I rarely order food, but this was a photo shoot day (and an active one at that – I was demonstrating exercises for eight hours, so that meant a lot of muscular endurance work!) so I had to eat outside of my kitchen.
This lunch, courtesy of Muscle Maker Grill, was the Santa Fe Wrap, which consisted of grilled chicken breast, turkey bacon, red beans and brown rice, reduced fat cheddar cheese and zero carb signature sauce. The menu says it’s only 581 calories, but I am a little suspect of that number – think it may be higher, which is why I only ate half (which was HARD to do – it was so delish!).
On the side? I ordered their balsalmic vinegar potato salad. I love potatoes for energy during workouts (though this was not as good as I thought it would be, so I only ate a few, ha ha!).
What was missing in this meal? My veggies. But the good news is for dinner I made sure I included several extra servings by way of some Brussels sprouts, eggplant and a side salad.
My motto for eating is overall balance – if I have a carb-heavy meal (like this one), I prefer to do it at lunch since I am more likely to use up the energy for my workout mid-afternoon or evening, and then I consciously make an effort to balance it with my remaining meals of the day. I don’t like cutting out food groups (or chocolate for that matter) because if I tell myself I can’t have something, it ends up being all I end up wanting to eat! For me, moderation is better than any diet.
– Jessica Smith, fitness lifestyle expert and creator of 10 Pounds Down.
March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is “Get Your Plate in Shape,” focusing on MyPlate. We invited nutrition and fitness professionals to share their typical plate to give you a glimpse of how some of the healthiest people in the country eat on a daily basis. See the series.