir fry, pad thai, beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, vegetables, tofu, the list goes on and on and on.  Pretty much just add coconut milk!

So this recipe will definitely make more than you need for one meal. You will need to freeze the rest into an ice cube tray so that you can just pop one or two into the dish you are cooking when ever you like!

I love curry so I put it on everything! Don't be afraid to get creative!

Ingredients 

• 1 6 inch piece of fresh ginger
• 4 shallots
• 4 heads of garlic, as in the entire thing
• 1 chile serrano/jalepeno or more if you like a bit more spice
• ¼ cup of fresh cilantro
• lemon grass, fresh or from gourmet garden
• I finely chopped fresh lemon grass and slowly added to taste at the end
• chili pepper paste to taste 
• I used Gourmet Garden
• There's also Thai Red chili paste
• 2-3 tbsp turmeric
• 2-3 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp roasted ground coriander
• 2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Thinly slice ginger, drizzle with olive oil and place flat in an aluminum foil packet
3. Remove the outer layers of skin from the garlic and Chop the tops off of garlic, but keep the skins on everything
4. Drizzle garlic and shallots with olive oil (with skins) and individually wrap them in aluminum foil. 
5. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the ginger packet, and continue to bake the shallots and garlic for another 30 mintues
6. Combine everything in a food processor or blender. I've found that the easiest way to deal with the soft garlic is to pinch from the bottom of the head of garlic and squeeze the cloves out.
7. Portion out what you need for today
8. Freeze the rest in tablespoon portions in an ice cube tray. Freeze for a couple of hours, then place cubes in a freezer safe ziplock bag

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce - "Caulifredo"

You won't even miss the real thing!

I like using regular cow milk for this recipe because it doesn't really add too many calories, but it really makes up for the fact that this alfredo sauce is entirely cheese-less. I cut the milk with equal parts water - 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of milk - and it ends up being the same amount of calories as a cup of almond milk. Don't get me wrong, when I use almond milk it turns out delicious too! But the cow milk really takes this to a different level.

This goes really well with ANYTHING.

It's a dip, a sauce, a substitute for cream in recipes, etc.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk of choice
• I use 1/2 cup regular milk + 1/2 cup water
• or Almond Milk
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1-2 cups of Cauliflower, chopped (160 g) 
• dash of salt

This recipe really does not need it, but if you really must, you can add mozzarella cheese, just be mindful!

Directions:

1. Cut up cauliflower into small pieces
2. Combine everything in a small sauce pot
3. Boil everything together until cauliflower tender
4. Blend

Basil Pesto Baked Tofu

This is an interesting one because it is so versatile! Its lunch, dinner, snack, and even a salad topping. Today I ate it simply as you see above with a side of veggies. But in the past I've thrown it into veggie stir fry bowls, rice bowls, salads, curries, pad thai, ramen, salads, the list goes on.

Tofu is a blank canvas. The possibilities are endless. I love pesto, so that's what I did today. I bought a huge pack from Costco, so I'll play with it some more and see what I come up with!

Ingredients

• Firm tofu
• Basil Pesto Sauce

For the Basil Pesto Sauce

• Fresh Basil, from your basil plants if you're a boss
• Garlic, whole or chopped
• Olive Oil
• Parmesan Cheese
• Pine Nuts/Almonds/Hemp Seeds (whatever is on hand)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Drain the water from the tofu
4. Horizontally slice into 3 thinner layers
5. Set aside the amount of tofu that you need for today, and refrigerate the remaining tofu in a container with water.
6. Cut your tofu into 3 equal rectangles
7. Salt the tofu if desired and sandwich the tofu between two paper towels. Place a heavy can, or any other item you have on hand on top. This will help dry the tofu a little
8. Spread a small amount of pesto on each side of the tofu
9. Bake for 15 minutes on each side, possibly a little more depending on desired crispiness
   Note: The bottom side of the tofu will be browning, not the top.