What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) – Weekend Edition!

Since posting a few ‘What I Ate Wednesday’ (WIAW) picture collages on social media (my links are to the right of this page!), I’ve had a lot of requests to write a blog post on it.. and so here it is! If you haven’t heard of WIAW it’s basically a fun way of showing what bloggers eat and drink in a day.

 

Before I start, I want to say that I am NOT promoting my way of eating as a diet to follow.. if you’re a regular reader of my blog then you’ll know by now that I follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to healthy eating and this is just a glimpse into a typical weekend day of eating. I’ve posted a cheeky preview of what I usually eat ‘mid-week’ at the end of this blog post and have guest posted on another blog (the amazing dietitian Helen West at FoodandNonsense) explaining my Wednesday eats there!

 

I usually eat between 2,200 and 2,500 calories a day (this typically varies from 1,800 calories to 3,000 calories depending on what’s going on!) and this keeps my weight fairly stable. Your energy requirements will depend on your weight, muscle mass, activity level, gender and age.. check out my Metabolism Calculator blog post for more information on how you can calculate your ESTIMATED calorie requirements.

 

So let’s get started…

 

• Breakfast

I start every day with a glass of warm water – half cold and half boiling water. If I have lemon in I may add a slice, or may add a dash of lemon juice for flavour (I sometimes add a tsp of honey depending on how I’m feeling!). If I’ve been organised enough to make my ‘detox water’ for the week then I will use this instead of fresh tap water. I find warm water on a morning much more palatable than cold water.

 

I then move on to my breakfast.. which 9 times out of 10 is porridge made with 1/2 a cup (40g) oats and 200ml skimmed milk. I then top it with berries, chopped banana, cinnamon & fat free Greek yoghurt if it’s in (to add a hint of creaminess!). Oats release their energy slowly and a hot breakfast always seems so comforting! I may also have quinoa porridge, overnight oats or a smoothie.. homemade or Purition’s breakfast smoothie (made with milk & half frozen banana to make it creamy!). I drink either nettle tea or green tea with lemon with my breakfast simply because these teas don’t stain your teeth as much as regular tea and don’t contain as much caffeine.

 

• Mid Morning Snack

I tend to eat little and often and this is a classic snack for me.. apple pieces (& strawberry because I needed to use them up!) with 2 tbsp peanut butter or 3 tbsp PPB mixed with a little milk or water. This snack is super filling and packed with vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre. I washed it down with a green tea with lemon (whilst blogging!).

 

• Lunch

My lunch varies depending on if I’m in or out. If I’m out and about then I usually like to go to Pret a Manger or Bagel Nash for a soup, salad, or bagel. I do look at calories (after looking at the ingredients list!) and usually go for a meal & drink providing around 500 Kcal. Check out my ‘Slimmer’s Guide to Eating Out’ for more information. This Saturday though I was in and topped a rocket & lamb’s lettuce salad with cucumber, mushroom, carrot, cherry tomatoes, a medium sweet potato (packed with nutrients such as vitamin A, as well as slow release energy) plus cottage cheese (great source of calcium and protein). I sprinkled on 1 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and then loaded it with black pepper.. delicious! I also had a light yoghurt for after (check out my How to Choose a Healthy Yoghurt post for more info on my choice!).

 

• Mid Afternoon Snacks

Weekend’s for me are all about ‘recipe development’ .. which means lots of baking and taste testing.. I was trying out recipes with PPB this Saturday (for an up and coming PPB recipe blog post) which I hope explains the snacks below!  .. nutty protein fudge (I had 3 of them), frozen chocolate bites (I had 6 of them!!) & 3 PPB thumb print cookies (just a tweaked version of my Soft PPB Cookies!). Most of these snacks were high in coconut oil which although is a healthier fat than butter, is rather high calories (& so contributed to my overall daily calorie intake – see below!).

 

• Drinks

I make sure to drink at least 2 litres of fluid a day and drink a mixture of; herbal teas (e.g. peppermint), ‘detox’/fruit infused water & vanilla chia tea with skimmed milk. I only ever drink coffee if I’m feeling tired or need a ‘boost’.

 

• Dinner

I had a fairy late dinner on Saturday and wasn’t feeling over all hungry (I wonder why!!), so whipped up something quick from the things that needed using up in my fridge.. here we have an Aubergine & Vegetable Medley with White Beans & Quinoa. I just chopped up a load of veg including onion, pepper, aubergine, courgette, mushrooms and broccoli, and fried it in some 1 calorie spray oil. I then poured on some chopped tomatoes, added garlic granules and basil and a generous splash of red wine. I also added a dash of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and let the whole thing simmer until all of the vegetables were soft. I then stirred in a can of white beans and some cooked quinoa. I made a big pan which lasted me for a good meal and snack the next day too! Other meals that I may have can be seen [here].

 

• Dessert

If I’ve been baking all day then I usually have a shop-bought dessert… and this Saturday it was half a Galaxy bar (I shared a bar!). I actually prefer to have dark chocolate as it’s much stronger in taste (and healthier!) but I couldn’t say no to some Galaxy!! If I haven’t been baking all day then I may have a home-made dessert.

 

• Calories & Comments

So there you have it.. WIAW on a Saturday :). I tracked everything that I ate in the MyFitnessPal app and in total had 2,400 calories.. 1,000 calories from meals and 1,400 calories from snacks (!!). If I didn’t ‘have’ to eat as many snacks then I would simply add more calories to my meals (i.e. have a bigger portion) to increase satiety/fullness between them.

Looking at the nutritional breakdown of my daily intake; 45% of energy came from carbs, 35% from fat and 20% from protein. I tend to average out at 40% of energy from carbs, 30% from fats and 30% from protein (my fat intake was a little higher than usual this Saturday due to the coconut oil in my baking snacks!). I use coconut oil in my baking as a healthier alternative to butter.

I don’t follow a ‘diet’ so to speak but I always make sure to have 5-9 portions of fruit and vegetables (a portion is a handful or 3 tbsp) and focus on starchy carbs that have a low glycaemic index (so that they release their energy slowly) at meals combined with lean protein. I live by the 80:20 rule where nothing is banned, not even a bit of chocolate!!

I also get a lot of questions about what protein powders/bars I use. If I feel like a need a ‘protein top up’ I will either have a Quest Bar or a Purition Protein Shake. I don’t have protein bars/shakes daily however like to have them on hand as a high protein snack alternative to help me feel fuller for longer.

 

I really hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post – I would love to hear what you have to eat in a day too!

 

P.S And what about a week-day?

Well here’s a sneak peak.. and to read all about it head over to Helen’s Blog!

  

*I do not promote products mentioned over others that I have not mentioned. This blog post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer page for more information.