building a healthy meal plan

[urbankid12]

I'm currently taking a break from Minivan life from after a year, but I have been working to build a healthy meal plan diet that I can take back into the minivan for when I'm ready to hit the road again..

So far I have been meal prepping my lunches twice a week I cook brown rice, frozen broccoli, and boil chicken and make 3 meals each time. (7th-day I'm thinking I'll have rice, eggs, and tomatoes )

one snack is an apple, the other snack I have been blending frozen berries and frozen bananas I freeze

I'm also wanting to get into juicing carrots and maybe cucumbers too and making my own healthy juices adding ginger sounds delicious oh and maybe beets too cause I like the taste of them in my juices... Just don't want to pay the 7 bucks for a small bottle they charge at health stores!

I have been trying to have a salad for dinner mixed greens with olive oil and vinegar on top for dressing but I have been having a hard time making that habit stick.

Plus my breakfast I think I want to have 2 hard-boiled eggs, maybe oatmeal with a few berries and milk too? I typically drink a lot of coffee for breakfast since I work overnights right now..

Not sure how else I can improve my diet on the cheap... any advice would be greatly apricated!

I want to build a solid diet that I can fit into minivan life when I hit the road. weekly or every other week grocery trips are ideal. I think since I only have a minivan weekly trips would be best. I love whole milk with my coffee and just get the flavored coffee (like hazelnut coffee bags) and I don't add anything else to them. Since I don't have healthcare and I'm in my mid 30's it's critical I develop a diet that is super healthy so I don't increase my chance of health-related issues more than I ready have...

If there is anyone who lives a very healthy diet any information would be helpful. I have found that since I have been improving my diet I am better able to control my eating portions and I feel much better too! I never learned about a healthy diet before so I feel as if I'm learning this for the first time. Granted I have a bachelors degree and I learned about healthy eating but I never learned about what a REAL complete diet looks like. I mean sure eat your veggies but that's just one puzzle piece to a complete diet. What is the whole puzzle look like? What is a complete diet of healthy eating like? :huh:

I wonder if other people struggle to understand this as well, or maybe it's just me..

Plus, it needs to be realistic to be able to fit into a minivan lifestyle. I think I could meal prep my lunches from inside my minivan, or cook at the park during warmer days and prepair those 3 lunch meals there twice a week. Juicing and blending can be USB devices ( I have a usb blender that works ok long as the berries have time to dethaw) but if I could also prep said smoothies and juices on the same lunch meal prep days then that might mean it's even more realistic to make it all fit?

Does anyone else in Minivan life, or even van life relate to trying to eat super healthy while living the lifestyle? When I lived minivan life I didn't eat healthy at all.. I'm hoping next time will be different.

 

[mattvei]

I too am switching nutrition lifestyles. What has been the most reliable information for me over the hundreds that I have gone through are two books by a Dr. Michael Greger who also has a website called nutritionfacts.org. He was the resource that Oprah turned to in her defense against the Texas Ranchers lawsuit over her comments on burgers, so you know he's been vetted through the wazoo. He's a straight shooter and backs up everything he says with peer reviewed scientific articles. plus he donates any proceeds from the sales of his materials to charities so he's not in it for the bucks. Dig deep on him and I think you will find the information that you are looking for. You can probably find his books via the Libby app on your phone available through your local library if you have a library card. If not get one. Plus it's cheaper eating

 

[Morgana]

For what healthy eating is -- maybe you already know enough! Keep it simple, or at least start with the simplest and most important things. If you want to read more, one good (not perfect) starting point would be https://www.myplate.gov/. Or this American Heart Association advice, which just gives a good list of general principles. You can always get more ambitious once you've mastered the basics, if you want to.

For good and cheap nutritious recipes, try Good and Cheap (https://www.leannebrown.com/cookbooks/) (the PDF is free).

I got some very good advice here in August on a similar topic, so you might want to check the forums. I wasn't looking for long-term/full-time solutions, but some of those ideas were given by experienced vandwellers and are probably perfect for your goals. Of all the good suggestions I received then, the one that has stuck the most is crispbread -- nutritious, filling, tastes pretty good, and pairs with a lot of foods. I love it with peanut butter and jalapeños, foods that probably also travel pretty well.

Other advice I've seen for people (like me) struggling to eat more healthy is go ahead and treat yourself to the "convenience" vegetables that area already prepared and ready to eat. Years later I'm still addicted to baby carrots and grape tomatoes. They're also pretty good for eating in a car.

To increase your chances of success, keep it as simple and easy, and appealing, as possible.
Luck!

 

[skyl4rk]

No cook lunch:

Mix 1 can refried beans with 1 can diced tomato with jalopeno peppers to make a bean dip. Eat with triscuit crackers.

This lasts two or three days for me, so mix it in a tupperware type bowl with a top.

No cook Muesli breakfast:

Mix 4 parts oats with 3 parts chopped dates, 2 parts roasted unsalted sunflower seeds, 1 part chopped walnuts. Eat dry or add water or milk, as you prefer. For me, one serving is about a half cup to three quarters cup.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I'm currently taking a break from Minivan life from after a year, but I have been working to build a healthy meal plan diet that I can take back into the minivan for when I'm ready to hit the road again..

So far I have been meal prepping my lunches twice a week I cook brown rice, frozen broccoli, and boil chicken and make 3 meals each time.  (7th-day I'm thinking I'll have rice, eggs, and tomatoes ) 

one snack is an apple, the other snack I have been blending frozen berries and frozen bananas I freeze  

I'm also wanting to get into juicing carrots and maybe cucumbers too and making my own healthy juices adding ginger sounds delicious oh and maybe beets too cause I like the taste of them in my juices...  Just don't want to pay the 7 bucks for a small bottle they charge at health stores!

I have been trying to have a salad for dinner mixed greens with olive oil and vinegar on top for dressing but I have been having a hard time making that habit stick.  

Plus my breakfast I think I want to have 2 hard-boiled eggs, maybe oatmeal with a few berries and milk too?  I typically drink a lot of coffee for breakfast since I work overnights right now.. 

Not sure how else I can improve my diet on the cheap... any advice would be greatly apricated! 

  I mean sure eat your veggies but that's just one puzzle piece to a complete diet.  What is the whole puzzle look like?  What is a complete diet of healthy eating like?  :huh:

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Something went wrong there, anyways there is no puzzle fruit and veggies, that’s it. I second Dr Michael Greggers book, “ How not to die” and keeping up with his pod casts he is always exploring new research. Another book is John Robbins Diet for a new planet and his internet pieces with his son Ocean. If you are a non believer  and need more proof the “China studies” is a great piece of research on diet that took place over several decades. Good luck

 

[JDelete]

flying kurbmaster,
Your comment about hard boiled eggs and oatmeal resonates with me. While I haven't spent as much extended time out as it seems your have, and I am still refining my food routine, very early on my routine in the morning became two hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, and coffee. I want the least amount of hassle and dish cleanup and this works out well for that.

I usually eat a can of sardines or smoked herring with crackers and a slice of bread for a lunch. In my mind, could be wrong, but with all the omega stuff in these it seems healthy. I always get the ones in olive oil or water.

A banana or two and a couple of apples during the day.

Lunch meat—turkey or chicken (the more healthy brands if I can find them) on a couple of slices of bread with a slice of cheese finds its way into my daily routine.

For a treat, I have a bag of peanut M&Ms but try to limit the portion size (notice I said "try" lol).

I might have another hard boiled egg in the evening along with another banana and an apple.

I also have various snack crackers and what not for the occasional munchies.

While this is not perfect and I still need to refine it more, it did work well for me. I felt better and my "buddha belly" did slim down quite a bit.

Oh, sometimes if I am wanting to mix things up a bit, I will make some basmati rice and put a portion in a bowl and dump a can of sardines over it. Mix it up and eat it. I save the remaining rice in the fridge and will eat it cold the next day.

I guess I am also an "eat to live" type and not a "live to eat" person so that factors into my diet.

My goal is to achieve the best diet that keeps me healthy (not implying I have achieved it) with the least amount of dishes cleanup, etc. (less water usage, soap cleanup, and all that hassle).

 

[JDelete]

Oops, did I reply to the wrong person?

 

[flying kurbmaster]

You sure did. I doubt you would agree with my diet after hearing yours,

 

[JDelete]

Well, please do tell. I am interested in new adventures!

 

[skyl4rk]

beans, greens, fruit, whole grain, nuts

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

My main meal of the day is usually a large salad.  I can store enough veggies in a 2 cu.ft. refrigerator for 2 weeks.
I add orange, strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries to my oil and vinegar dressing for variety.  Lots of recipes online.

For me eating healthy boils down to three things:

1. Good balance of fruits, veggies, protein, fats,
2. Minimize starches,
3. Avoid processed foods as much as possible, especially heavily processed starch.

I eat the same diet on the road and in a S&B.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I eat the same diet on the road and in a S&B.

Same here, nothing changes other then I toast less often, so I keep my bread fresher and eat more granola in the mornings.

 

[crofter]

Drink more water. If you drink the water before meals you will be satisfied with less food.

Portion control, 4 ounces is a small amount.

Have some foods that you crave. Follow a small portion of the craving food with a tall drink of water. You can use electrolyte flavors to increase your desire for the water.
-crofter

 

[wolfv]

What is a complete diet of healthy eating like? :huh:

You're asking the right question.
The first step is to actually know what a healthy eating looks like.

Whole-food plant-base (WFPB) is the healthiest diet for humans: vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, and spices.
The WFPB diet is backed by credible scientists, institutions, and certificate programs for health professionals.
Here is a partial list of nutrition researchers that advocate the WFPB diet.
All of them have authored multiple peer-reviewed research papers listed on PubMed.

Here is the Expert Consensus on Healthy Diet.

flying kurbmaster and mattvei mentioned Dr. Michael Greger. A very good source if you like science. nutritionfacts.org video format is Dr. Greger reading directly from the peer-reviewed literature. Each video page has transcripts and links to sources cited.

The best practical book for how to follow a WFPB diet is "The Starch Solution" by Dr. John McDougall.

I have been eating WFPB for 3 years.

You will need a 12-volt fridge and a camp stove.
12V FRIDGE OPTIONS by CheapRVliving

Good luck on your adventure.

 

[mpruet]

A lot depends on your current health and existing chronic conditions. It’s best to discuss with your doctor before starting any diet plan that might be proposed here. I’m not saying that any of these are bad, but a lot depends on what your current conditions might be.

As an example - I’m diabetic and because of that I have to avoid foods which are rich in carbohydrates. Why? - because the body converts carbs into sugar and with type-2 diabetes the sugar will remain - and build up in the blood. If I were to eat most fruits, my blood sugar will increase. Breads, potatoes, most cereals, etc. are big no-nos.

My breakfast will usually consist of eggs, bacon and/or sausage. Sometimes I will have a bowl of low-carb/keto granola. About the only veggie that I can eat without seeing a rise of blood sugar are green beans. Corn is out of the question. Most veggies will cause a rise in my blood sugar. Lunch might be a hamburger pattie, steak, or fried ham. A snack/treat might be a spoon full of peanut butter.

This would be considered a terrible diet by most folks, but since my goal is to keep my blood sugar down, it seems to work well for me. I’ve gotten my A1C down from 9.5 to 6.3. When I try the diets that well-meaning folks suggest, I see a gradual increase in blood sugar requiring an increase in insulin. Also it takes about a week to get my levels back down after I get off of the diet.

So basically I would suggest discussing with your doctor before making any significant change in your diet.

 

[wolfv]

the body converts carbs into sugar and with type-2 diabetes the sugar will remain - and build up in the blood.

There is a grain of truth to that. Refined carbohydrates are bad for diabetics.

More recent scientific studies have shown that a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) diets are healthy for diabetics. That's because carbs in plant-based whole foods are bound to the plant's fiber.

google search: WFPB diabetic
google search: WFPB reverse diabetes

Dr. Greger presents the scientific evidence in these short videos:
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/plant-based-diets-recognized-by-diabetes-associations/https://nutritionfacts.org/video/reversing-diabetes-with-food/
My mother was pre-diabetic and her doctor encouraged her to eat WFPB. Now she is eating WFPB, off all medications, and is no longer pre-diabetic.

 

[mpruet]

Thanks, but I’ve been monitoring my blood sugar for several years now and have been recording the cause/effect of my diet. I’ve tried the WFPB diet plans and saw my blood sugar levels rise. At the start of the experiment I was running about 97 daily. After being on the WFPB diet for a month (which people recommended) I was running above 220. I had no refined carbs - just the carbs coming from fruits and veggies. Nope - went back on my pre WFPB diet (which is more of a KETO plan) and after two weeks was back in the 90-110 range.

Oh yes - there is a major difference between pre-diabetic and actual diabetic. One big difference is that with a pre-diabetic the blood sugar will tend to decrease over a few hours. With an actual diabetic it can take days.

But I stand by my earlier statement. Before making any major change in your diet have a discussion with your doctor or endocrinologist. Don’t just rely on what you find in social media.

 

[wolfv]

mpruet,

Interesting.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Doctors usually know very little about diets because that is not in the curriculum in the studies to become a doctor.