More meal planning ideas for a 2000 calorie diet

Recently, I wrote a column highlighting a sample 2000 calorie meal plan.  The plan was for one or two days, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  Since meal ideas and meal planning are some of the hottest topics in nutrition today, I would like to offer another day’s worth of menu ideas on the same 2000 calorie meal plan level. 

 

Variety is important to optimal wellness, so it is vital that you change up your eating routine regularly.  This will help improve absorption of all the different nutrients and ensure that you are not deficient in any, either.  Plus, if you eat the same thing day after day, you are likely to get burned out on certain flavors and then may even lose interest in eating healthfully.

 

So, here is another’s day’s worth of meal and snack ideas.  Since there were a few alternatives offered already, you can now mix up the choices offered in my previous post with these selections and spread it out across several days.

 

Breakfast: 2 scrambled egg whites with 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese on top, a whole grain English muffin with 1 tablespoon of fruit preserves or honey (or 2 tsp peanut butter), ½ cup of fresh fruit (such as a tangerine or plum) and water.

 

Snack: Chocolate or regular milk box (you can buy multipacks of organic cows or soy milk at the grocery store) with 5 natural animal crackers (i.e. Harris Teeter Naturals Organic Vanilla Animal Crackers)

 

Lunch: Mixed greens salad with 1 cup fresh vegetables on top (i.e. carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.), ½ cup black beans or chick peas, 1.5 oz feta cheese (try the Athenos Reduced Fat Crumbled Feta), 4-5 medium boiled or grilled shrimp or estimate about 2 ounces (adding the shrimp is optional, but helps to add more protein; alternative=chicken/deli meat/tofu), 2 tbsp light vinaigrette and whole grain roll (such as Alexia whole wheat frozen rolls).  Drink ½ cup 100% juice mixed with water, seltzer or unsweetened decaf iced tea.

 

Snack: 1 cup strawberries or 1 peach.  Drink water.

 

Dinner: 1 cup whole grain pasta, ½ cup tomato sauce, ½ cup cooked vegetables in the sauce (such as onions, mushrooms, peppers), 3 oz sautéed chicken, 2 tbsp mozzarella cheese on top, ½ cup cooked broccoli or a side salad on the side with 1 tsp olive oil, slice of whole grain garlic toast and milk or water to drink.

 

Dessert:  1/2 oz dark chocolate (such as Dagoba or Green & Black’s) or ¾ cup lowfat ice cream or a lowfat frozen ice cream bar or frozen fruit bar

 

The menu options above promote natural, whole foods, rather than a lot of processed, pre-packaged foods.  However, if you have trouble finding time to prepare the options above, there are some pre-cooked meals at your grocery store or at local restaurants that could serve as alternatives to home cooked meals.  For instance, if you prefer not to make your own chicken & pasta meal, you could purchase a frozen dinner.  Watch out for added sodium, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and added artificial ingredients.  Kashi or Amy’s Organic frozen meals are two healthy brand choices.  Several others exist, too.  At lunchtime, you could purchase a fast food salad such as Wendy’s oriental chicken salad or Chick fil A’s chargrilled chicken salad.  Both come with healthy toppings such as nuts – be sure to include those on your salad and select a lowfat dressing.  Try not to forget the carbohydrate source at lunch if you select a salad to-go.  Examples include a crouton packet, small roll or fruit.

 

You can make mealtime healthful and balanced.  It just takes learning the ingredients and a little practice!

Sample 2000 calorie meal plan

Looking for a healthy meal plan?  The first thing you need to understand is how much energy your body needs to function properly. 

Calories are units of energy.  When you read a food label, you can determine how many calories a certain food has per serving.  Calories are meant to be a positive thing – giving you the nutrients your body needs to function.  However, too often, they get a bad rap.  While it is a bad idea to count calories day to day and be very strict with your eating, it is important to understand that you need a certain amount of calories every day – eating more calories than your estimated needs to maintain your current weight can cause weight gain, while eating less calories than your current estimated needs can cause weight loss.  Depending on whether you want to maintain, gain or lose weight, an appropriate meal plan is out there for you.  A registered dietitian can help you to personalize your own plan.

Here is an idea of a sample 2000 calorie meal plan for one or two days this week.  A 2000 calorie meal plan would be appropriate for many adolescent females, small stature young adult women, middle and older aged women, young boys, adolescent lightly active boys, sedentary older men and also some individuals trying to lose weight.  Do not let these guidelines be your only guidance for your meal plan.  Many things affect your calorie level, including age, gender, height, physical activity level, pregnancy and illnesses.

Sample Meal Plan:

Breakfast:  1.5 cups Special K/Nature’s Path Flax Plus/Kashi Heart to Heart cereal, ¾ -1 cup milk or yogurt, medium banana or 1 cup berries, water (black coffee and unsweetened tea have no calories – watch the caffeine!)

Snack: 4-6 oz light or unsweetened regular yogurt and either 2 tbsp dried fruit or granola; alternately, a piece of string cheese and ½ serving of whole grain crackers

Lunch: Subway 6” sub (“6 grams of fat or less” selection with Italian, wheat or honey oat bread and lots of vegetables), optional: add 2 triangles of provolone or cheddar cheese, 1 tbsp light mayo (ask for it on the side or you might get too much!), optional side of yogurt/Baked Lays/raisins/apple slices, water

Snack: Whole grain granola bar such as Kashi chewy or Nature Valley; alternately, an apple or orange with 6 almonds

Dinner: 4oz grilled salmon/tuna/other fish (marinated in your favorite marinade), ¾ – 1 cup brown rice (such as the Success Rice microwaveable single serve cups), 1 cup steamed vegetables, 1 cup mixed greens salad with 1 tbsp light vinaigrette

Snack/Dessert: ½ cup homemade lowfat pudding with ½ cup fruit; alternately, you could select 1 homemade dessert item such as a brownie or cookie

Using the meal plan above, you can create your own meal and snack ideas, following similar serving sizes.  For instance, maybe you prefer pasta to rice.  Or, perhaps you are a vegetarian and would prefer selecting tofu or beans instead of fish at dinner.  No matter what your taste preferences, try to select whole, natural foods whenever possible, as opposed to refined or highly processed foods.  The best meal plan for you should be realistic, convenient and healthy!