Preparations Part 1: Meal Ideas

So following the 10 Days of Real Food challenge is going to require some preparation (big surprise, huh?)

First off, I needed to figure out what the heck I was going to eat. The website offers a lot of ideas with full instructions on making things that need to be made like crackers or granola bars or even full meals. I also found some ideas on other blogs and am also planning to just tweak some of the things I already eat. I would imagine that is a key to succeeding in this challenge, you don’t need to completely change your diet, just start by adjusting some of the things you already eat (like switching to whole-wheat flour and whole-grain pasta).

Anyway, after planning out food options I made a list of all of the things I would need in order to make these things as well as what will need to be made before the challenge starts.

Today I’m just going to share my meal ideas list but if you’re interested in the shopping list or schedule, be sure to check back.

Breakfast:

–       Homemade whole-wheat waffles with strawberries (I plan on making a batch and then freezing them so I don’t       have to make them in the morning before my 8am class)

–       Organic yogurt with homemade fruit syrup (for flavor) frozen (because I love it frozen)

–       Grapefruit

Packed Lunch Ideas (I’m sure there will be many more variations):

–       Hummus, pita (or crackers), veggie pieces (cucumber, pepper, carrots), and grapes

–       Soup with a piece of toast or crackers and fruit

–       Cheese, crackers, apple slices and celery with peanut butter

–       Peanut butter sandwich, homemade potato sticks, salad (with homemade dressing), and fruit

–       Pasta salad, nuts and fruit

–       Salad, fruit, and cheese

–       Salad, fruit, and a hard boiled egg

At Home Meal Ideas:

*add a veggie and a fruit as sides to the ones that need it

–       Homemade soup with grilled cheese

–       Toasted bread with hummus and cheese

–       Veggie cream cheese (may have to make this) on bread or crackers

–       Pesto grilled cheese

–       Pasta salad (some yummy ones: cucumber dill and caprese)

–       Pasta with pesto

–       Pasta with homemade alfredo sauce

–       Pasta with butter and garlic

–       Homemade quiche

–       My mom’s mac and cheese

–       Tortellini (Buitoni has one that fits the criteria) with pesto or alfredo (Ooo or maybe even pesto alfredo?)

–       Ricotta mashed potatos (more of a side but they sound yummy!)

–       Potato skins

–       Peanut butter sandwich

Packed Snack Ideas (to bring to class since I generally can’t make it more than an hour or so without getting hungry):

–       homemade granola bars

–       crackers

–       cheese

–       popcorn

–       fruit

–       homemade potato sticks

–       nuts

Not-necessarily-packed Snack Ideas:

–       smoothies

–       crackers and cheese

–       fruits and veggies with hummus or peanut butter

–       popcorn

–       homemade breads

–       potato sticks

–       nuts and seeds

–       hummus and crackers

–       toast

–       hard boiled egg

So there you have it, what I will be eating for ten days. Doesn’t look so bad to me!

Think of something I missed? I would love to hear if you have any other “real food”, vegetarian meal or snack ideas!