Real Foods Nutrition Guide Please consider speaking with your health care provider before embarking on a weight-loss program, particularly if you are struggling with a health-related condition, such as diabetes or obesity. Table of Contents Your Real Appeal Nutrition Guide 6 1250 Calorie Plan 22 1550/1800 Calorie Plan 30 Recipes: Breakfasts 42 Recipes: Lunches 58 Recipes: Dinners 82 Recipes: Snacks 114 Recipes: Desserts 132 Recipes: Shakes 150 Recipes: The Water Bar 160 Recipes: Extras 168 Appendix A: Basic Cooking Techniques 176 Appendix B: How to Follow Real Appeal as a Vegetarian/Vegan 182 Appendix C: What’s a Real Appeal Serving? 184 Appendix D: Staples Shopping List 186 Appendix E: Weekly Shopping List 190 Appendix F: The Fittest Fast Food Finds 192 Appendix G: Know Your Ingredients 196 REAL APPEAL | NUTRITION 5 NUTRITION Your Real Appeal Nutrition Guide Let’s get real: Food plays a HUGE role in helping you reach your weight-loss goals. The truth is, if you want to look your best and feel your best, you’ve got to eat the kind of foods that will get you there. This guide is all about showing you how to use real food in your real life for real weight-loss success. icture yourself at a car dealership. Your Real Appeal Nutrition Guide meal P You’ve landed a windfall of cash plans will help you do exactly the same through some fortunate circumstance, and thing. By following these meal plans, you’re finally ready to get the car of your you’ll learn how to choose better food to dreams. It’s got speed, sleek lines, and fuel your body and stave off hunger even strength–everything you could want from as you lose weight. You’ll learn how the a sports car and more. You want this car of right balance of proteins, carbohydrates your dreams to last a lifetime, so what are and fats can make energy-boosting eats you going to do? You’d take pretty special super-filling and satisfying too. And, you’ll care of that car, right? discover tons of healthy but tasty meals, snacks, and even desserts (!) with the Real Well it’s the same deal for your body! In Appeal recipes–foods you’re going to order for you to have that slim and strong fall in love with and want to eat again silhouette you desire, you’ve got to feed and again. it with the right fuel. You want some high- octane gas, some premium oil, and just the right balance of fluids, because you know high-quality fuel not only protects the longevity of your engine, it gives it great performance. 6 REAL APPEAL | NUTRITION REAL APPEAL | NUTRITION 7 NUTRITION n the following pages, you will find the • If you’re not the best cook, no problem! I Fast Track meal plans (1,250 calories This guide will walk you through a few for women and 1,550 for men) and the very basic food prep skills (see Appendix Real Steady meal plans (1,550 calories for B, page 176). In fact, many of the quick, women and 1,800 for men). The recipes easy, hearty recipes we’ve included take were created by a chef exclusively for only 5 minutes to make. Real Appeal, and are designed to satisfy • If you are vegetarian, no sweat! We your palate and your stomach. There’s show you how to make some simple something for everyone here. substitutions so you’re getting the power- packed protein that helps fuel your body • If you want to take a faster track to effectively. (See Appendix B, page 182.) weight loss, you can use the Fast Track plans to jump-start your weight loss. You The whole purpose of this guide is to can follow Fast Track for a month, two help you make small steps in your every months, or even the entire 16 weeks if it day nutrition to maximize your weight works for you. However, if you feel way loss success. We don’t want you to starve too hungry (a 5 on the Hunger Scale) or yourself. We don’t want you to eat bland, if you have low energy, you can switch to “diet” foods. And we definitely don’t want the higher calorie Real Steady plans at to deprive you of the foods you know and any time. love! We simply want to help you make the best choices possible for your best body • If you want to take a more moderate possible. We promise, if you follow the tips, approach, you can use the Real Steady techniques and guidelines we suggest in plans which give you more daily calories the following pages, you are going to get while still setting you up for consistent REAL results. weight-loss results. To get started now, simply turn to page 16 • If you don’t want to eat according to a for the Fast Track meal plans or page 17 for set plan, you can mix and match all of the the Real Steady plans. meals–you’ll eat according to what you want and what appeals to you! 8 REAL APPEAL | NUTRITION REAL APPEAL | NUTRITION 9 NUTRITION Find your “sweet spot.” 4 If you’re using the online-generated The Real Appeal daily calorie target and fall between two calorie levels, or you need more than 1,800 calories, add calories to the lower Weight-Loss Meal Plans calorie plan provided in this guide. We give you some great 100-calorie options in Padding Your Plan on page What does a 1,250- 1,550- or 1,800-calorie day look like? 13. All you have to do is add to your Well, we think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised. daily calorie target appropriately. Thanks to the lean sources of protein and abundance of fruits and vegetables at every meal, you get a large volume Drink up. 5 Have at least one glass of water with for the calories. Your plate will be fuller (and tastier) than each meal or snack. Drinking water helps you’d expect. you swallow, supports your digestive track, and helps you feel fuller. Plus, you cover at hile you don’t have to follow the Or mix and match. least three to four of the recommended six W meal plans, we believe that the 2 Love some meals on this plan but daily glasses. closer you stick to the Real Appeal way of don’t care for others? No problem. Enjoy eating, the more quickly you’ll see results. Day 1’s breakfast with Day 4’s lunch, Day Tailor it to your After a week on these flavorful meals, your 5’s dinner and Day 2’s snack. Have fun 6 vegetarian/vegan diet. cravings for overly sugary and salty foods with it! All the breakfasts contain about the Are you a vegetarian, vegan, or pescetarian should ease significantly—which will be a same number of calories—as do all the (someone who eats seafood, but not meat huge boon to your weight-loss success. lunches, dinners and snacks. You can make or poultry)? If so, you’ll have no problem The Real Foods plan is no short-term “diet” nearly endless combinations, or stick to following the Real Appeal meal plans—just but a healthy way of eating that you can your favorites—your choice! choose the breakfasts, lunches, dinners, adopt for life. snacks and treats that fit your preferences. Make substitutions, For instance, most breakfasts are either Here’s how to use these meal plans to your 3 as long as the foods are similar: Swap vegetarian or vegan, or you can turn some full advantage. raspberries for strawberries, cauliflower vegan by using soy milk or other non- for broccoli, fish for chicken, walnuts for dairy milks. A number of lunch and dinner Simply follow the plan as-is. almonds, and so on. Stick to other foods recipes are vegetarian or vegan, such as 1 With the Real Appeal meal plans, within the same food group and you’ll Romaine Lettuce Cup with Hummus and there’s no second-guessing. Just follow automatically stay on your plan. Red Pepper, White Bean and Spinach the plan—the calorie levels and nutritional Soup and the Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie. composition are all worked out for you. You’ll notice that some recipes, such as Each day has a nice balance of different Scrambled Egg Burrito, Baked Pasta with types of meals, everything from no-time-to- Chicken and Broccoli, and Turkey Sloppy cook, on-the-run meals to quick, satisfying Joe, also include suggestions on how you home meals. can swap in plant protein. (For instructions on how to convert any meal into a vegetarian or vegan one, see page 183.) 10 REAL APPEAL | NUTRITION REAL APPEAL | NUTRITION 11 NUTRITION Calories in Each Meal Padding Your Plan ere are the calories of the individual that posts calories, or if you’re buying a No matter what calorie level plan you happen to follow H meals on the three Real Appeal meal frozen dinner or other packaged meals. For —1,250, 1,550, or 1,800—you may need to experiment a bit plans. You don’t have to worry about these example, if you’re on 1,550 daily calories, numbers if following the meal plans—we’ve your lunches should hover around 425 to get to your calorie sweet spot. already done all the calculations for you. calories. With that number in mind, you But these calorie counts can help you can scan the restaurant menu or pick up a et’s say you’re losing weight on 1,550 • 8-ounce latte or 1 cup nonfat or choose wisely if you’re at a restaurant packaged meal that’s close to that target.