Ask HN: How do you decide what to eat/mealplan?

Menus for Healthy Living

Want to know exactly what to eat? The following menus each contain between 1,500 and 1,800 calories and are designed around food-group servings from USDA's Food Pyramid. Use these menus as a guide to developing your own menus, substituting equivalent amounts of your favorite foods from within the same food group whenever you like. Vegetarians can easily substitute such meat and dairy alternatives as tofu and beans for protein, and calcium-fortified soy milk and soy milk products for the dairy category.

MENU 1

Breakfast

1/2 cup orange juice (1 Fruit)

1 cup cooked oatmeal (2 Grain)

1 cup low-fat milk (1 Milk)

Lunch

3 slices (3 ounces) turkey breast (1 Meat)

2 slices whole-grain bread (2 Grain)

Fresh spinach leaves and tomato slices (1 Vegetable)

1 tablespoon reduced-fat mayonnaise (1 Fat)

1 apple (1 Fruit)

Afternoon Snack

1/2 cup tomato juice (1 Vegetable)

2 large rice cakes (1 Grain)

Dinner

1 cup black bean soup(1 Meat Alternative)

1 corn tortilla, toasted (1 Grain) and topped with1 cup chopped cooked vegetables (2 Vegetable)

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Jack cheese (1 Dairy)

3 fresh pineapple rings (1 Fruit)

Snack

1 cup sugar-free, fat-free lemon yogurt (1 Dairy)

MENU 2

Breakfast

1 cup cantaloupe or Persian melon cubes (1 Fruit)

1/2 cup bran flakes cereal (1 Grain)

1 cup low-fat milk (1 Milk)

Lunch

1 cup lentil soup (1 Meat alternative)

1 cup raw spinach ( Vegetable)

1 cup sliced mushrooms (Vegetable)

1 tablespoon reduced-fat salad dressing (1 Fat)

2 large or 4 small bread sticks (2 Grains)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (1 Fruit)

Snack

1 cup grapes (1 Fruit)

1 slice (3/4 ounce) reduced-fat cheese (1/2 Milk product)

Dinner

1 large flounder fillet (1 Meat) broiled with 1 teaspoon olive oil (1 Fat)

1 cup steamed broccoli spears (1 Vegetable)

1/2 small baked potato (2 Vegetable) topped with 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (1/2 Milk product)

1/2 cup fruit salad (1 Fruit)

Snack

3 graham cracker rectangles or 6 squares (1 Grain)

1 cup low-fat milk (1 Milk)

MENU 3

Breakfast

1/2 grapefruit (1 Fruit)

1 slice whole-grain toast (1 Grain)

1 tablespoon reduced-calorie margarine or butter (1 Fat)

2 eggs, scrambled in nonstick skillet without fat (1 Meat)

1 cup low-fat milk (1 Milk)

Lunch

Pasta Salad: 1 cup cooked pasta (2 Grain) with 1 ounce reduced-fat cheese cubes (1 Milk)

1/2 cup chopped cooked vegetables (1 Vegetable)

2 tablespoons low-fat salad dressing (2 Fat)

1 cup melon chunks (1 Fruit)

Snack

4 pretzel rods (1 Bread)

1/2 cup vegetable or tomato juice (1 Vegetable)

Dinner

3 ounces lean steak (1 Meat), sliced and wrapped in 2 fat-free flour tortillas (2 Grain) with 1/2 cup diced tomato (1 Vegetable)

1 cup raw spinach leaves (1 Vegetable)

1/2 cup red or sweet white onion slices (1 Vegetable)

1 kiwi, peeled and sliced (1 Fruit)

Snack

2 cups air-popped popcorn (1 Grain)

MENU 4

Breakfast

3 small pancakes (3 Grain) with 2 tablespoons reduced-calorie syrup (Free) and1 cup blueberries (1 Fruit)

1 cup low-fat milk (1 Milk)

Lunch

Tuna Salad Sandwich: 2 slices whole-grain bread (2 Grain) 3 ounces water-packed tuna (1 Meat)

1 tablespoon reduced-fat mayonnaise (1 Fat)

Chopped, celery, lettuce leaves (Free)

1 pear (1 Fruit)

Snack

2 large cinnamon rice cakes (1 Grain) with 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (1 Fruit)

Dinner

1/2 chicken breast ( 1 Meat), baked or broiled, skin removed

1/2 cup cooked brown rice (1 Grain)

1 cup steamed zucchini and carrots (2 Vegetables)

1 small roll (1 Grain)

1 tablespoon reduced calorie margarine or butter (1 Fat)

Snack

1 cup fat-free, sugar-free hot cocoa, made with low-fat milk (1 Milk)

3 fat-free cookies (1 Grain)

MENU 5

Breakfast

1 large bagel (2 Grain), toasted with 1 ounce reduced-fat soft cheese (1 Milk)

1 cup strawberries (1 Fruit)

Lunch

1 cup split pea soup (1 Meat Alternative)

1 whole wheat pita pocket (2 Grain) filled with Shredded lettuce (Free)

1 ounce reduced-fat feta cheese (1 Milk)

1/2 cup chopped tomato (1 Vegetable)1 tablespoon reduced-fat vinaigrette dressing (1 Fat)

Snack

1 peach or 1/2 cup canned peaches packed in unsweetened juice (1 Fruit)

2 gingersnaps (1 Grain)

Dinner

3 ounces lean pork (1 Meat), stir-fried with 1/2 cup sweet red pepper, 1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (2 Vegetables) in 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (2 Fat)

1/2 cup cooked brown rice (1 Grain)

1 cup fresh pineapple cubes or 1/2 cup canned pineapple packed in unsweetened juice (1 Fruit)

Snack

1/2 cup low-fat frozen yogurt (1 Milk)

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I’ve been trying to train my body to get hungry at “normal” times. I kinda hate breakfast, always have, but now I’ll eat a piece of fruit i enjoy in the morning. Later on in the day I’ll try and eat something else that’s small and i enjoy. My thought process is that if i continue to do this my body will start to crave food at that time and my appetite may come back.

I’ve had varying degrees of success so far, i don’t have the habit of the small healthy snacks yet so i keep having to remember. I think i may set up a bot to text me to eat at X time.

The depression definitely doesn’t help, hard to motivate to eat when you’re low. Dealing with that in parallel should help. When i can exercise again I’ll probably start doing that too for 30 minutes a day to build up an appetite.

Signed up for a meal prep company that delivers weekly meals based on my daily caloric needs. the rest is if I am getting dinner or lunch with people.