It’s been a little while since I’ve shared a new 1200 calorie diet menu. Yesterday I tested some mini meals to include on a new menu. My husband was out of town so I had more leeway to have fun with this and try what I wanted!

I love simple easy to prepare low-calorie meals. I think you’ll find what I have to share today to be easy yet surprisingly tasty and nutritious as well as low calorie. It is a high iron menu due in part to the Wheat Chex cereal I chose to include for breakfast. If getting too much iron is a potential problem for you, I would encourage you to substitute a different cold cereal.

I’ve been keeping up with my daily walking quite well. So I was able to add an additional 200 calories to my meals and snacks for this basic 1200 calorie menu. Getting to eat more food is a good reward for exercise in my opinion! What do you think?

Do you remember to take into account the calories you burn with exercise? If you want to learn more about your total calorie needs when on a low calorie diet or if you need a refresher, you may want to review my article: 1200 Calorie Diet: Getting Started. That article will give you all the basics. Or if you want more in depth information you may want to read another article of mine: 1200 Calorie Diet: How to Make it Work for You!

Sample Menu for 1200 Calories #14

Breakfast

1 bowl Wheat Chex Cereal (3/4 cup ~160 calories)

1/2 cup blueberries

8 oz. skim milk

1/2 cup orange juice

Snack

1 stick mozzarella string cheese (80 calories each)

Lunch

Easy Pizza:

[1 Honey Wheat Pita (about 6 inches in diameter, 180 calories)

1/2 medium tomato (about 1/2 cup) very thinly sliced tomato (layer on top of the pita bread)

6 slices turkey breast (Oscar Mayer, shaved slices 50 calories) chop into smaller pieces and scatter on top of the tomato slices

1/4 cup Reduced Fat Shredded Mozzarella (Sargento, 80 calories) spread over the turkey and tomato slices. Instead of the mozzarella you might try the Sargento low fat 4 cheese reduced fat shredded Mexican also 80 calories for 1/4 cup. I think I tried this once for a small homemade pizza topping and it had more flavor and appeal than the reduced fat mozzarella.

Season with oregano or pizza seasoning. Bake about 15 minutes or so at 375 degrees in a toaster oven.]

water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or diet soda

Snack

Low Fat Peach Yogurt (or flavor of your choice, Stonyfield Farms, 130 calories)

Supper

Veggie Frittata:

[1/2 cup egg substitute (99% egg whites, 60 calories)

1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

About 1 cup of mixed vegetables lightly steamed or cooked in a microwave (chop up fresh or use a frozen mix) See link below for more information.

Seasoning (I used an organic season-all blend with sea salt.]

1 cup Sweet Cherries

If you would like directions on how to make a basic frittata, I ran across a good article on the New York Times yesterday: How to Make a Frittata Hopefully the article is still accessible without you having to log in. I joined the site a while ago because I like to stay informed with their health and fitness information. It’s free to join.)

water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or diet soda

(Always remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day.)

Total Calories = 1206

Total Fiber = 23.6 grams

Fat = 17%

Carbs = 60%

Protein = 23%

Calcium = 1235 mg (Women between 19 and 50 years need approximately 1,000 mg a day, 51+ need 1,200 mg a day)

Iron = 22.2 mg (Women 19 to 50 years need 18 mg of iron, 51+ need 8 mg)

1500 Calorie Diet Menu

Modify the 1200 Calorie Diet Menu. As I mentioned earlier, this menu is high in iron. So if you are post-menopausal you may want to substitute a breakfast cereal that has less iron. Otherwise this is a well-balanced menu. You might increase the amount you eat (portion size) or add whatever you might like for the additional 300 calories that will fit your needs.

Both the frittata and the pita bread pizza offer a lot of possibilities for variation. Choose healthy ingredients and create your own unique versions. Let me know how it works out!

Till next time, watch your calories and eat healthy!

calories weight loss

It’s mid-summer and fresh fruit is abundant! Gotta love it! Fresh or otherwise, fruit makes a healthy choice for snacks as well as side dishes or desserts. If you are like me, it becomes a substitute for many of the less than healthy sweets such as candy, cakes, pies, cookies, and more. However, as healthy as fruit may be, it’s all too easy to overdo a good thing.

Image via Wikipedia

Fruit is NOT calorie free. The calories do add up. I’ve put together a list of fruits that are generally well known and readily available in various seasons here in the United States. Fresh, frozen, canned, or dried, you’ve got lots of possibilities.

To help you meet your nutrient needs with fruit and still keep your calorie count down, you will want to have an idea of about how many calories are in your favorites. Keep portion size in mind.

You may want to copy and paste this list into your own word-processing program, print it off, and post a copy on your refrigerator to easily refresh your memory. I do have a print option on this page but it comes up with an annoying error message at the top of the page. (Anyone who could tell me what I need to do to get rid of that?)

The calorie counts are based on information provided by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Agricultural Research Service. Given that the values are estimates at best because no two pieces of fruit will be exactly the same size even if both are “small”, “medium” or whatever, I’ve adjusted the calorie counts just slightly. I have rounded the values up or down by no more than 2 calories to arrive at a value that might be easier for you to remember.

(I am not including fruit juices in this list because I will include them later along with other low calorie beverage choices. Also, I strongly encourage you to choose whole fruit rather than juice as much as possible.)

FRUIT

Apple - 1 medium - 80

Apple Sauce, sweetened - 100

Unsweetened - 60

Apricots, fresh - 1 medium - 20

Banana - 1 small- 90

1/2 medium - 50

Blackberries - 1 cup - 90

Blueberries - 1 cup - 80

Cantaloupe, cubed - 1 cup - 55

Clementines - 1 small - 35

Cherries, sweet, fresh with pits - 1/2 cup - 45

Figs - fresh - 1 medium - 35

Grapefruit - 1/2 medium - 40

Grapes - Red or Green European Varieties - 10 grapes - 35

Honeydew Melon, cubed - 1 cup - 60

Kiwi - 1 medium - 45

Mandarin Oranges, canned, juice-pack, drained - 1 cup - 70

Mango, thinly sliced - 1/2 cup - 55

Nectarine - 1 medium - 65

Orange - 1 medium - 65

Papaya - 1 cup sliced - 55

Peach - 1 medium - 40

Pear - 1 medium - 100

Pineapple, fresh 1 cup - 75

Pineapple, canned in juice - 75

Plums, fresh - 1 medium - 35

Plums, dried (prunes) 3 medium - 60

Raspberries - 1 cup - 60

Strawberries - 1 cup - 50

Tangerine - 1 medium - 35

Watermelon, diced - 1 cup - 45

Fruit can be a good source of dietary fiber. Both the fiber and the high water content of fruit can work together to manage your hunger. However, not all fruits are equally good sources of fiber. As a general rule the best sources include the berries, citrus fruits (eaten whole not as juice), and fruit eaten with the skin such as pears and apples. If you would like to know the best choices by season you may want to refer to a few of my earlier articles.

Best Low Calorie, High Fiber, Summer Fruits and Vegetables

Fall Fruits and Vegetables: Low Calorie and High Fiber

Low Calorie, High Fiber Winter Fruits & Veggies

High Fiber Low Calorie Spring Fruits and Vegetables

(Remember, I adjusted the calories just slightly for the fruit listed on this page so the values may not agree exactly with what I have listed elsewhere.)

If you are on a low calorie diet, do remember to balance your food choices to stay healthy. You may want to refer to my 1200 and 1500 calorie diet plans to see how many servings of fruit are recommended along with other food choices. Here’s a refresher for what nutritionists refer to as a serving of fruit:

4 oz. juice (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup sliced/chopped cooked or raw fruit
(Fresh, frozen, or canned.)

1 whole medium piece of fruit

1/4 cup dried fruit

These amounts provide a guideline to help you manage your food intake, keep your calorie count down, and achieve nutritional balance especially when you are on a low calorie diet.

Hope this information helps. Have a great week, watch those calories, and stay healthy!

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