My
P90x Nutrition Plan:
Shopping Lists and Menus for
>> Fat
Shredder, Phase 1, Level II<<
by
CJ Xnutrition of My P90x Nutrition Plan Blog
Copyright
2012 by CJ Xnutrition
Smashwords Edition
Discover other P90x nutrition resources published by CJ =) at myp90xnutritionplan.com.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Trademark
Notes
P90x is a registered trademark of Beachbody, Inc. This book and its author are not in any way affiliated or endorsed by Beachbody or P90x. The contents of this book are the author's interpretation of P90x nutrition as laid out in the P90x Nutrition Guide. This book is a supplement only and is not intended to serve as a replacement for the official P90x Nutrition Guide. Beachbody and Tony Horton have created an awesome product with the power to change your life - please pay them for it!
Table of Contents
Introduction
My
Goals
Reducing
Costs
P90x
Supplements
Incorporating
Your Tastes
Shortcuts
I've Taken
Assumptions
I've Made
Week
1 - Shopping List
Week
1 - Menus
Day
1
Day
2
Day
3
Day
4
Day
5
Day
6
Day
7
Week
2 - Shopping List
Week
2 - Menus
Day
8
Day
9
Day
10
Day
11
Day
12
Day
13
Day
14
Week
3 - Shopping List
Week
3 - Menus
Day
15
Day
16
Day
17
Day
18
Day
19
Day
20
Day
21
Week
4 - Shopping List
Week
4 - Menus
Day
22
Day
23
Day
24
Day
25
Day
26
Day
27
Day
28
How'd
It Go?
Other
Ways You Can Help
About
CJ =)
*****
Introduction
Hi
folks! Well, here it is. The first P90x meal plan and shopping list
ebook for P90x Level II, Phase 1 (Fat Shredder)! For the past
two years the biggest request I've received is for menus and shopping
lists that make use of the 80+ recipes on my
P90x nutrition blog. A bunch of you were jealous that
my hubby had me to plan his meals for him. It's true - all he had to
do was think about the exercises and eat whatever I set in front of
him, the lucky dog. =)
While I'm not accepting new marriage proposals at this time (LOL - see Ricardo's proposal on my protein bar recipe page!), I've done the next best thing here. This ebook contains the first 28 days of your meals for you - all of Phase 1. If you buy everything on the shopping lists, cook what I tell you, and eat what I specify in this plan, you'll be eating according to the P90x Nutrition Guide - with very little thought required!
Additionally, this meal plan includes a nice variety of meals so you won't get bored, it uses tasty recipes that don't taste weird or uber-healthy so you (and maybe even your spouse and kids) will like them, it reuses ingredients and leftovers so you won't waste money, and it's designed with a working person in mind, with lunches that can be easily transported and reheated in the staff lounge microwave.
This is not a cookbook - all of the recipes in this plan are available for free on my blog. Rather, this is a menu plan - I've covered the planning and thinking and research (and headaches!) for you, so you can focus on your half of the deal - the exercise! Hopefully this will take a lot of the stress out of the nutrition side of P90x for you. I'll make the same deal with you that I made with my hubby - you listen to Tony and BRING IT to your exercises - I'll manage the food! =)
If you need more inspiration before you begin, check out some of the information I've posted on my blog, which will help you with getting started with P90x and some helpful articles I've written about P90x.
Good luck! You can do it!!
- CJ =)
back
to top
*****
My Goals
In this ebook, I have tried to create a meal plan that balances a number of priorities:
Variety
I want to give you variety so that you don't get bored - that's a common complaint of P90xers. Choosing one or two days that work and just repeating them over and over is a legitimate and easy option, but this gets very boring very fast. This is especially true of eggs for breakfast - they get old fast, so I tried to switch things up a bit in that regard so that you could look forward to different flavors in the morning. I found that my hubby was much more motivated to do his exercises when he was excited about what he was eating (or at least had a few things to look forward to throughout the day).
Some Repetition
I tried to balance the variety goal with including some repetition so that you aren't learning a new recipe every single time. My hubby told me that he would be annoyed if it were him and he always had to learn to cook something new, so I tried to respect that. At the same time, I figure you always have the option to repeat a day if you particularly like it, so when in doubt I chose variety. You'll have to try it out and give me some feedback about whether I accomplish this or not!
Reusing Ingredients/Leftovers
Another major priority is using up the ingredients that I ask you to buy, and using up leftovers. When I was managing my hubby's program, I originally thought I'd just use the official Meal Plan Approach that Beachbody provides in the P90x nutrition guide, but I soon discovered that I was buying ingredients that I would never use again, the food was a little weird, and it made no allowance for the leftovers it was creating. This made the meal plan approach inconvenient and monumentally expensive. A major goal for this plan, then, was to avoid that pitfall and use up as many of the ingredients as possible throughout the month.
Work-Friendly
When I was planning my hubby's meals, I quickly realized that the meal plan provided by P90x was rather unrealistic for people who needed to take their lunch to work. My goal was to provide you with a plan that would use a lot of leftovers for lunches, or use recipes that you could prep the night before and just reheat at work the next day.
Family-Friendly
Hopefully, most of these dishes are tasty enough that you could double them and feed your spouse and kids. I think that's the case, but I'm a bit biased!
Pocket-Book Friendly!
As you've probably figured out by now, P90x nutrition is not cheap. Healthy food costs money! You should save money by following this meal plan instead of the one in the P90x nutrition guide, since I've made a point to re-use ingredients and leftovers. I've tried to eliminate unnecessary purchases at every turn - if I was going to ask you to buy a whole bottle or package of something in order to use 2 Tablespoons of it, I removed that recipe from the plan. See the next section for more ideas for doing P90x nutrition on a budget.
*****
Reducing Costs
If you want to, there are a few other things that you can do to reduce your costs even further.
Make your own protein bars.
There is a great protein bar recipe on my site that was submitted by a reader, and its stats very closely mimic those of the "official" P90x bars. Read the comments for even more ideas from readers for making them mimic the bars even more closely. If you take the time to do this, you can get your cost down to around $.40 per bar.
Make your own recovery drink.
I have a bunch of recovery drink recipe options on the site, and it can be much cheaper if you take the time to do it. A classic option for this is chocolate milk (and talk about a treat in the midst of a low-carb diet!). Read my article about this topic to learn about what to look for in a chocolate milk or any recovery drink, and how a recovery drink differs from a protein shake.
Replace protein powder with real protein.
Protein sources can be expensive, but then again so can protein powders. You'll have to find pretty cheap protein in order to reduce this cost. One option is to go the whole chicken route - whole chickens can run under a dollar a pound, which is probably the cheapest protein source I've ever seen. One caveat is that it is hard to get enough protein in as it is, just due to sheer volume of food you have to eat. So make sure you're realistic with your expectations on this one. The other option is to just order a lower-cost protein powder. My hubby used GNC Whey Protein.
Replace the V-8s with a real vegetable.
V-8s can be a bit more expensive, but I love the convenience. However, if you shop wisely you can find veggies that are cheaper per serving. Once again, by adding a veggie serving back in here, you're adding more bulk you're going to have to power through. So check out the menus as-is and see if you think you can realistically add more food in there.
*****
P90x Supplements
I plan on you eating one protein bar each day. Either use the P90x brand bar, Atkins Advantage or Cliff's Builders bars, or make your own protein bars using the recipe on my site. My hubby used Atkins Advantage bars. Please note that despite the word "protein" in their name, in P90x a protein bar is a SNACK or BAR serving only! It does not count as a protein serving!
Protein Shake
I typically use at least one protein shake to help you meet your protein requirement. Either use the P90x brand protein powder, or buy a store brand powder. One scoop should be 100 calories (the equivalent of one P90x protein serving). You can use a whey protein powder, soy, pea, or rice protein. Hemp protein can work too, but Beachbody discourages it because the fiber in it slows absorption. (Once again, a protein shake is NOT the same as a recovery drink.) If you are trying to avoid supplements, you can replace each scoop of protein powder with a different 100 calorie protein serving.
Recovery Drink
I plan on you drinking a recovery drink immediately after your workout. Either use the P90x brand recovery drink, buy a less expensive alternative online, or make your own. The key with this drink is a 4 to 1 carb to protein ratio. This serves a scientific purpose for muscle recovery. My site provides a detailed explanation of how a recovery drink works, links to several cheaper ones that I recommend, and tons of ideas for homemade recovery drinks.
*****
Incorporating Your Tastes
There are a few areas where you will be able to tailor this plan to your individual tastes.
P90x Snack
Each day, you are allowed a Double snack serving (or two Single snack servings). Rather than telling you what snack to get, I just tell you the number of snacks you are going to need. I figure that this lets you tailor your snack to your particular tastes. Refer to your P90x Nutrition Guide for a list of approved Double and Single snacks. A Double snack is 200 calories, a Single is 100 calories. They're all low-carb, low-fat, and low sugar options (like nuts, yogurt, string cheese, peanut butter with celery, etc.). On a few occasions I use part of your snack serving in a recipe, usually in order to add a bit of extra cheese to something (! Can't argue with that, right?!). Usually it means that you will eat a Single snack serving at snack time instead of a Double. Whenever that happens it is reflected in the shopping list and day's menu.
Fruit
I typically let you choose your own fruit for the day, unless I use the fruit serving in a recipe. This is reflected in the shopping list and day's menu as well. See your P90x Nutrition Guide for a list of suggested fruits. A fruit serving is 100 calories.
*****
Shortcuts I've Taken
I've taken a few shortcuts in the meal planning process that you should be aware of:
V-8 and Protein Shakes
I often use Low Sodium V-8 for one of your veggie servings. I've found it's easier to drink at least one veggie serving, because then you can just pound it. This is especially true if you're not used to eating a lot of vegetables. If you are a big veggie eater and would rather not spend the extra money on cans of V-8, you can replace V-8 in these menus with the 50 calorie veggie of your choice. The same goes for protein - if you'd rather not use protein shakes, you can replace them with the 100 calorie protein of your choice. **I should note that the permission doesn't go the other way, though. Don't be tempted to replace more veggie servings with V-8s or protein servings with protein shakes. Real veggies provide fiber and other benefits that are not present in just the juice, and similarly protein shakes are beneficial, but it's a different kind of protein - you also need the benefits of protein provided by real food.
Vinaigrettes
Sometimes if I am having trouble getting your good fat serving in, or if I want to use your condiment servings elsewhere, I indicate that you should dress your salad with an oil and vinegar vinaigrette dressing. You can either purchase this or make it yourself. To make it, mix 3 Tb olive or canola oil, 1 Tb balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and a 1/2 tsp. of spices (I use thyme), salt and pepper. 1 1/2 Tablespoons of this mixture is 1 fat serving.
*****
Assumptions I've Made
I've made a few assumptions in this meal plan that you should be aware of:
Microwave
I've assumed that you'll have access to a microwave to reheat food for lunches. Most of the time I use leftovers for lunch. No one likes cold spaghetti, so you'll want to be able to heat things up!
One-Person Meals
I've assumed that you are the only one eating these meals. I know, that's a big assumption since a lot of us are married and cooking for two or more, but there was just no way for me to put together a shopping list and plan on reusing leftovers if I tried to imagine an unspecified number of other people eating the food too. So you're going to have to double, triple, or otherwise add to these shopping lists and recipes if you are planning to feed other people in addition to yourself. Even when the recipe makes more than one serving, I account for that and specify that you should refrigerate it or freeze it - if you make it, you will eat it.
Internet Access
I've assumed that you have Internet access and will be able to follow links to the recipes on my site. I had to choose here between linking to my site for the recipes, or including the recipes in this book. One of the benefits of the recipes on the website is that they get better and better as people comment with their experiences and alterations. If I included the recipes here, you wouldn't get that great benefit. Also, I really want to encourage you to add your own comments, and feedback to the recipes on the website so that other P90xers will benefit from your experiences!
*****
Shopping List and Menus Legend
[D1] - [D28] = Day 1, Day 2, etc. - Indicates the days on which this shopping list item is used. This is helpful in case you need to make substitutions or omit a certain recipe from the menu. I also use this D# shorthand in the menu plans to remind you when you made the leftovers that you're eating.
*****
Week 1
Meat
- Turkey Bacon, 1 package [D1, D2, D4, D5, D6]
-
Whole Chicken, 1 (approx. 3 pounds) [D1, D2, D3, D4, D5]
- Turkey
Ham, extra lean (95%-97% fat free), 2 pound package (not pre-sliced)
[D1, D2, D4, D5, D6, D7, D8, D9, D11, D12] (freeze 3 ounces for
D21]
- Turkey Pepperoni, 6 oz. package [D3, D4, D10, D11]
-
Ground Turkey, lean, 3 pounds [D3, D7] (freeze remaining 12 oz. for
D20) .
- Chicken breast, boneless skinless, 5, 6 oz. [D4]
-
Top Sirloin, 6 oz. [D6]
Condiments
- Salad Dressing, fat-free, 7 Tablespoons [D1, D2,
D3, D4]
- Vinaigrette dressing (or make your own) [D6]
- Olive
oil [D1, D7, D12]
- Mayonnaise, fat-free [D2, D21]
- BBQ Sauce,
fat-free [D2]
- Honey [D3, D6, D8, D21]
- Soy sauce, "less
sodium" [D4]
- Red wine vinegar or cider vinegar [D4]
-
Worchestershire (optional - you will use a small amount on your
steak) [D6]
- A-1 (optional - you will use a small amount on your
steak) [D6]
- Maple syrup, pure fruit jam, other fat-free
condiment (optional - if you want something other than honey on your
French Toast) [D7]
- Lemon juice [D7, D8]
Canned Goods
- Olives, black, sliced, 2 cans (2.25 oz each)
[D1, D4]
- Olives, green, diced, 4 oz [D7]
- V-8, low-sodium
cans, 4 6-packs (5.5 oz. cans) [D3, D5-D15, D18-D28]
- Tomatoes w/
chilies, 1 can [D3]
- Chicken broth, low-sodium, 1 large container
[D3, D8]
- Marinara sauce, 1 can [D4, D10]
- Pineapple chunks,
3 cans [D4, D9, D18]
- Jalapeno peppers, whole, 3 cans [D4, D9,
D18]
- Mandarin oranges, in water or juice,1 can [D6] (If you want
to save money buying these, you can use raisins and craisins on the
Mandarin Salad instead of these oranges.)
- Vegetable soup,
low-sodium if possible, 1 large can (1 1/2 cups) [D7]
- Baked
beans, fat-free, 2 cans [D11, D15]
Spices
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic salt [D1, D3]
-
Garlic powder [D5]
- Onion powder [D1]
- Red pepper flakes
[D4]
- Cinnamon [D1, D7, D8]
- White sugar [D1]
- Ground
cloves [D1]
- Ground allspice [D1]
- Ground nutmeg [D1]
-
Dried dill [D7]
- Taco Seasoning packet [D3]
(OR, buy the
following to make homemade taco seasoning:
- Paprika [D3]
-
Cumin [D3]
- Oregano [D3]
- Chili powder [D3]
- Crushed red
pepper [D3]
- Ground mustard [D3])
Dry Goods
- Couscous, 1 package [D1, D3, D4, D20]
-
Oatmeal, instant [D3, D14]
- Almonds, sliced, 1 bag [D3, D6]
-
Cranberries or Craisins, dried, 1 bag [D3, D10]
- Raisins, 1 bag
[D3,D10]
- Whole wheat pasta, 2 cups cooked (3.5 oz. dry) [D5]
Produce
- Fruit, your choice, 5 pieces [D1, D2, D3, D5,
D7]
- Mushrooms, 3 1/2 cups [D1, D3, D5, D6]
- Portabella
mushrooms, 6 mini (or 2 large mushroom caps) [D4]
- Green onion, 1
bunch [D1, D6] (freeze remaining stalks for D9, D14)
- Cilantro, 1
bunch [D1, D2]
- Green lettuce or spinach for salad (anything but
iceburg), 10 cups [D1, D2, D3, D4, D6]
- Salad topping veggies,
your choice (broccoli, tomatoes, baby carrots), 2 1/2 cups [D1, D2,
D3, D4, ]
- Avocado, 1 [D2, D3]
- Banana, 1 [D3]
- Bell
peppers, green, yellow or red, 2 [D3]
- Zucchini, 3 [D4] (cut up,
add to plastic baggies, and freeze for D9, D18)
- Cucumber, 1
[D4]
- Broccoli, 1 head [D7]
Dairy
- Eggs, or liquid egg white equivalent (you won't
use the yolks), 37 [D1-D7]
- Milk, Fat Free,1 Gallon [D1]
-
Cheese, lowfat Cheddar, 1 bag grated [D1, D3, D5, D6]
- Cheese,
lowfat Mozzarella, 1 bag grated [D2, D3, D4]
- Cottage Cheese, 1%,
4 cups [D1, D5, D6]
- Yogurt, plain, 1 cup (approx 4 oz.) [D5]
-
Greek yogurt, plain, 1 cup (approx 4 oz.) [D7]
Bakery
- Thomas 100% Whole Wheat Bagel Thins (or
100-calorie equivalent), 8 pack [D1, D2, D3, D4] (freeze the
remaining four for D14, D18, D24, D25)
- Tortillas, whole wheat,
medium size (1 tortilla = 100 calories) [D2] (freeze the remaining
for D13)
- Whole-wheat bread, 1 small loaf [D7] (freeze the
remaining slices for D21 and next phase)
Frozen
- 1 bag frozen whole green beans [D1]
P90x Specific
- Protein Bar, 7 [D1-D7]
- Protein Shake, 8
scoops (100 calories per scoop) [D1, D2, D3, D5 ,D6, D7]
- P90x
Double Snack, 3 [D1, D2, D4]
- P90x Single Snack, 2 [D3, D5]