When selecting a heart healthy meal plan, make sure you are consuming a balanced and complete diet. Your assignment is to set realistic and attainable diet goals. Start by following the simple guidelines below.
Nutritional and Healthy Meal Guidelines:
- Commit to consuming 4 - 6 small meals and snacks everyday.
- To succeed, you must plan ahead by packing your foods the night before. Thus, you should always have fresh and low-fat foods around.
- Keep it simple. Don't get too caught up on the specifics or your diet. Start by simply just counting calories.
- Eat your foods slower.
- Make healthier food selections like fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, and beans, low-fat or nonfat dairy products, low fat meats, fish and skinless poultry.
- Avoid foods that are high in fat and calories.
- Avoid foods that are high in sugars such as pastries, candy bars, pies and candy.
- Use a variety of fruits and vegetables in your nutrition plan. Start by trying to eat 5 total vegetable and fruit servings every single day.
Here is a sample healthy low fat meal plan (1517 calories).
Breakfast | ||||||
| Amount | Item | Protein | Carbs | Fats | Calories | |
| 12 ounces | coffee-w/caffeine | 0.40 | 1.40 | 0.00 | 8.00 | |
| 1 cup | Milk | 8.00 | 11.00 | 5.00 | 120.00 | |
| 1 tbps | cream,fluid,half and half | 0.44 | 0.65 | 1.73 | 19.55 | |
| 1 pack | Oatmeal-instant,maple,brn sugar Quaker | 4.50 | 31.60 | 2.10 | 152.00 | |
| Total: | 13.34 | 44.65 | 8.82 | 299.55 | ||
AM Snack | ||||||
| 1 cup | Cottage cheese- 1%fat | 28.00 | 6.00 | 2.00 | 164.00 | |
| 0.5 cup | Pineapple-canned, chunks | 0.00 | 18.00 | 0.00 | 70.00 | |
| Total: | 28.00 | 24.00 | 2.00 | 234.00 | ||
Lunch | ||||||
| 2 each | bread whole wheat-slice | 6.00 | 24.00 | 2.00 | 140.00 | |
| 1 cubic inch | cheddar cheese | 4.26 | 0.15 | 4.12 | 56.36 | |
| .15 cup | mayo | 0.32 | 8.47 | 11.77 | 137.37 | |
| 1 ounce | turkey breast/white meat | 8.50 | 0.00 | 0.20 | 38.25 | |
| .25 small | Tomato-small | 0.25 | 1.43 | 0.10 | 6.50 | |
| Total: | 19.33 | 34.36 | 18.19 | 378.48 | ||
PM Snack | ||||||
| 8 each | Cracker/Nabisco-Low Saltines | 1.60 | 16.00 | 3.20 | 96.00 | |
| 1 ounce | Turkey/white meat | 8.50 | 0.00 | 0.20 | 38.25 | |
| Total: | 10.12 | 16.00 | 3.40 | 134.25 | ||
Dinner | ||||||
| 5 ounces | Halibut - broiled | 37.50 | 0.00 | 5.00 | 198.75 | |
| 1 cup | rice-white cook steamed | 6.00 | 62.00 | 0.00 | 164.00 | |
| 2 tbps | Thousand island-reduced cal. Kraft | 0.00 | 6.00 | 2.00 | 40.00 | |
| 0.5 cup | Vegetables - mixed, frozen, boiled | 2.60 | 11.90 | 0.10 | 54.00 | |
| 1 small | salad-sm. Garden w/tomato, onion | 1.30 | 9.50 | 0.40 | 49.00 | |
| 1 tsp | Sugar-white | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 15.00 | |
| 12 fluid ounces | Tea-prepared w/tap water | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 | |
| Total: | 44.80 | 82.50 | 7.40 | 470.75 | ||
| Grand Total: | 115.58 | 201.50 | 39.82 | 1517.04 | ||
| Food | Quantity | |||||||||
| Apple - medium with peel | 7 each | |||||||||
| Banana - medium 8 inch | 7 each | |||||||||
| Bread whole wheat - slice | 14 each | |||||||||
| Broccoli | 7 spears | |||||||||
| Cheerios | 10.5 cups | |||||||||
| Chicken Breast / White Meat | 28 ounces | |||||||||
| Coffee- w/caffeine | 84 ounces | |||||||||
| Cream, fluid, half and half | 7 tablespoons | |||||||||
| Halibut - broiled | 35 ounces | |||||||||
| Mayo type, reg., w/salt | 1 cup | |||||||||
| Milk - 2 % fat | 7 cups | |||||||||
| Orange - medium | 7 each | |||||||||
| Sugar - white | 14 tea spoons | |||||||||
| Rice - white | 7 cups | |||||||||
| Thousand island - reduced cal. | 7 table spoons | |||||||||
| Turkey Breast / White Meat | 14 ounces | |||||||||
| Tea | 82 ounces |
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