One Day Meal Plan
Aidan, Patrick, Lilly, Marya
Breakfast:
Smoothie
3 kale leaves (99 calories)
1 banana (105 calories)
5 strawberries (100 calories)
2 carrots (50 calories)
3 Tbsp Granola- (132 calories)
1 Organic chicken apple sausage - (160 calories)
1 tbs olive oil - (119 calories)
1 cup Water (0 calories)
1 cup nonfat milk (86 calories)
Total Calories: 851 Calories
Snack:
Mixed Nuts/Trail Mix 5 Peanuts (55 calories)
5 Almonds (35 calories)
10 Raisins (27 calories)
10 chocolate chips (51 calories)
Total Calories: 168 Calories
Lunch
Chinese Chicken Salad
2 cup of fresh organic lettuce (16 calories)
1 cup Organic Free-Range cut Chicken (230 calories)
1/8 cup sesame seeds (100 calories)
1/2 cup rice noodles (105 calories)
1 Tbs Pure Olive Oil Dressing and vinegar (45 calories)
Fruit salad
10 strawberries (40 calories)
2 apples (144 calories)
20 grapes (40 calories)
1 cup water (0 calories)
Total Calories: 720 Calories
Snack:
1 Apple (72 calories)
Total Calories: 72 Calories
Dinner:
Stir fry
2 cup of Broccoli (110 calories)
1/2 cup cut peppers (19 calories)
1/2 cup cut carrots (25 calories)
1 cup chicken (230 calories)
1/2 cup brown Rice (109 calories)
3 slice whole Wheat bread (138 calories)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and olive oil (45 calories)
1 cup water (0 calories)
1 cup nonfat milk (86 calories)
Total Calories: 762
TOTAL: 2,573 CALORIES
Explanation:
A healthy, well balanced diet provides the right types and amounts of foods and drinks
to supply nutrition and energy for maintaining body cells, tissues, organs, and for supporting
normal growth and development. In order for a meal to be healthy and balanced you need to be
eating the right amounts of food for how active of a person you are. For example very active
boys aged 14-18 years old should be eating about 2,800-3,200 calories while not active teen
boys should be eating about 2,000-2,400 calories. To be balanced throughout the day you need
to be eating a variety of different foods. This includes fruits and vegetables, grains such as
bread, rice, and potatoes, some dairy products, and other non-dairy sources of protein such as
meat, fish, eggs, and beans. You want to try and stay away from foods with large amounts of fat
and sugar. A healthy meal includes complex carbohydrates, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber,
unsaturated fat, calcium, sodium (with caution), omega 3 (with caution), vitamin D, protein, and
water. While it can be hard you want to try and avoid saturated and trans fat, and simple
carbohydrates. For example red meat, butter, white rice, white bread, white pasta, and
processed foods.
The way food molecules are broken down in our bodies and turned into a form of energy
used by the body (ATP) is by a process known as cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is a
series of exothermic reactions that breaks down nutrients into carbon dioxide. The chemical
equations for this process is glucose + oxygen yields to carbon dioxide + water + energy. There
are three stages of cellular respiration. This includes glycolysis which takes place in the
cytoplasm and the krebs cycle and electron transport chain which both take place in the
mitochondria. Sugar from food and oxygen are used in cellular respiration to create energy for
the billions of cells in our body. When not enough ATP is being produced our body begins to
lose energy.
While creating our one day meal plan we focussed on an overall amount of calories
(about 2,500) needed throughout the day and the nutrients provided in each meal. For our
breakfast we balanced our meal with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and water in our
smoothie, granola, sausage, milk, and water. For proportions we made sure our fruits and
vegetables (smoothie) filled up half our plate and our whole grains (granola) and healthy protein
(sausage) filled up the other half. While the granola contained soluble fiber, the milk contained
calcium, and the sausage contained protein our breakfast consisted of nutrients and energy for
the rest of the day. Consisting of 851 calories our breakfast provided a large amount of the
calories for the day as breakfast is one of the most important meals giving you the energy
needed throughout the day. In our lunch we provided vegetables, fruit, grains, protein, oil, and
water. For proportions we made sure our fruits and vegetables (fruit salad and lettuce in chinese
chicken salad) filled up half our plate and our whole grains (rice noodles) and healthy protein
(chicken) filled up the other half. While the salad dressing and sesame seeds contained
unsaturated fat, the chicken provided protein, the fruit provided simple carbohydrates and
soluble fiber. Lastly in our dinner we provided vegetables, grains, protein, oil, milk, and water
once again. For proportions we made sure our fruits and vegetables (stir fry) filled up half our
plate and our whole grains (rice) and healthy protein (chicken) filled up the other half. Our
chicken provided protein, our carrots provided insoluble fiber, and our bread contained complex
carbohydrates. With lunch containing 720 calories and dinner containing 762 calories we were
able to meet a total of 2,573 calories including two healthy snacks throughout the day. While
using nutritional values in each of our meals we created well rounded proportions that would
keep an individual healthy and energized throughout the day.
In our one day meal plan we focussed on balancing different types of foods throughout
each meal. In our breakfast which includes a smoothie filled with kale, carrots, strawberries, and
bananas, granola, a chicken apple sausage, and water and milk we were able to include fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, protein, and water. In our lunch we included a chinese chicken salad,
fresh fruit salad, and water. This provided vegetables, fruit, grains, protein, oil, and water. Lastly
in our dinner we included a stir fry, brown rice, whole wheat bread, water, and wilk. This
provided vegetables, grains, protein, oil, milk, and water. Having each meal balanced with every
source of nutrition needed throughout the day, we believe our meal plan provides one with a
healthy and balanced diet for the day.
While this is a healthy and well balanced meal there are alternatives for those who may
be vegetarians or dislike certain foods. An alternative for vegetarians can be tofu as well as
edamame beans. These both provide the same protein chicken and sausage give in our meal. If
you prefer fish rather than chicken and sausage this is a great substitute that also gives you
omega 3 as well as protein. If you do not like rice a great alternative in quinoa which give you
the same source of starch. For breakfast if you dont enjoy mixing your fruits and vegetables in a
smoothie a fruit salad and a few vegetables on the side is a always a good substitute. When
making changes to your meal due to preference you want to be aware of the proportions of your
food making sure half of your plate is fruit and vegetables, a quarter healthy grains, a quarter
proteins, and healthy oils and water.
If you would like to learn more about healthy and well balanced meals you can visit
[Link] to figure out what foods you need to eliminate in
your meals. You can also visit [Link] to find out
how many calories are in your foods. Depending on how active of a person you are you want to
make sure you are getting enough energy and nutrients for the day!
Breakfast Making!
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Bibliography
Food-A-Pedia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2015, from
[Link]
The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (n.d.). Retrieved February
12, 2015, from [Link]
