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I’ve posted several sample menus with my “typical menu” before, but as I talked about in this post on Trim Healthy Mama strategies that have been working for me, I’ve changed a few things in the last year! This menu incorporates those strategies – and takes into the account that I’m planning a wedding, working, and moving! In a less hectic time of life I may change some things, like not eating the same thing every morning for breakfast, but the simplicity is so nice.
You may not need to do things like I do. You may be able to eat cheesecake after every meal and still lose weight. I’m just a stubborn loser and I’m experimenting with things that will help me. If you’re in my shoes, maybe you can get some ideas from this menu. I hope so! This menu is meant to be tweaked to your own personal needs; it’s for inspiration.
Some notes about the menu:
- Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are for one person. Dinners are for a family.
- On Sundays our main meal is at lunch and we’re on our own for dinner.
- Easy Chocolate Oatmeal – This is literally what I have for breakfast every single morning. I never get tired of it. Switching up fuels in the morning would be ideal, but I’m kinda busy right now with wedding + pre-scheduling blog posts + moving 700 miles away, so I’m not sweating it. 😛 Plus, I’m seeing results, so I’m not worried. I usually have the oatmeal with a teaspoon of coconut oil as my fat source, 2 T. whey protein powder for added stay power, and half a banana sliced on top.
- Salads: You’ll see a lot of salads on this menu! They’re so easy; you can make a salad out of basically any protein source (even meatloaf). To cut down the calorie load on my salads, I use just a sprinkling of cheese instead of a handful and try to be smart about my dressing choices. I recently found a creamy Italian dressing that I love at the grocery store! It has half the fat of Ranch but the same amount of carbs. (Watch out for extra carbs in lower-fat dressings.) Three tips for cutting needless dressing calories: 1) Thin the dressing down with some water; it sticks to the salad better! 2) Use other liquidy things, like salsa, sriracha, and/or vinegar as part of your dressing to make the creamy stuff stretch further. 3) Stir the salad up to distribute the dressing evenly and coat each leaf. You’ll get away with using less this way.
- You’ll notice (well, I hope so!) that I try not to have heavy S meals all the time with beaucoup de fat sources – and lots of them! There are a few more indulgent meals in this menu, but not all the S meals have piles of added fats.
You can find the following recipes in my cookbook, Necessary Food, as well as on my blog:
- Mommy’s Meatloaf (pg. 42)
- Budget-Friendly Cornbread (pg. 168)
- Briana’s Hot Chocolate (pg. 205)
- Instant PB&C-Covered Strawberries (pg. 296)
- The rest of the recipes below will be in my next book!
Sunday
- B – (E)Â Easy Chocolate Oatmeal
- L – (S) Mommy’s Meatloaf + steamed cauliflower + spaghetti squash with butter + vanilla CarbSmart with peanut butter
- S – On Sundays I often have a late afternoon snack, then have another snack after I get home from church. (E) Low-fat cottage cheese with THM Super Sweet Blend + cutie orange + 2 slices sprouted bread toast with a teaspoon of butter and a slight drizzle of honey (The honey isn’t technically on plan for THM, but I use a very small amount in an E setting sometimes.)
- S – (FP)Â Chocolate-Covered Cranberry Superfood Shake
Monday
- B – (E)Â Easy Chocolate Oatmeal
- L – (S) Leftover meatloaf over salad with a light sprinkling of mozzarella, a drizzle of ketchup, and a drizzle of creamy Italian dressing + celery and cucumber slices with a very moderate amount of peanut butter
- S – (FP) Briana’s Hot Chocolate
- D – (S) Salmon bake with lots of veggies, some butter, and seasonings (recipe coming eventually!) + salad with small amount of cheese and creamy Italian dressing
- S – (E) Low-fat cottage cheese with half a sliced banana, THM Super Sweet Blend, and a few sugar-free chocolate chips
Tuesday
- B – (E)Â Easy Chocolate Oatmeal
- L – (S) Leftover salmon over salad + celery and cucumber slices with a very moderate amount of peanut butter
- S – (FP) Two Light Rye Wasa crackers with a smear of low-fat cream cheese, 2-3 slices of lean deli meat, lettuce, and dill pickle chips
- D – (S) Hamburger with the works on half a Joseph’s pita + Instant PB&C-Covered Strawberries
- S – (FP) Strawberry Milk
Wednesday
- B – (E)Â Easy Chocolate Oatmeal
- L – (S) BLT on low-carb wrap + veggies with a bit of hummus (not too much because you already have a few carbs from the wrap)
- S –Â (FP) Briana’s Hot Chocolate
- D – (E) Asian Grilled Chicken + roasted sweet potatoes + peas
- S – (F) Low-fat Greek yogurt with frozen strawberries, a dash of almond milk, and stevia
Thursday
- B – (E)Â Easy Chocolate Oatmeal
- L – (S) Leftover grilled chicken on salad with a sprinkling of cheese and creamy Italian dressing + Cranberry Nog
- S – (FP) Low-fat Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries and Hershey’s sugar-free chocolate syrup
- D – (E) Mom’s Chicken Soup + Budget-Friendly Cornbread
- S – (E) Apple with peanut butter made from defatted peanut flour, stevia, salt, and water
Friday
- B – (E)Â Easy Chocolate Oatmeal
- L – (S) Salad with lunch meat, a sprinkling of cheese, salsa, and creamy Italian dressing + celery and sliced cucumbers with a little hummus
- S –Â (FP) Briana’s Hot Chocolate
- D – (E) Leftover chicken soup + leftover cornbread + cutie orange
- S – (S) Carb Smart with peanut butter
Saturday
- B – (E)Â Easy Chocolate Oatmeal
- L – (S) Cold cuts sandwich in half a Joseph’s pita + Chocolate Pudding Cake
- S – (FP or very light E) Low-fat Greek yogurt with a dash of almond milk and stevia, topped with a little bit of chocolate Skinny Pop popcorn and a drizzle of Hershey’s sugar-free chocolate syrup
- D – (E) Ground venison in spaghetti sauce over baked sweet potato, topped with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan + steamed broccoli + cutie orange
- S – (E) Leftover cornbread (toasted) with a smidgen of butter and 2-3 slices lean deli meat
See all that stuff? That’s me packing to move all my junk 700 miles away! Those lamp shades were an awesome thrift store find.
You may also enjoy:
-
Starting THM
-
my recipe index
-
my recipes grouped by fuel type, allergy info, and theme
-
my no special ingredients recipes
-
my THM sample menus
-
my index of THM tips
Want to start the New Year out right? Grab a copy of my cookbook to get nearly 400 RECIPES to jump start your healthy journey! You’ll find lots of our Thomas family church cookbook favorites made healthy in this easy-to-use, hard cover/spiral bound book. CLICK HERE for details! You may also want to check out my 2018 recipe calendar with 12 brand new recipes and exclusive recipe cards!
You can pin this menu here:
Angels says
Hey Brianna,
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
You mention your salads. I may have missed this part but what dressings do you use? Store bought or do you make you own. You mentioned Italian . I’m a big salad person but I think dressings are hindering my progress. Thanks.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
Sometimes I make my own (there are a few great recipes in Convenient Food, my second cookbook), but more often I buy them. 🙂 Any storebought dressing/condiment with 2 grams of net carbs or less per serving is considered acceptable on the THM plan. Ranch, Caesar, and other non-sweet creamy dressings like that are usually good options and can be used in an S setting. Ken’s has a Garlic Parmesan that I love. Ken’s also has a Lite Northern Italian that is great. It has 1 g of carbs and 4.5 grams of fat, so you can use it in an S setting or sparingly in an E/FP setting. I’ve been known to get creative with E/FP salad dressings: salsa, vinegar, soup broth…anything liquidy is fair game. 😛
Diane Lowe says
Thank you so much Briana! for all your writings and recipes which help me so much. Sometimes I don’t know what to make and I just have to look what you’re making and do it too 🙂 You are so busy and have so much to think about with your wedding and all, but you keep on helping others. Thank you again xx
Hannah Grace says
I love posts like these! Thank you so much! 🙂 i never tire of reading about the weird and delicious things you eat 😉
Nanny C says
I remember reading that you are dairy free now. But there is a lot of dairy in this menu. Did something change?
Briana Thomas says
I’m not sure where you read that (please send me the link so I can fix it!), but no, I’m not dairy free! I’m sorry! Maybe you were thinking of another blogger? I am more dairy conscious now than I used to be, but no, not dairy free. 🙂
Vicki Powers says
Thanks for sharing your menu. Will be very helpful in getting me back on plan. I knew you were in upstate Sc but not sure where until I saw your address posted on your website. We were practically neighbors growing up. I lived just over the state line in Ga. I graduated from Tri Co Tech in Pendleton. I live on the gulf coast in Alabama now.
Congratulations and blessings on your upcoming marriage. Ryan is one very blessed guy!
Michelle says
I’ll admit, I’m not very adventurous in the kitchen and certainly never would have thought of yogurt with skinny popcorn and chocolate syrup. Haha, it’s so good! Thank you. Tonight we’re having the Asian chicken tenders. I will be missing the dipping sauce though. (sniffle) May God bless you and stretch your time in the days ahead.
Amber says
Brianna, Thank you so much for sharing this. I have gone off plan, reversed and gained my 6lbs previously lost back. Today I decided it’s time to get back at it. I Was feeling a bit stuck and maybe a tad bit overwhelmed and more or less out of ideas on food . This menu plan was so easy! And it looks like you and I have the same taste. Yum! Feeling excited to try all this yummy food. Thanks
Rebekah J says
Thank you for this! I was just thinking to myself the other day that I needed a menu to follow to help me get in the right direction. I’ve been trying to follow THM for a couple of years but getting the fuels matched up right was getting to me. I’m going to try this for a week. We have alot of similar tastes.
NANCY HUSSEY says
Can I substitute unsweet coconut milk or Unsweet Cashew Milk for the Unsweet Almond milk? I tire of Almond, but was afraid I might be making a mistake witth these other choices.
Thanks
Nancy
Briana Thomas says
Yep, as long as those are similar in nutritional info to carton almond milk (about 30 calories per cup), those are fine in the same applications!
Julianne Van Cise says
Dearest Briana, First, praying everyday for you and your “NEW LIFE” and for your dearest family, as all this takes place.
Second..WOW…I am STUCK…STUCK….STUCK and your last few POST are an ANSWER to my PRAYERS for HELP! I just made the Hot Chocolate for my husband and myself..loved it! So, all that to say….you are a JOY and BLESSING and used of the LORD. As I have said before, I love the way you share your family and your love to JESUS, just the way we would do and say……it brings tears of Joy and SMILES of much BLESSING. Thanks for GIVING to “ALL OF US”…..on our way to being healthy and serving, until HE COMES 🙂 love you…Angels all about..Miss Julianne, Townville Pennsylvania 5.9 outside, right now, with lots of snow! (we are next to Faith Builders , in Guys Mills, PA) THIS IS FYI..so NO REPLY NEEDED, just had to say..you ARE A BLESSING!
Briana Thomas says
Good to hear from you again, Julianne! Thank you so much for your prayers; they are SO appreciated! This time of life has a lot of changes, but God is faithful and I wouldn’t trade it. 🙂 I’m so glad the recent posts have been helpful! I hope you have a blessed week!
patricia nay says
I can feel your excitement! Blessings to you and Ryan.
Betty says
On the Tuesday menu, is the picture with bacon the Hamburger with the works? Is there beef and bacon?
Briana Thomas says
No, that’s actually the BLT from Wednesday’s lunch, but you can have bacon on your burger if you want!