9 Easy & Nutritious Go-To Meals

Dieting can be a little complicated.  We get bored and wander into the kitchen, or “eat our feelings” at times.  I don’t know about you, but when I wander into the kitchen with no plan or idea of what I’m going to eat ahead of time, I am highly likely to make choices that are beneath my nutritional standards… a nice way of saying I’m highly likely to eat junk food.

Without a plan, even the best diets will fall short.  With a little pre-planning, however, you’ll find yourself losing weight faster, by limiting trips to the kitchen and the grocery store!

Keep it Simple With the 9 Perfect Meals Concept

Choosing 3 favorite breakfasts, lunches and dinners that you can easily rotate through will help take the stress out of dieting.  The idea is pretty simple. Think through three delicious, nutritious breakfasts, lunches and dinners you already love. Improve them if needed by making sure there is a reasonable portion of protein, carbs and fats in each one. Then, create a simple doc on your phone or tablet with these 9 meals, the ingredients needed, and make them your go to meals.

Add all the ingredients you need to your shopping list each week. That way, you know you will always have everything you need to create these yummy, fulfilling, nutritionally dense meals.

The Basics

Once you decide on your 9-Meal plan for the week, take a minute to make a list of everything you’ll need to stick to that menu. Here are some ideas from Dave and Lisa that you may consider:

  • Eggs:  High in protein, versatile,  and virtually carb-less.
  • Dave’s Killer Bread:  Organic and healthy; found everywhere in grocery stores and Costco.  (Be sure to   keep it in the fridge if you don’t plan to use it up right away.)
  • Berries:  Keep a bag of frozen organic berries on hand.  They’re low in carbs, and they help get rid   of sugar cravings!
  • Bullet Proof Coffee (or a healthier alternative like Pero or Postum)
  • Nuts:  Go nuts over them…they’re a healthy form of natural fat and satisfy that need to crunch.
  • Beef Stew (see recipe attached):  This can be made ahead of time and used for several meals!   Super satisfying and loaded with vegetables and protein.
  • Cobb Salad:  Lots of room for variety here…load up on the veggies and any favorite proteins.  Just   go easy on the dressing!
  • Tuna Sandwiches
  • Salmon (or any fish you love)
  • Grilled Veggies

Dave and Lisa break down their own favorites with lots of meal and ingredient ideas here:

Meal Mode

Here are some of the recipes mentioned in the video from Dave and Lisa. If any of these resonate with you, feel free to steal them wholesale! Copy and paste and use them to your hearts content. Or, modify out something you don’t like and replace with something you love. Remember, these 9 meals must be YOURS and they must be TASTY!

Breakfast Options:

Eggs, salsa and toast

Eggs (protein and fat) 1, 2 or 3 eggs depending on your situation. If you are on a diet, probably one, if you are in muscle increasing mode and are an active person, 3 makes more sense, you get the idea.
Dave’s Killer Bread (found at Costco or any grocery store), toasted to break down gluten, and with just a bit of butter. That’s real butter, not some fake petroleum product 😉
Lots of fresh salsa on eggs (Veggies)

Ultimate Smoothie

Carbs, fats and protein, lots of veggies.
-2.5 cups of water
-Spinach: Heavy on the spinach  Tip: Freeze it!
-Apple: Filling, low on the glycemic index, and of course, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
-Optional: additional fruit, like bananas, oranges, or any other fruit of your choice. (Banana and orange is a nice flavor combination)
-Handful of organic berries
-Healthy fat: coconut oil (1 T.)
-Chia seeds, or hemp hearts, or flax seed, 1 T.
-protein powder Add this after smoothie is blended.
-Optional: Extra greens powder,  especially if you are struggling to get enough veggies with lunch and dinner.

Bullet Proof Coffee (or coffee substitute)

If you are only eating 2 meals per day, but are hungry before your first meal, this is an excellent third option that you can drink mid-morning to give you energy, and keep your body in a fat burning mode until your first meal. Notice it’s very low on carbs.
This coffee will give you a bigger buzz than any other cup and keep you full for hours.
Black Brewed Coffee (2 cals) 1 x 8-12 Oz (substitute Caflib or Pero if you aren’t a coffee drinker)
Pasture Butter – Grass Fed Pasture Raised Organic (82 cals) .5-1 Tablespoon
Coconut oil (virgin) (90 cals) .5-1  tbsp
Almond Butter Almond Butter (71 cals) .5-1 x Tbsp
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and tiny bit of real maple syrup

Lunch Ideas

Dave’s Beef Stew

I pre-make 3-4 liters of this in an Instant Pot, and have lunch or dinner ready to go for 4-5 meals, depending who else in my house eats it.  Everyone loves this!
 Ingredients:
  • 32 ounces tenderloin, cut (or stew meat)
  • 4 onions chopped
  • 8 Yukon gold potatoes chopped
  • 5-6  carrots, sliced
  • 4 cups beef bone broth, organic or homemade. Or 4 cups water and 2 T. Bisto, or 2 T. Better Than Bouillon
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil, ghee, or lard
  • 4 tsp.  sea salt (or more to taste)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp. Oregano
  • 1 tsp. Basil
  • 1 tsp. Paprika
  • 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 tsp. Rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp. Pepper
  • 2  T. minced garlic, 4 fresh cloves or bottled
  • 3 T. Worcestershire sauce or to taste
  • 4 T. arrowroot flour (normal flour if you don’t have arrowroot.)
  • Optional: sweet potato cubes, parsnips or turnips

 

  1. Turn your Instant Pot onto “Sautee” and put in your oil and tenderloin, and chopped onion.
  2. Sautee until the meat with the onions, then toss in your remaining veggies
  3. Stir to combine then add in the broth and seasonings
  4. Stir once more then choose “Manual” on your instant pot, and choose 12 minutes cook time
  5. Make sure your steam valve is closed and let it cook as indicated by the display
  6. Once cooking is complete, release the pressure, open the lid, and carefully ladle out about 1/4 of the liquid and combine that in a small bowl with the arrowroot flour
  7. Add the slurry back into the pot and stir to thicken
  8. At this time you may taste the stew and see if you’d like to add in additional salt; it is better to start low and add rather than over-salting  from the beginning
  9. At this time you may serve the stew or leave it on the “Warm” setting until ready to enjoy

–Tuna sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bread, salad with 1 T. apple cider vinegar and one T.  olive oil for dressing is another great lunch option.

On the Go Healthy Choices:

-Texas Roadhouse: Order the salmon, sweet potato and grilled veggies. Specifically
request NO butter (they will add it even if you say steamed…). Enjoy!
-Olive Garden: Order the Apricot Chicken with grilled asparagus and the
Minestrone soup. Keep the breadsticks off the table so you aren’t tempted. They are NOT
worth it!
-Café Rio, Costa Vida, Bajio: Order the big green SALAD…minus the tortilla. Flavor
it with the clean chicken (not pork), extra cilantro, mango salsa, etc. Easy on the guacamole, skip the cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips. Order dressing on the side and only just dip your fork and then eat the greens.
-Subway Sandwich: Order the whole grain bread or the Low Carb Bread.   Lean protein like grilled chicken or turkey or ham. NO dressed up meats (tuna, chicken with sauces, etc.) Easy on the cheese. If ordering cheese…order the lightest kind (provolone, mozzarella). Heavy on ALL veggies. Light on ALL dressings. If serious about losing weight…use only 1⁄2 the bread and make it an open faced sandwich.

-Wendy’s: Apple pecan chicken salad is an ok choice. Be aware…roasted pecans and dressing add an additional 230 calories (salad is 350 calories.) Grilled chicken sandwich…no dressings and extra lettuce and tomato. Small Chili (no cheese) has 220 calories, 7 grams fat and 18 grams of protein.

-Anywhere you go you should be able to find grilled chicken or fish, steamed veggies and salads (watch the dressings, etc.) If you are careful and aware you will be fine!

Crackers, cheese, nuts,  and hummus

 8-11 healthy crackers
One whole pepper, sliced
One serving guacamole, one hummus
Small piece of cheese (no more than 2 ounces)
half a cup of nuts, or other protein of your choice. Small piece of meat, can of sardines, protein shake.
-Dip the pepper into the guac and hummus, delicious! The cheese adds flavor and fat.

Dinner Options

Most traditional dinner options work, if they include meat, a starchy veggie like potatoes (no bigger than the size of your closed fist in size), and veggies or a salad. Just make sure that the meat, carbs, and salad are good quality and go easy on the dressing! Choose the healthiest option you can.

Chicken, potatoes, salad
Beef, sweet potatoes, steamed veggies
Fish, rice, salad

(You get the idea? This list is pretty flexible and easy to work with.) Go easy on the dressings (fat) because the meat has fat too.

A cool tip about Salmon if you have an Instant Pot!
From frozen!
One cup of liquid (¾ cup water, ¼ cup lemon juice) into the bottom of the Instant Pot, then place the steamer insert above it. In go three frozen salmon fillets, topped with a handful of dill and a slice of lemon on top of each.

Lock the lid, hit the “Manual” button, and set it for five minutes. As soon as the timer beeps,  use the Quick Release method to let out the pressure. (Make sure you keep your hand out of the way of the steam… it comes out fast!) And that’s it!

We like to add extra dill and lemon at the table, and serve the salmon alongside whole grain brown rice, and with steamed veggies.

Cobb Salad
Chicken, breast meat only. (693 cals) 1 cup, chopped or diced
Iceberg Lettuce (89 cals)  1/2 Head
blue cheese crumbles (300 cals)  2 tbsp
Roma Tomato (Clone) (71 cals) 1 medium
Avocado (384 cals) 1 x Whole sliced
Green onion (12 cals)  1 stalk, chopped
Ranch Low Fat Salad Dressing (640 cals) 2 Tbsp
Egg (w/ USDA) (210 cals)  1 Large sliced hard boiled
Bacon (270 cals)  2 strips chopped
Meal Description:
This salad is a full meal all by itself!
 Healthy Ranch Dressing: Mix together the following: ¼ cup Olive Oil based Mayo,  ¼ cup Coconut Milk,  ½ tsp Dill,  ½ tsp Garlic Powder, ¼ tsp Onion Powder,  ¼ tsp Chives, 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice. Optional: ½ tsp Parsley,   ½ tsp Thyme,  Sea Salt,  and Pepper (to taste).

Outback Style Steak with Guacamole

1 LIME, (20 cals) (2″ dia)
Onion (32 cals)  1 cup, chopped
Beef, Top Sirloin, Separable Lean And Fat, Trimmed To 1/4″ Fat, Select, Cooked, Broiled, or Grilled
PAPRIKA  1 tsp.
Sea Salt  1/4 tsp.
Spice: Black Pepper (10 cals) 1 tsp.
Avocados  3 Whole
Cayenne Pepper 1 tsp.
Cilantro 1 tsp.
Sea Salt 1/4 tsp.
Cilantro  1/4 Cup
Turmeric (4 cals)  1 tsp.
2 Plum/Roma Tomatoes  (60 cals)  1 fruit
Derlea Foods – Minced Garlic (10 cals)  1 tsp.
Lisy Onion Powder Onion Powder,  1 Teaspoon
Lisy Garlic Powder Garlic Powder, 1 Teaspoon

“The Rub”

This flavorful steak rub will give you a piece of meat that will go perfectly with a mixed green salad and guacamole!
The following is enough for 4 top sirloin steaks or 4 pieces rib eye steak:
6 teaspoons sea salt
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmericDirections: Mix together seasoning ingredients and rub into each side of steak. Let sit for 30 minutes to bring steaks to room temperature.  Dip each side of the steak in olive or sunflower oil, and grill steaks on a large frying pan over medium-high heat, about 60% on the first side, then turn and finish a quick fry or grill on the second side.   Press down on steak with spatula or tongs to sear the edges. Turn only once after cooking the steak on the first side. Let sit in the pan on the counter for 20 minutes to absorb the juices.Guacamole (makes 4 servings): 3 avocados – peeled, pitted, and mashed;  1 lime, juiced; 1 teaspoon salt;  1/2 cup diced onion;  3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro;  2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced; 1 teaspoon minced garlic;  1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions: In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper.  Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.  Serve steak and guacamole with mixed green salad and olive oil/vinaigrette dressing.

It’s easy to see that the “Go-To’s” are simple, fast and delicious!  Dieting does not have to be difficult, and when you have bullet-proof options to choose from, life suddenly gets a little easier!

Download this episode here