I get so many questions from all of you asking what I personally eat for meals and snacks, along with which brands I choose. As you may have noticed, I’m not ashamed to share my eating habits and strategies with you! Please note that everything I share with you is based on my own decision and liking; I am not getting reimbursed to promote specific brands.
At every meal and snack, I always focus on incorporating all three macronutrient groups: protein, carbohydrate and healthy fat. The combination of the three is what contributes to satiety, energy, balanced blood sugar levels, decreased cravings and supported metabolism. Many of you wonder if I eat Paleo — the truth is I follow many concepts that are in line with the Paleo/Primal approach, but I do still incorporate some dairy and VERY occasionally, grains. I mainly focus on eating real, whole foods, and being sure to include plenty of healthy fats and protein while sticking with nutrient-dense carbs (mainly vegetables and fruits).
Breakfast
Nearly every day, I eat eggs for breakfast. A typical reaction to this is: “Don’t eggs raise your cholesterol!? How many eggs do you eat each week!?” These are common concerns, but the truth is that dietary cholesterol does NOT raise cholesterol. It’s also true that the majority of nutrients and healthy fat are found in the yolk of the egg. Therefore, I will never throw out the egg yolks, nor purchase any type of egg white or fake egg product. And to answer the question, I eat a couple dozen eggs each week 🙂
For breakfast the eggs are my protein, some type of vegetable is my carbohydrate (spinach, mixed vegetables or 1/2 of a sweet potato), and I fry my eggs and veggies in a healthy fat (such as coconut oil, olive oil or grass-fed butter).
On the days I don’t eat eggs for breakfast (rarely), I either mix full fat yogurt with protein powder and top it with slivered almonds and fresh berries, or I will reheat a couple of my Protein Pancakes or a serving of Egg Bake (pictured). (I like to whip up a big batch of both of these on the weekend and keep ’em in the fridge or freezer for quick breakfasts on rushed mornings.) For a little added nutritional punch, I like to add ground flax seeds and chia seeds to my breakfast every day regardless of whether it’s eggs, a balanced smoothie or protein pancakes.
Lunch
My lunches tend to be pretty basic. I like to bring dinner leftovers (easy and balanced!) or tuna or egg salad (made with real mayonnaise, of course). My carbohydrate source tends to be non-starchy vegetables (like broccoli and cauliflower) raw or cooked, and maybe a half sweet potato or some fresh fruit. My healthy fat is an avocado (spread on my tuna sandwich or eaten out of the shell with a spoon! Seriously). An easy salad idea is fresh greens with shrimp or salmon and a full fat dressing (pictured.) If it’s on the menu at wherever I am at lunch time, I may order baked fish cooked in real butter with a side of veggies or a salad with plenty of protein (like shrimp or chicken) and healthy fats (like olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado).
Dinner
Dinner is where I like to mix it up and have some fun. I love experimenting with new recipes. Lately, as I’ve been getting much busier with balancing all of you (my clients 🙂 ), I’ve been trying to slow down the pace of my life, and in doing so, have set a goal of cooking at least a few meals each week.
When I’m not cooking a new dish, an easy fall-back dinner is tossing a piece of salmon (protein) on the grill or in the oven and drizzling it with olive oil (healthy fat) and serving it with a side of steamed veggies. Another quick dinner for a busy night is frying up a salmon patty (protein) in coconut oil (healthy fat), and sweet potato (carbohydrate), and topping the burger with avocado slices (healthy fat) and the sweet potato with butter (healthy fat).
Snacks
Snack times are a few of my favorite times of the day! I get excited about having healthy balanced snacks between meals, not only because I like to eat, but because they give me energy 🙂 I eat a morning, afternoon and bedtime snack.
Snacks keep my metabolism revved up and my blood sugars stable, giving me brain power to focus and make it through the day without being hungry. My protein at snacks is typically a hard-boiled egg, full fat cottage cheese, or, if I don’t have tuna or egg salad for lunch, I’ll bring a half-cup serving of one of these for snack time. I love snacking on nuts too, so often times I will have a handful or two of nuts for my healthy fat, or a couple spoonfuls of natural peanut butter. My carbohydrate source is always fruit, veggies or yogurt. An easy, already-balanced snack is full-fat Greek yogurt, because it contains carbohydrate, healthy fat and protein. I add Dynamic Greens (a stevia-based whole foods powder) for flavor and a little extra nutrition (antioxidants, probiotic, fiber). Strawberry-Kiwi is my favorite flavor 🙂
Sometimes for snacks, I even use a dinner leftover and re-heat it for a snack (such as the pictured stir-fry with shrimp and veggies). My dinners are already balanced with carbohydrate, protein and fat, and it’s easy to throw together a cup serving into a tupperware!
Thanks for sharing.
Looks very well. I actually have to loose about 50 pounds … so I guess your diet will be a good start/!
Sounds yummi!! Why carbs and fat before bed? I knew you had to be on an empty stomach or that you should have some protein, if you feel you need to eat something.
Great question! The main reason I don’t encourage protein right before bed is that protein metabolism can interfere with sleep. However, carbohydrates and fat prior to bed will balance the blood sugar levels and help your body burn fat allllll night long! 🙂
Thank-you for sharing! Quick question – why do you recommend eating before bed? I always thought one should avoid eating in the late evening so the carbs/healthy fats don’t get converted to fat as the body is sleeping instead of moving.
The truth is that it’s actually beneficial for metabolism if you DO eat right before bed! (but we’re not talking about having a big meal… just a small portion of healthy fat with a small portion of healthy carbs.) The main reason I don’t encourage protein right before bed is that protein metabolism can interfere with sleep. However, carbohydrates and fat prior to bed will balance the blood sugar levels and help your body burn fat allllll night long! 🙂
Hello Dietitian Casie! I am just curious. Is there something wrong with having whole grains as a major part of one’s diet? Thank you!
Unfortunately, yes. Grains, whole or not, contain anti-nutrients, like lectin and phytates which actually make it so that we can’t absorb minerals and nutrients. When selecting your carbohydrate choice at meals and snacks, I always recommend choosing vegetables first, then fruit. You’ll get a lot of metabolism supporting, brain boosting nutrients that grain cannot provide. We don’t need grains to survive, nor are they good for our bodies or waistlines.
I love love seeing all the awesome food you eat! I must say when I eat 3 eggs plus veggies for breakfast that I do not need a morning snack. Do you feel hungry before you eat each snack? Or is it more of a protective measure to keep your insulin levels regulated? Or do you have a later lunch? If I have lunch at noon I don’t need a snack, but if I push it to 1-130 than I think a snack would be granted.
I do have some fat loss goals and am a bit worried about having too many calories. I’ve been focused on eating real food since March and haven’t seen dramatic results. I read your post about slow progress and I think I need to be more patient. But when you come from the calorie counting world it is really hard not to see obvious results in 1-2 weeks.
Thanks much for all the helpful tips!
Allison
Hi cassie, what’s your verdict on quinoa? Thanks for sharing all your wisdom-really makes so much sense but I’ve come from years of calorie and fat counting-what a shift!!
Hi Kira! You’re welcome and quinoa is addressed in FAQ question #2 of this post: http://www.dietitiancassie.com/pfc-balanced-eating-part-3b-faq/
Thanks! Will keep that in mind – so will be cooking up a batch of baked eggs and protein pancakes this weekend for breakfasts during the week.
Hi Cassie, Is it necessary to eat every 3 hours for weight loss? If I eat a breakfast like you recommend I am sure I would not be hungry before lunch.
Generally it’s what we find works best for our clients to keep their metabolism supported. It really depends on your personal health history, sugar sensitivity and extent of your weight loss goal. It’s not about eating because you are hungry, it’s about staying ahead of your hunger and keeping your blood sugar levels balanced to best support your metabolism.
Would love to tailor this to you and help you find out what works best for your body so that you can reach your weight loss goal! Shoot an email to [email protected] for details! 🙂