Daily Menu, February 19, 2016

1500 Calories. Gluten Free. Dairy Free. Low Cost Low Calorie Menu.

Breakfast today was awesome! Black beans and potatoes are absolutely amazing for breakfast. I am going to remember this and put it into rotation. They were filling, delicious and cheap, cheap, cheap. It was so filling that I couldn’t even finish it all. I was busy all day today, which is usual for my Fridays. I had to have a quick and easy lunch so I used up leftovers and added some PB&J rice cakes to fill in the empty places. I would have preferred to go with more veggies for lunch, but needs must.

For dinner I had delicious chicken tacos. I will try to share the recipe tomorrow afternoon. Can’t do it tonight, too tired. I will tell you though, 2 tacos is not especially filling. I added extra veggies to fill my tummy, but in the future I think I will use the chicken filling for quesadillas instead. More chicken that way. Protein is filling and chicken is low calorie and cheap, so there is no reason for me to be making my servings of chicken on the small side. Better to plan on enough chicken to fill me up all the way so I don’t feel deprived.

On the down side, planning and writing down my meals still stinks. It’s a terrible chore and I am doing my best to be grateful the ability to do so, instead of resenting the dickens out of it. On the upside, 2 of my 9 pounds (probably water weight) are now history. It’s encouraging that doing the work is doing its job. Even if it’s water weight. For the most part I have not been hungry. Praise God! I’m going to hit one of my 12-step meetings tomorrow to keep me on track. I believe the work of recording and planning my food is worth it in the long run. I don’t believe it firmly yet, still have a nagging doubt now and then, but I am going to keep doing it. I have faith that it will work and that I will begin to lose weight again if I stick to it. Good luck to all my readers who are on their own weight loss journeys. I know it’s not easy. But the effort is worth the work.

Breakfast

• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1 teaspoon margarine
• 1/2 serving Black Beans & Potatoes
• 1 tablespoon Daiya Dairy-free Vegan Cheese
• 2 tablespoons salsa
• 1/4 cup soymilk
• 3/4 cup coffee
• 1/2 cup orange juice, from frozen concentrate

Lunch

• 1 serving Japanese Noodles
•  caramel rice cakes
• 2 teaspoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sugar strawberry preserves
• 1 cup soymilk

Dinner

• 1 serving Carrot Banana Salad
• 1 serving Chicken Taco Filling
• 2 each celery stalks
• 1/3 cup nonfat refried beans

Miscellaneous

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• Herbal Tea, Iced Tea & Lemon Water

Nutrition

Per Serving: 1513 Calories; 46g Fat (26.0% calories from fat); 77g Protein; 216g Carbohydrate; 32g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 1836mg Sodium.

Calories By Percentage: 26% Fat; 55% Carbohydrate; 19% Protein.

Exchanges: 8 Grain(Starch); 6-1/2 Lean Meat; 6 Vegetable; 2-1/2 Fruit; 7-1/2 Fat; 1-1/2 Other Carbohydrates.