Seven Sample Menus for a 1400 Calorie Diet

I’ve been asked by a number of people to tell them what do eat and when. I guess they feel that they can follow directions better than coming up with their own menus. I am presenting here, not sample menus exactly, but what I ate on specific days to meet the requirements of my less than 1400 calorie, less than 20 % of calories from fat, less than 1500 mg sodium, diet.

As you can see, there is quite a lot of food here, so much that sometimes I get tired of chewing. I also believe that eating 4-7 times each day helps keep my metabolism up so I am continuously burning calories. These menus are just a starting point for you and are offered as suggestions of the types of foods you can eat on a low-fat, low-sodium, and calorie limited diet for weight reduction.

I am not a trained nutritionist, and my only criteria for selecting these foods for my own diet are those of calorie, sodium, and fat reduction. My personal goals in addition to the above-mentioned are: 78-158 g protein, 30-38 g fiber, and less than 300 mg cholesterol. Your recommended diet may be very different. I only offer these menus to share what I have eaten on given days and stayed loyal to my diet.

Monday

Breakfast

1.5 C Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs, 1/3 C Non-fat milk, ¼ C Dannon All Natural non-fat Plain Yogurt, ¼ C Wild Blueberries

Morning Snack

1 medium banana

Lunch

1 1/2 C Joel’s Chili 3, 1 T non fat sour cream, 1 T apple cider vinegar

Snack

18 White Cheddar Soy Crisps

Dinner

Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita dinner, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 2 T poppy seed fat free dressing, 2/3 C steamed corn, 4 C (raw) spinach steamed,

4 Asparagus spears steamed

Dessert

1/2 C Yarnell's low-fat chocolate frozen yogurt

Snack

¼ cantaloupe, 1 Ry-Krisp cracker

Calories: 1369, Protein: 65.76, Carbohydrates: 247.11 g, Fiber: 48.79 g, Fat: 20.65 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.58%, Saturated fat: 3.78 g, Cholesterol: 75.63 g, Sodium: 1370.25 mg.

Tuesday

Breakfast

Omelet with ½ C Egg Beaters, 1/8 C Sweet Onion, 3 Mushrooms (chopped), and 1 T Old El Paso Taco sauce-medium

Morning Snack

1 C Kashi 7 whole grain Honey Puffs (dry from box)

Lunch

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, ¼ C Extra Lean ground beef patty (96/4), 4 oz. Dannon All Natural strawberry yogurt

Snack

Health Valley Vegetarian chili 1.5 C

Dinner

Salmon taco and pita: 4 oz Wild Salmon-baked, 1 Mi Casa White corn tortilla, juice of 2 Lemon wedges, slaw cabbage, 1 T non-fats sour cream; .25 C, 1 T Old El Paso taco sauce-medium, 2/3 C corn, 4 C (raw) spinach steamed

Dessert

1 C Yarnell strawberry low-fat frozen yogurt

Snack

2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers, .5 oz non-fat cream cheese .

Calories: 1230, Protein: 105.3, Carbohydrates: 204.44 g, Fiber: 40.97 g, Fat: 15.56 g, Percent calories from fat: 11.39%, Saturated fat: 5.02 g, Cholesterol: 142.5 g, Sodium: 1179.5 mg.

Wednesday

Breakfast

1.5 C Old Fashioned oatmeal, 1 T flax seed meal, .5 oz raisins, 1 T brown sugar

Morning Snack

None

Lunch

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, ¼ C Extra Lean ground beef patty (96/4), 4 oz. Dannon All Natural strawberry yogurt

Snack

None

Dinner

3 oz. pork roast, 1 C baked sweet potato, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 1 T Fat free Vidalia onion dressing, 2 mushrooms-broiled, 2 C yellow summer squash-straightneck

Dessert

none

Snack

¼ cantaloupe, 2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers

Calories: 1165, Protein: 69.93, Carbohydrates: 192.71 g, Fiber: 41.75 g, Fat: 17.59 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.59%, Saturated fat: 4.57 g, Cholesterol: 121 g, Sodium: 911.97 mg.

Thursday

Breakfast

4 oz. Dannon All Natural Blueberry Yoghurt, Small banana

Morning Snack

Small banana

Lunch

1 C General Tso's Tofu, ½ C brown rice, Roasted vegetables with 1 medium turnip, 1 sweet onion, 1 clove garlic

Snack

None

Dinner

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, ¼ C Extra Lean ground beef patty (96/4), 1 tsp mustard-Griffins, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 2 T poppy seed fat free dressing, 1 ½ C Steamfresh broccoli, carrots, sugar snaps, and water chestnuts

Dessert

1 C Yarnell's Chocolate Frozen yogurt

Snack

2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers

Calories: 1304, Protein: 60.26, Carbohydrates: 223.09 g, Fiber: 25.75 g, Fat: 13.2 g, Percent calories from fat: 9.11%, Saturated fat: 4.87 g, Cholesterol: 101.41 g, Sodium: 927.88 mg.

Friday

Breakfast

1.5 C Old Fashioned oatmeal, 1 T flax seed meal, .5 oz raisins, 1 T brown sugar

Morning Snack

2 Ry-Krisp sesame crackers

Lunch

1 C raw cauliflower, 1 Wasa Lite Cracker, 1 C Joel’s chili 3, 1 T non-fat sour cream, ½ C brown rice, 1 C Poinsettia fruit salad

Snack

1 Ry-Krisp sesame cracker

Dinner

1 Stuffed chicken breast, ¾ C Steamfresh broccoli mixture, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, and 1 T Newman's low-fat sesame ginger dressing

Dessert

none

Snack

Grapefruit-Ruby Red 1 Small

Calories: 1185.3, Protein: 67.18, Carbohydrates: 197.15 g, Fiber: 35.7 g, Fat: 18.78 g, Percent calories from fat: 14.24%, Saturated fat: 3.94 g, Cholesterol: 98.76 g, Sodium: 900.98 mg.

Saturday

Breakfast

1.5 C Old Fashioned oatmeal, 1 T flax seed meal, .5 oz raisins, 1 T brown sugar

Morning Snack

None

Lunch

2 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, 1/2 Kangaroo WW Pita, 1 T secret sauce

Snack

Grape tomatoes .30 C

Dinner

3 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, ½ C brown Rice, 2/3 C Great Value Deluxe Stir Fry vegetables, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onion, 1 C Poinsettia Fruit Salad

Dessert

1 C Yarnell strawberry low-fat frozen yogurt

Snack

2 Natural Ry-Krisp crackers

Calories: 1194.84, Protein: 59.36, Carbohydrates: 206.86 g, Fiber: 30.41 g, Fat: 17.55 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.22%, Saturated fat: 4.65 g, Cholesterol: 111.25 g, Sodium: 478.16 mg.

Sunday

Breakfast

2 RyVita Cracker, Omelet with ½ C Egg Beaters, 1/8 C sweet Onion, 3 chopped mushrooms,1/4 C snow peas in ½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita

Morning Snack

2 RyVita Crackers, 4 Flat Earth Peach Mango Crisps

Lunch

Not-so-sloppy Joes in ½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita, 1 t. Griffins mustard

Snack

2 RyVita Crackers, ½ C fresh pineapple

Dinner

5oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, 1 1/3 C Great Value Deluxe Stir Fry vegetables , secret sauce, Salad with 2 C fresh greens, 1/3 C grape tomatoes, 1/8 C sweet onions, 2 t. Ken’s raspberry-walnut vinaigrette dressing

Dessert

1 C Yarnell strawberry low-fat frozen yogurt

Snack

½ Kangaroo whole wheat pita with 1 oz. non-fat cream cheese

Calories: 1381.14, Protein: 101.3, Carbohydrates: 196.35 g, Fiber: 40.29 g, Fat: 20.81 g, Percent calories from fat: 13.56%, Saturated fat: 6.69 g, Cholesterol: 181.25 g, Sodium: 1462 mg.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/7/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1369.21	65.76 g	247.11 g	1370.25 mg	20.64 g	13.58%