Trim Healthy Mama 103 - Three Basic Meal Types

So now, let's look at the three basic Trim Healthy Mama meal options.  Later on, you can learn about variations to these three basic meals that you can use to tailor them to your nutritional needs.  But for now, let's keep it simple.

The founders of the Trim Healthy Mama plan, sisters Serene and Pearl, call them the E (for energizing), the S (for satisfying) and FP (Fuel pull) meals.

All three meal types are built around a protein.  Protein is very important because it causes your body to produce glucagon, which in turn helps to temper the blood sugar rush.  This plan is all about controlling your blood sugar.  So when planning a meal, your first question is "Where is my protein?"

Protein - The Center of Your Plate!

And now, let's look at the E meal first.  This is where you get to bless your system with good carbs!  The E (Energizing) meal is a low fat meal, built around a lean protein.  Choose your lean protein, choose your carb, and then you also get to include plenty of non-starchy vegetables and/or berries.  You want to limit your fat to about a teaspoon in an E meal, but don't exclude it.  That small amount of fat actually aids in carb digestion.

Here are a couple examples of E meals to get you started:

E Breakfast
Oatmeal with Cinnamon and sweetened with stevia
Smoothie made with Greek yogurt (there's your protein) and mixed berries
Coffee with almond milk or a splash of half and half

E Lunch
Chili made from extra lean ground meat, black beans, and corn, topped with chopped onions, jalapenos, and a dollop of Greek yogurt
Garnish with a few baked tortilla chips
Strawberry lime blender drink (strawberries, lime juice, stevia, and water or kombucha - it tastes like a margarita!)

E Dinner
Baked wild caught salmon or other lean fish
Brown rice pilaf
Tossed green salad with lowfat dressing
Oolong tea
Pineapple Upside Down Cake (THM Cookbook or Pinterest)

See, that wasn't scary.  Carbohydrates are a good, God-given macro nutrient.  The E meal, however,  is not an excuse to go bonkers on carbs.  When thinking portion size, make your carb about the size of your palm.

Now let's look at the S meal.  This is a rich and delicious meal.  The S (satisfying) meal is built around the protein (lean or rich) of your choice, with generous amounts of good fats, and yummy non-starchy greens and vegetables.  Berries are also encouraged with S meals because they are gentle on blood sugar.  (I like to think of berries as parve.  In the kosher world, that is a term for an ingredient that can go with either a meat or a dairy meal.  In the THM world, berries can be added to an E, S, or FP meal.)

 Let's look at some examples:

S Breakfast
Two-egg omelet with sauteed mushrooms, onions, spinach, and cheddar cheese
2 small sausage links
A spoonful of raw sauerkraut (because it's so healthy for you!!)
Coffee or tea with cream as desired

S Lunch
Skin-on chicken breast or thigh
Spinach, strawberry, and feta salad with balsamic and olive oil dressing
Iced tea with lemon juice and sweetened with stevia
THM Chocolate Zucchini Cake (THM Cookbook)

S Dinner
Cheeseburger served on Cloud Bread (recipe on Pinterest)
Mustard, pickles, sliced onions, and THM ketchup (Pinterest or THM cookbook)
Broccoli tossed with butter
Bubbly water with stevia and lime juice

Yum!  Wasn't that fun?

There is one more basic meal type, and that is the FP (Fuel pull).  This meal basically excludes the two fuels of fats and carbs, and forces your body to dig into its fat stores to feed those hungry cells.  The meal includes your choice of lean protein, plus lots of non-starchy vegetables, berries as desired, and a teaspoon of healthy fat.  It's an E meal minus the carbs.

Here are some Fuel Pull meal ideas:

FP Breakfast
Nonfat Greek yogurt with berries and stevia as desired
(Oikos Triple Zero is a great on-the-run FP breakfast)
Coffee or tea with almond milk or a splash of half and half

FP Lunch
Tuna salad made with Greek yogurt
Bed of generous greens and non-starchy vegetables
tossed with 1 tsp olive oil and your favorite vinegar
Iced Tea with lemon and sweetener

FP Dinner
Crock pot Mexican chicken
(boneless skinless chicken breast and salsa in the crock pot)
Dollop of Greek yogurt
Chopped onions and peppers for garnish
Steamed green beans with 1 tsp butter
Cottage Berry Whip for dessert (THM Cookbook or Pinterest)

You probably noticed the liberal quantities of vegetables throughout these menu suggestions.  Yes!  Veggies are good!  Veggies and berries round out your meals.  I will discuss vegetables soon in more depth, but for now, just know that leafy greens and non-starchy vegetables are encouraged with any meal type.  Starchier vegetables such as corn, peas, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, and such are better paired with E meals.

I hope you can see that there is lots of food freedom with this plan.  YOU get to choose which meal to have, as long as you are including them all.  Don't get in a rut with just one meal type because that will slow down your metabolism.  Keep your body guessing and mix them up.

And I haven't even mentioned snacks yet.  Yes, you get them!  But that is my next post.  You will learn how to snack properly between the different meal types in order to have optimal blood sugar and rev your metabolism.  Click here to read about it.