Basil-Garlic Green Beans, 56 calories
Use this list as a reference for what foods you might combine to stay within your goal of a 450-calorie lunch or 500-calorie dinner*.
- 1/2 cup cooked long-grain brown rice, 108 calories
- 1/2 cup cooked long-grain white rice, 103 calories
- 1 cup cooked egg noodles, 221 calories
- 1 cup cooked spaghetti, 182 calories
- 1 cup cooked whole wheat spaghetti, 176 calories
- 1/2 cup canned corn, 83 calories
- 1 small baked russet potato, 138 calories
- 1/2 cup canned peas, 59 calories
For additional calorie calculations, see calorieking.com or check the Nutrition Facts labels on food packages.
Click here to download a pdf of our Do-it-Yourself Meal Planning Worksheet. Use it to plan what you're going to eat and record what you've actually eaten.
TIP: To download the Meal Planning Worksheet, you will need the latest Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. Install Adobe Acrobat Reader for free.
*Eat three meals a day and two snacks that total 1,400 calories.
Most people will achieve slow, reasonable weight loss at 1,400 calories a day for women and 1,500 calories a day for men. (Check with your doctor before starting this plan to be sure it's right for you and to determine if you should have a different daily calorie total.)
To distribute your calories throughout the day, consume:
- 350 calories for breakfast
- 450 calories for lunch
- 500 calories for dinner
- two 50-calorie or two 100-calorie snacks, depending on the total number of calories you're shooting for per day.