5-Day Minimally Processed Sample Meal Plan

Congrats! You’ve made it to the final week of the Rocktober Challenge! This week will for sure be the hardest for me because with pumping and having a 4 month old I’m constantly hungry (and tired) and reaching for quick and easy meals and snacks. I’ve been eating take out, package snacks, and unbalanced meals more than ever, so I’m really looking forward to reeling it in this week!

The goal for this week is to ditch the packaged and pre-made food as much as possible. These foods have a lot of additives like sugar, hydrogenated oils, sodium, and preservatives that you want to limit as much as possible. It’s nearly impossible to avoid any type of processing in our foods, so the goal is to eat foods that are either not processed (fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fresh or frozen meat) and minimally processed.

Minimally processed foods have only been slightly altered for the purpose of preservation, but it does not significantly change the nutritional content of the food. Examples of this include cleaning and removing inedible or unwanted parts, refrigeration, pasteurization, fermentation, freezing, and vacuum-packaging.

On the other hand, there are foods that are considered “ultra processed” like frozen pizza, packaged snacks and bars, fast food, sweetened beverages etc. These foods typically have added fat, sugar, starches, and hydrogenated oils.

To follow this type of meal plan it’s going to take some planning and meal prep! I’ve linked all the recipes I’ll be using and making ahead of time this weekend!

DAY 1
Breakfast: warm chia flax pudding + coffee with unsweetened almond milk + vital proteins
Lunch: smoothie + topped with paleo granola
Snack: celery sticks + 2T PB + cinnamon
Dinner: cauliflower fried rice bowls
Snack: tea + fruit (if hungry)

DAY 2
Breakfast: raw oatmeal with chia seed jam + coffee
Lunch: tuna salad (made with avocado oil mayo) + raw veggies + 1/2 avocado
Snack: chia seed pudding + berries
Dinner: chicken tortilla soup
Snack: freezer fudge + tea

DAY 3
Breakfast: 2 eggs muffins + 1/2 avocado + strawberries + coffee
Lunch: chocolate almond butter smoothie or leftover soup
Snack: peanut butter protein bar
Dinner: salmon + roasted veggies + quinoa
Snack: freezer fudge + tea

DAY 4
Breakfast: raw oatmeal with chia seed jam (recipe from day 2) + coffee
Lunch: egg salad (made with avocado oil mayo) on a bed of arugula + tomato + avocado
Snack: chia seed pudding
Dinner: Creamy Pesto Chicken Enchiladas
Snack: homemade popcorn + tea

DAY 5
Breakfast: egg muffins (recipe from day 3) + avocado + fruit + coffee
Lunch: smoothie
Snack: peanut butter protein bar
Dinner: turkey meatloaf + roasted veggies
Snack: homemade popcorn + tea

Let me know if you have any questions!

xx, A