Inside Scoop: This delicious high fiber meal plan will help curb your sugar cravings and kick start weight loss.

When it comes to dieting and weight loss, we seem to have a new solution, supplement or miracle food popping up every day. Throughout the years, people have done some crazy things in pursuit of the ‘perfect’ body, including: smoking (yes, popular in the 1920s to help suppress appetite), to going on liquid only diets (think master cleanse) to drastically restricting calories, food and/or food groups.

While the internet has created an avenue for more awareness around these types of weight loss methods, it’s also made the weight loss and nutrition industry all the more confusing. There are thousands of diets, systems, apps, foods, and supplements aimed to help you lose weight, but does it really need to be so complicated?

One thing we’ve learned as nutritionists is that having an easy and simple structure with achievable and realistic goals is what tends to stick in the long term.

For us, it’s really all about eating whole, nutrient-dense foods, reducing the ‘non-foods’, and the simple art of meal planning. These combined along with some delicious foods we have in store for you in the high fiber meal plan below, are some of the best and most important tools for sustainable health and achievable weight loss.

Organizing what you’re going to eat, setting aside time to shop, prepping in advance, and knowing how to design your own success, makes it much easier to reach for healthy grab-and-go food and easy access snacks. Learning to healthy prep allows cooking to become more of a priority, and prepping eventually becomes effortless.

The awesome thing about putting less of an emphasis on crash dieting is that this ‘way of eating’ is never set it stone. You can still have a bite out, change up your meals, or pop that frozen burrito in the oven every now and then. The important thing is to have a general plan that works for you and keep some guidelines in the back of your mind to stick to, so you can find balance, long-term.

We’re not going to lie, getting in the habit of meal prepping and planning takes a bit of effort and dedication, but once you get into it, that extra 30-60 minutes on Sunday will literally change your life, and the way you look at food.

GOOD MEAL PLANNING MUST-HAVES

The most important aspect of any meal plan is that it should be simple, realistic, and enjoyable. Don’t force yourself to eat foods that you don’t like simply because you saw an article claiming that they’re the next miracle food. Also, figure out what works for you and what foods make you smile, so that you know you are going to enjoy the meals you have lined up in the weeks ahead.

TOP PANTRY ESSENTIALS:

We like to stock up on high fiber foods that are simple to prepare and make eating on-the-go easier. Here are some of our top pantry essentials:

• Whole foods containing all your macronutrients: slow release carbohydrates like beans that contain plenty of fiber, healthy fats and good quality protein.
• Breakfast that is rich in fiber, protein and healthy fats. We also like to have our fruits in the morning. These overnight oats containers create a breakfast that’s ready in less than 30 seconds.
• Lunches and dinners containing a ton of veggies (we aim for 1/2 plate of veggies, 1/4 plant or animal based protein and 1/4 slow release carbs). For example, you can keep these quick cook quinoa packs stocked in your pantry and add chopped veggies to the mix. A meal that’s ready in under 10 minutes.
• Snacks containing protein + fiber + healthy fats to keep blood sugars stable. RX bars are one of our favourite pantry essentials that make snacking on-the-go WAY easier! They are made with whole-food ingredients, healthy fats and contain plenty of fiber.
• Minimally processed foods, free from artificial ingredients and preservatives.
• Foods with minimal sugar, dairy and animal protein. For example, stocking up on snacks like Skinny Pop instead of sugary treats that contain butter or other high saturated fat ingredients is a great way to have an evening treat that also tastes great.
• Permission to allow yourself to enjoy foods and meals you like in moderation and with balance.

PRO TIP: USE A FOOD DIARY & ORGANIZE YOUR MENU

One of the best tools we’ve found that works with our clients is a Food and Mood Diary. It can not only track your intake of food, but using this diary and assessing how you’re feeling throughout the day both mentally and physically, allows you to see if there are any trends in the foods you are eating, your symptoms and your mood.

Using a Food & Mood Diary also helps creates a visual guide into your life beyond just the food you’re putting in your body. Then with this information, you can start planning out your weekly menu based off of foods that make you feel good, instead of foods that make you feel sluggish, bloated and irritable.

Our favourite tool for planning our menu throughout the week is a dry-erase Weekly Fridge Calendar. This helps visualize our foods, stick to a plan and keeps us within our grocery budget.

YOUR 7-DAY HIGH FIBER MEAL PLAN

Day 1:

• Breakfast: 1 Serving of Warm Peanut Butter Oats with 1/2 cup blueberries.
• Lunch: Chopped salad with 2 cups of spinach or mixed greens, 1/4 cup chickpeas, 1.5 oz. goat cheese, 1/4 cucumber, 1/2 red pepper, 1 Tbsp hemp seeds, 2 Tbsp salad dressing (olive oil & lemon or balsamic vinegar) and 1/4 avocado.
• Dinner: Baked Ginger & Soy Salmon with 1/2 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice and sautéed asparagus or veggie mix (make extra salmon for Day 2 lunch).
• Snack 1 (optional): Cucumber and carrot slices with 3 Tbsp store-bought hummus or homemade Spinach & Artichoke Hummus.
• Snack 2 (optional): 1/4 cup mixed raw nuts.

Day 2:

• Breakfast: Tahini Energy Smoothie.
• Lunch: Brain Boosting Salad Nicoise.
• Dinner: Vegan Sweet Potato Chili with 2 Tbsp full fat Greek or coconut yogurt and 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.
• Snack 1 (optional): 1 brown rice cake with 1 Tbsp natural almond or peanut butter, half a banana.
• Snack 2 (optional): 1/2 cup of berries with 1/2 cup full fat Greek yogurt.

Day 3:

• Breakfast: Easy Chocolate Chai Overnight Oats or Pina Colada Chia Pudding (make double batch night before for Day 5).
• Lunch: Mashed Chickpea Salad on 2 Gluten-free or Ezekiel toasts (leftover for Day 5).
• Dinner: Sweet Heat Kale Salad with Shrimp (use left over for Day 5).
• Snack 1 (optional): 1 apple with 2 Tbsp almond butter or nut/ seed butter of choice.
• Snack 2 (optional): 1 hardboiled egg drizzled with 1 Tbsp olive oil, a dash of cumin, and 1/4 red pepper.

Day 4:

• Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, 1 cup chopped spinach, 1/4 cup tomatoes, garlic and served with half an avocado.
• Lunch: Roasted Beet Quinoa Salad with 1 Tbsp goat cheese (leftover for day 6).
• Dinner: Stuffed chicken breast (1 slice of mozzarella, 1 roasted red pepper, 1 large kale leaf) with 2 Tbsp marinara sauce served with 1 cup green salad with 1/2 Tbsp dressing, 1/4 cup roasted potatoes with 1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Snack 1 (optional): 1/2 cup sliced red peppers, 1/3 cup cucumbers with 3 Tbsp store-bought or homemade Spinach & Artichoke Hummus and half an avocado.
• Snack 2 (optional): 1/4 cup raw nut and seed blend.

Day 5:

• Breakfast: Easy Chocolate Chai Overnight Oats or Pina Colada Chia Pudding.
• Lunch: Leftover Mashed Chickpea Salad on 2 cups of spinach with 2 Tbsp salad dressing of choice and 1 gluten-free or Ezekiel toast.
• Dinner: Sweet Heat Kale Salad with Shrimp.
• Snack 1 (optional): 1 cup organic blue corn tortilla chips and 1/4 cup guacamole.
• Snack 2 (optional): 4 dark chocolate squares (70%+).

Day 6:

• Breakfast: Buckwheat Pancakes with Berry Salsa.
• Lunch: Leftover Roasted Beet Quinoa Salad with optional 1 Tbsp goat cheese.
• Dinner: Warm Kale & Lentil Taco Salad Bowl with Chipotle Dressing (leftover for day 7).
• Snack 1 (optional):  Mixed fresh fruit of choice.
• Snack 2 (optional): 1/2 sweet potato with 1 Tbsp peanut butter drizzled and a dash of cinnamon.

Day 7:

• Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with 1 Tbsp coconut oil, 1 cup chopped spinach, 1/4 cup sweet potato, garlic and served with half an avocado.
• Lunch: Warm Kale & Lentil Taco Salad Bowl with Chipotle Dressing.
• Dinner: Turkey Burger with Feta served with whole grain or gluten-free bun and side salad.
• Snack 1 (optional): 2 Energy Bites.
• Snack 2 (optional): 1 apple with 1 Tbsp almond butter or nut/ seed butter of choice.

For a full 5-week meal plan that includes over 125 recipes all made with 5 Ingredients or less, plus countless resources on meal planning, choosing healthy ingredients and brands, eating out and more… make sure to check out the N5Diet Plan below.