Pro's and Con's " Easy Veggie Plan Meals": Pro and Con The Easy Plan Meals By Health Experts

Budget Meal Plans
By Rachel Cotler

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

For most Americans, juggling life can be very difficult. First you have to contend with long hours at work, endless laundry, dishes,paying bills and of course your children who ask the popular question, "What's for dinner?". Grocery shopping, planning meals, and the preparation of meals take a lot of time, and usually by the end of the week you are so burnt out you end up feeding your dear family hot dogs and mac-n-cheese. Did you know that 63% of Americans are overweight and many people suffer severe health problems because of the food that they eat? There are several ways to cut back on the time spent cooking and preparing food for your family without denting your budget or preparing less than nutritious meals.

THE PLAN

The first important step in starting anything new is to have a plan. First things first, decide how much money you can invest every month on groceries. Make sure you take in account all of the extra items you need for breakfast, and lunch. The plan I have in place is simple. The basic ingredients you should always have in your kitchen should be purchased from a bulk retailer like Cosco, or Sam's Club, where you can purchase large amounts of certain ingredients for a fraction of the price.

For all of your fruits and veggies, try shopping at your local farmer's market. You will save a ton of money and you are supporting your local economy. Now take a look at all the meals you would normally make in a month and find all of the common ingredients. You will probably see, to list a few, Chicken, Pork, Beef, Olive Oil, Garlic, Rice, Pasta, Corn, Green Beans, Cheese, Eggs and Milk. Then you must decide which items will store for a long period of time, that can be bought in bulk, that you can save money on. Shop once a month for these items. Why go to the store several times a month for groceries.

THE EXECUTION

Write your recipes in chronological order. I'm sure you are wondering " What does that mean?". I mean write your recipes down in an order in which one recipe could flow into another recipe. If your going to have Sausage and Peppers over Rice tonight, you should make 3 x the amount your family would consume. When everyone is finished eating dinner you simply throw your Sausage and Peppers into a blender and turn it into a sauce, then split it 2 ways. The first portion left over can be frozen for a quick pasta dinner some other time when your in a hurry, and the second portion can be saved for chicken Parmesan for another meal.

Now for the rice, save the first portion for a chicken and rice dinner and the second left over portion for a quick soup made with left overs. Did you notice the mention to the chicken? This is where time is your friend. When you prepare the chicken for your "chicken and rice dinner", you can prepare the chicken for your chicken Parmesan as well. Then you can just freeze your preparation for a different night. There are so many ideas you can come up with by making a simple list and finding common trends. With a little time and effort you can be feeding your family homemade, quick dinners, that are healthy, every night of the week.

Rachel, is a single mother who writes recipes and meal planning on a budget. You can learn more by visiting my website at http://www.budgetmealplans.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Cotler

Six Week Body Makeover - Body Type C Meal Plan
By Rico Kidd

The 6 Week Body Makeover meal plan is about customization. The more you customize your meal plan, the less bored you will be with your diet. The less bored you are with your diet, the more likely you will stick to the meal plan and lose weight. This article is directed towards people who have taken the body blue print questionnaire and have body type C.

Body Type C people are known to have more lean muscle mass than the rest of the body types. This is good as lean muscle mass increases your metabolism. When your metabolism has increased, it will burn calories (energy) at a faster rate, which will allow you to lose weight faster. The majority of "C" bodies are allowed to eat simple and complex carbohydrates (in moderation) and fruit. They should stick to chicken and fish for protein and stay away from red meats as red meat will make them "bulk up". Here is a sample menu using the Infinite Menu Planner for a body type c daily meal.

Breakfast

4 oz. protein A
1 cup carb A
1/2 cup fruit A

Mid Morning Snack

4 oz. protein A
1/2 cup of carb A

Lunch

4 oz. protein A
1 cup carb A
1-2 cups veggie A

Mid Afternoon Snack

4 oz. protein A
1/2 cup carb A

Dinner

4 oz. protein A
1 cup carb A
1-2 cups veggie A

PM Snack

1/2 cup fruit A

If you use the infinite menu planner, you will have an unlimited amount of food choices. Losing weight doesn't have to be about suffering and being on a boring meal plan. Learn to eat correctly and eat for a lifetime.

Rico has a blog about 6 Week Body Makeover. You can read about Body Type C meals at his blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rico_Kidd

Eat More Vegetables - 7 Ways to Get More Veggies Into Your Diet
By Gregory Anne Cox Platinum Quality Author

Are you a vegetable lover or do you just suffer through the occasional salad and side of green beans?

I'm going to assume that most of you listening eat plenty of salad and include a green or other brightly colored vegetable into your daily meal plan at least once. If not, you need the 7 tips to get more veggies into your daily diet.

Here are the 7 easy ways:

1. Having a cup of soup, the microwave kind? Grab a bag of frozen mixed veggies or even just peas and put a 1/4 cup.

2. Making pasta for dinner? With tomato sauce you've got a good start. Why not add some chopped spinach, chard, or kale? Even mushrooms and peppers and onions count. Try for the most colorful pasta sauce ever by adding green, yellow squash, red onion, 3 color peppers and a dark leafy green.

3. Breakfast? Whole grain toast with sliced tomatoes and balsamic vinegar is heaven when tomatoes are in season. All sorts of left over veggies can be found in my egg beaters or frittata on a weekend. And yes I have a favorite smoothie that includes left over sweet potato, orange pieces, and yogurt.

4. Salads seem like a natural as they start with some form of leafy vegetable. But we often get into a rut with our ingredients. When was the last time you chopped up raw cauliflower or broccoli into your salad? Raw bok choy-which is loaded with calcium is crunchy and this helps use a head up before it goes soft. Celery may not seem nutritious but in Chinese medicine it's one of the top medicinal foods for treating high blood pressure. It has a relaxing effect on muscle.

5. Snacking-let's start with super nutritious celery. Some almond or peanut butter spread in that little groove is a fave for many years, dipping it in low fat dressing is acceptable as long as you portion out a reasonable amount. What about plain old celery with a sprinkle of salt? All raw vegetables-and we are encouraged to eat more raw foods right?-with the exception of a few like asparagus and eggplant, are satisfying because they fill us up and you almost can't eat too much. Going back to the other half of that sweet potato I mentioned, heat it in the microwave, spoon in some plain yogurt a wee bit of maple syrup and cinnamon and I'm telling you it's so yummy. Often I just eat it with a drizzle of fine olive oil, salt and pepper.

6. Dinner or whenever you eat your main meal of the day. How about 2 vegetables rather than one vege one starch? You'll be amazed at the things that resolve when we limit starches-even those that are not white. Bloating, weight gain around the middle, carb cravings and more can be resolved to name a few. How about a big pile of sautéed vegetables with the fish on top? Saute broccoli rabe with garlic, olive oil and chicken stock, add a chicken breast and top with rich tomato sauce. How about eating your steak or pork roast with grilled mushrooms, peppers, onions and a big salad. It's really just a mind shift and a wee bit of prep and planning ahead so you have these things in the house.

7. Awareness. Well I might be cheating a bit here because it's not really a tip but it's an important concept. You have to want to get more nutrition into your meal plans to do so. Asking yourself daily-how can I add some vegetables to my day, will go a long way to creating change.

So love your vegetables and let them work their magic to keep you in good health.

Ants on a log anyone?

Need tips, tools and resources to help you win the Muffin Top war? Grab my free report at

http://midlifewithavengeance.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_Anne_Cox