Student dieting - 1st work day

[AVB1]

I am lucky enough to have a part time job at university, but can sometimes be a bit tricky as the canteen usually does chips and something but today had the nicest salad - chilli chicken with salad, was lovely. Had chicken and bacon with wholewheat pasta and peas (+a tad of cheese + a spoonful of sour cream which is my weakness and forever will be) for dinner. Feel good about my food choices today as i have had food that was tasty and enjoyed but was still relatively healthy. I read somehwere if you can have salad with a meal, always do and prepare the salad before anything else. I tried this with dinner and it worked, I filled half the plate with lettuce and cucumber and then only prepared enough pasta for the other side! Any healthy suggestions for dinners and snacks would be great. I'm thinking hummus and carrots but hummus is high in fat, is it good kind of fat like avocado or just generally bad? Day 1 of back to the gym starts tomorrow, I have been using the couch to 5K app and it was so great for breaking that nervousness of running in the gym, I haven't been to the gym for a while for one thing or another (excuses!) but am back tomorrow and am ready to feel the post gym high.

Recommendations for post gym snacks would be great also as it is right next to tesco express so want to avoid pigging out after the gym, but definitely need something as i always feel i could eat a bus after a good work out.

AVB

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[Windswept1]

Hummus is usually made with olive oil, therefore good fat. It is a lot cheaper to make your own and you could reduce the amount of oil you use. (easiest to use canned chick peas but cheaper if you use dried - but then you have the cost of cooking them).

Take something filling to have after the gym to avoid Tescos. Peanut butter (with no added anything) on rice cakes or maybe a boiled egg or some chicken & salad?

[mjg517]

Risotto (lots of veg, maybe some chicken), similarly stir fried noodles, things like spinach and mushroom lasagna... basically all as low-cal as you choose to make them, by upping veg and cutting the carb portion. Also being a student, I feel the need to add that going to a grocers on a market costs next nothing at all! I've saved so much more money eating more veg...

[returner]

Hi AVB1,

Salads are generally good, but do watch out for the dressings as they can turn a salad into a pretty calorific thing. Oh and whilst the odd cashew (or other nut) or two isn't the end of the world, go gently on them because they may well contain more calories than you expect. (Check the back of the packet).

And stir-fry, Chinese style, can be quite good too, especially with chicken.

[JanetMiller]

You can replenish your energy after your workout with these smart protein and carb snack combos.

1. Protein Shake with Banana

2. Peanut Butter & Banana on Rice Cakes

3. Hummus and Pita

4. Yogurt and Fresh Berries

5. Tuna on Whole Wheat

6. Turkey and Cheese with Apple Slices