12. 7-Day Sample Menus

January 28, 2017 American Council on Exercise Off Natural Health News

Shift to Cooking at Home More Often

Have you gotten out of the habit of cooking meals at home in favor of eating out? Or, are you resorting mostly to boxed foods that require minimal prep work? Cooking from scratch can result in more flavorful and healthful meals than eating dishes made from processed, packaged foods. Compared to eating at restaurants, home cooking gives you more control over the quality of ingredients used, as well as portion sizes. To help inspire you to get back in the kitchen, this chapter provides seven days of menus, accompanied by delicious recipes in Chapter 13. Use these to help you shift to healthier eating patterns and refer to as a template for planning your own healthful meals (for tips on menu planning, see Box 12-1, “Planning Menus”).

The menus in this chapter supply approximately 1,600 calories per day, providing you follow the serving sizes specified in the menus and recipes. On average, sedentary women age 51 and older need 1,600 calories daily, whereas sedentary men in the same age group need 2,220 calories daily. Your own calorie needs may be more or less than this. That’s because everyone’s calorie and nutrient needs are different and depend on weight, age, physical activity, health status, lifestyle, and genetic factors. The best gauge of whether you’re taking in the right amount of calories is to monitor your weight.

To increase the calories in the menus in this chapter, you can increase portion sizes or add other foods. For example, you may want to drink skim milk with lunch or have a second serving of fruit. Some people will want to incorporate some or all of the snacks into their eating plans, while others may prefer to have a larger meal and skip the snacks. Use your own good sense and your body’s hunger cues to help you decide on the proper portions and timing of your meals and snacks.

If you’re following a special diet, the menus can be modified. For example, if you’re eating gluten-free, replace a regular English muffin with a gluten-free one. Or, if you’re a vegetarian and a stir-fry recipe calls for pork, substitute tofu. If you need more guidance, seek the help of a registered dietitian nutritionist. You can find one in your area by visiting the website for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at eatright.org.