I started my day with two glasses of water on an empty stomach then had my coffee (1 tsp of Nescafe, 3 tsp of fat free coffee mate, 2 tsp of sugar) followed by 30g of Bran flakes with a glass of skimmed milk!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It prevents you from overeating the entire day, improves your concentration, gives you more strength to engage in any physical activity. Many comparative studies have shown how breakfast skippers eat twice as breakfast eaters and thus end up consuming more calories, more saturated fats and develop higher levels of cholesterol. Also, skipping breakfast is the root cause of the slow down of their metabolic rate and the drop in their blood sugar levels which makes them feel more hungry, have less energy and leads to eat bigger portions during lunch and dinner.

For lunch there was stuffed zucchinis with rice and meat. I have noticed that most of the people fall in the trap of overeating stuffed zucchinis to feel satiated.And the trick here isn’t only to start with a salad but to also, to grill in the oven (with cooking spray) sliced zucchinis and sprinkle them with salt and oregano. Together with the salad at the beginning they would fill up your stomach and leave little space for stuffed ones! I only had two stuffed zucchinis!

Green lettuce prays in front of the holy red cabbage! Rich in polyphenols, iron, sulfur, vitamin C, fiber, manganese, vitamin B6 and folate, and a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, vitamin A, tryptophan, protein and magnesium.

Virtually fat free, each 100 g of cabbage provide you with 24 calories!

Red Cabbage has more phytonutrients (that work to protect the body from free radicals) than green cabbage and encloses 6 to 8 times more vitamin C. Its high content in sulfur makes it effective in treating fungus infection.It contains an antioxidant known as anthocyanin and that gives it, its red color and that helps protect brain cells, and prevents Alzheimer’s disease.

Small details make a very big difference in life! I am not a big fan of stuffed zucchinis or Koussa mehchi and thus by simply thinking outside the Lebanese box i came up with the idea of presenting the two zucchinis in the same way i’d present maki rolls; with pickled ginger and light soy sauce! This format can easily appeal anyone who hates zucchinis (Kids and adults) or is simply bored with the usual typical home-made ones! Remember: the way you present your dish and decorate it is very important especially if you’re following a diet plan!

As an afternoon snack, i had 30g of dark chocolate thins from the box below!

As for dinner, I prepared an all-time favorite halloumi salad; In a cooking pan i cooked cubed tomatoes then added to them halloum cheese cubes (around 60g) with a teaspoon of pesto sauce. I topped this luscious mixture on a bed of iceberg and shared this salad with CM 🙂

Dietitian Nicole Maftoum