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Plan

My Fall And Winter THM Obsessions

November 18, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Check out my fall and winter THM obsessions this year. There might just be some things that you need to try!

My 2020 Fall & Winter THM Obsessions

Fall is undeniably my favorite season. After a long hot summer I love the crisp, cool air and the beautiful transition of leaves from green to red, orange and yellow. 

And the food. I love the warm fall flavors and spices. Salted caramel, peppermint mocha and of course pumpkin are a welcome change. 

Then my favorite holidays start to pop up and all of the sudden it is time for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It all makes me so happy. 

So as I’m sitting here in the heart of my favorite season, I thought I would share some of my fall and winter THM obsessions.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

My Fall And Winter THM Obsessions

These are in no particular order, all things that I really love right now. 

Salted Caramel Black Tea with Caramel Sweet Drops

This has become a favorite afternoon treat of mine lately. Simply steep the tea bag in a mug of hot water for 4-5 minutes. Then add a couple drops of the Caramel Sweet Drops to taste. 

It is like a cup of fall in a mug. So tasty, easy and inexpensive. 

Caramel Tea

Pumpkin Puree 

Keto THM S Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie Spice Cheesecake Bite

I spent most of my 35 years thinking that I didn’t like pumpkin. Thankfully I came to my senses and have been making up for all those years that I skipped the pumpkin foods. 

Here are some faves:

  • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Breakfast Roll Ups
  • Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake – Holiday Dessert Table Worthy
  • Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal
  • Pumpkin Cuffin Dump Cake
  • Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Pecan Crust

Freezer Meals 

Buffalo CHicken Chili Freezer Meals

Freezer meals were something I did long before I had ever heard of Trim Healthy Mama. I would cook a bunch one weekend and then we would eat for weeks with little to no effort. It was amazing. 

And we all know that THM can result in extra cooking and time in the kitchen. So a few weeks ago, I created several THMified freezer meals. You can see all 5 recipes here.

They are easy to pack up and then you have simple meals in your freezer waiting for your busy days & helping you to stay on plan! 

JIF No Sugar Peanut Butter

This is the absolute best peanut butter that I have ever had since quitting sugar. 

It is literally the exact same consistency of the “normal” stuff. Smooth, creamy and delicious. I can never get the stir peanut butter to get to the right consistency so the fact that this is no stir makes everything easier. 

I can’t say enough about it. Amazing. (If you don’t want the best on plan PB ever, you can read about the other on plan peanut butter choices that you have here)

Make these buckeye style peanut butter bars with your new favorite pb.

Bake Believe Bars

These are so good! I actually think they taste pretty similar to the Trim Healthy Mama Butterfly milk chocolate bar. You can pick them up at Walmart (located by the chocolate chips). 

Cranberries

THM FP Cranberry Sauce Made with Bai

Fresh cranberries. They are such a beautiful food. Their rich crimson color makes any dish a bit more festive. 

Here are the things I have been making: 

  • Winter Wassail 
  • Crock Pot Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
  • Zevia Cranberry Nut Jello Salad 

Instant Stevia Sweetened Oatmeal 

While I love making pumpkin baked oatmeal and peach baked oatmeal, sometimes that just isn’t in the cards on a busy Monday morning. 

Instant oatmeal usually gets a bad reputation because of it’s junky ingredients. But thankfully the heavens opened & they made stevia sweetened oatmeal. And while you can surely have a little “cleaner” breakfast by doing it yourself, sometimes having a Drive Thru Sue option is just what you need to stay on plan. 

Here is the product that can be used on plan.

*Note: Even though this is advertised as a “protein” oatmeal, it is pretty low in protein by THM standards. I have eaten just a packet of oatmeal with nothing added (because I’m not a stickler for protein rules) but I did get hungry before 3 hours. So my favorite way to eat it is to take the maple brown sugar and add a couple of heaping teaspoons of peanut flour and top it with some wild blueberries. It tastes like a bowl of PB&J oatmeal!

You can also add about half a banana and stay under the carb max. 

This completes my current list of fall and winter THM obsessions. If I find anything else between now & spring that is amazing, I’ll update this post! 

More THM Buying Guides

Snacks that Need no Refrigeration on THM 

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Trim Healthy Mama

Filed Under: Featured, Plan, Trim Healthy Mama Tagged With: fall, THM favorites, THM products, winter

THM Fuel Rotation – When to Eat S, E, FP and XO

January 2, 2021 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

When first starting Trim Healthy Mama, understanding when to eat S and E meals can seem a bit overwhelming. Learn the easiest way to use THM fuel rotation to keep you on plan and losing weight!

Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Rotation - When to Eat the S E & FP Meals

If you are just starting or about to start Trim Healthy Mama, welcome! The THM community is so happy to have you join this way of eating. 

I remember starting THM years ago and having questions. Lots of questions! What do the E, S & XO acronyms mean? Do I really have to eat every three hours? When do I eat each different fuel? 

All these questions can seem overwhelming but there are tons of resources that explain this plan simply and make it easy to follow. 

If you have lots of questions, check out this Trim Healthy Mama A to Z post that tackles every question you might have from A to Z! But here we are going to discuss THM fuel rotation. When to eat S meals, E meals, FP & XO’s – when you finish this post you will have an idea of how to plan out your schedule of eating for success. 

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

THM Fuel Rotation – When to Eat S, E, FP and XO

Learning when to each fuel is a question that I see over and over in the THM beginners group. And I have good news and bad. 

The good news is that there is no hard and fast rule as to when to eat each fuel. (This is only bad news if you are a stickler for a plan!) What I like about this is that you really can’t mess up. 

So you can get that potential failure out of your head. There are a few guidelines & I’ll share how I usually do it to give you an example but overall you just can’t mess up!

Planning Your THM Day of Meals 

There are pretty much two types of Trim Healthy Mama’s. Those that plan & those that like to live on the edge and pick their fuel every 3 hours as meal time pops up. And maybe there is a third THM that meal plans and then follows that plan loosely over the course of the week.

For example, Monday meal plan says spaghetti for dinner and Tuesday say tacos. On Monday if I’m craving tacos, we just move the meal plan around. You guessed it – this is my style of THM.

So let’s take a look at how that works. 

Meal Planning Fuels

When creating a meal plan, list out all the fuel type next to each meal. This will help you to make sure that you are getting the number of S & E meals that you desire. 

You can check out this meal planning on THM post if you need some help & this free printable THM Meal planner. 

Free Style Fuels

The other method of fuel rotation is simply eating what you feel your body needing. So as a simple example, this morning I woke up and walked into my kitchen. I thought about eggs but it just didn’t sound good. 

After searching around, the loaf of sprouted bread seemed to be calling my name. I went from thinking I would eat eggs (S) to craving the sprouted bread (E). I ended up making a spur of the moment breakfast of sprouted toast, cottage cheese, a few sliced tomatoes and everything but the bagel seasoning. 

How Many E’s Should I Eat per Week? 

5 to 7 E meals per week are recommended on THM. Some people do more and do great losing weight. There are other mamas that can’t do as many E meals if they want to shed the pounds.

It is important to remember that these are guidelines and to watch how YOUR body does with the E meals vs. the S meals and then plan accordingly. 

I like to get my E meals in at breakfast and as snacks since I prefer an S meal typically for dinner. That is just a personal preference though! 

But Aren’t XO’s Bad? 

I see a lot of misinformation about XO’s on the Facebook groups from time to time. It typically comes from a well meaning mama that just hasn’t completely learned the plan. They tell a group of mamas something slightly inaccurate & it spreads from there.

Here are some things I see about XO (Crossovers):

False: Crossovers are not on plan.  Crossovers are definitely on plan. A crossover is simply a plate that is an E & a S mixed together. Example: A steak (S) and a sweet potato (E) at a meal = a XO because you mixed the two fuels. (A FP food is like Switzerland and is not offensive to either an E or an S meal. So you can have a FP on your S plate or your E plate without crossing over) 

False: XO’s are not good for weight loss. The sisters never say that you can’t lose weight eating an occasional XO. They just say that it is harder to lose weight if you are eating lots of them and that they may be better left to those at goal weight, nursing mamas, kids and men. 

However, many of us find that an occasional XO (for me that looks like once a week but could be different for you) actually jump starts weight loss sometimes. It is also a great way to avoid going off plan. Going back to my steak example, if having a sweet potato with your steak on a date with your husband helps you avoid the bread basket – I say do it! 

What About These Sad FP’s?

Fuel Pulls have very little fat or carbs. You can eat them with E or S fuels without crossing over. 

Many people find them less satisfying than the E or S fuels but they have their place. They help to bulk up S or E meals with very few calories which is a great way to get full when you are trying to lose weight. We don’t count calories on THM but we try not to abuse them too! 

Some find that having a meal of just Fuel Pull foods will help aid in weight loss. You can definitely add in a FP meal here or there but there is no recommendation or rule that you have to do this. You can read more about FP’s here.

A THM Fuel Rotation Example Plan 

THM fuel rotation is really mostly a preference and not a hard and fast rule. But I know that when you are starting something new, sometimes an example or a guide is helpful to form a visual of what you should be doing. 

If you are following the 5-7 E meals a week guideline, that means that you can think about one E meal per day in general. So here is how I would conduct a THM fuel rotation for one day. 

Breakfast: THM Veggie Oatmeal Hack with blueberries (add protein powder or some lean deli meat/Greek yogurt for added protein) E meal

Lunch: Snacky Lunch (Salami, Cheese, Cashew, Mini peppers) S Meal 

Snack: Light Laughing Cow Cheese on Celery with a light sprinkle of Everything But the Bagel Seasoning and lean turkey lunch meat – FP Meal 

Dinner:  Salsa Verde Chicken and Queso Cauli Rice – S meal

Want more inspiration for meal plans and THM fuel rotation? Try these free plans. 

  • THM 7 Day Drive Thru Sue No Cook Meal Plan
  • No Cook THM Breakfast Ideas
  • 7 Frugal THM Dinner Ideas
  • 5 THM Freezer Meals
  • THM Meal Plan 1

New to THM? These Guides Will Help Make Life Easier!

  • 23 Store Bought THM Desserts
  • THM Store bought Snacks – No refrigeration required
  • 12 THM Store Bought Breads
  • Store Bought THM Tortillas and Wraps 

Filed Under: Featured, Plan, Trim Healthy Mama Tagged With: E Meal, FP Meal, S Meal, THM Fuel rotation, Trim Healthy mama, XO Meal

Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue

August 11, 2019 by Stacy Craft 1 Comment

Find out what a Drive Thru Sue is and how it might help you on your Trim Healthy Mama journey to stay on plan!

THM Made Easy for the Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue - Stay on Plan the Simple Way

Welcome to “D” day of our Trim Healthy Mama A to Z Series. If you want to follow along with the entire A to Z series, check it out here. 

D is for Drive Thru Sue. If you read the THM Book, you already have an idea of what being a Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue means. Today we will talk about some DTS hacks and products to keep you on plan and moving towards your goals. 

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

What is a Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue?

A Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue is typically someone that doesn’t like to cook or maybe just doesn’t have time to do it. Drive thru lines and pre-packaged convenience foods may be more common than a home cooked meal. 

As a DTS, you laugh at the thought of making homemade bbq sauce or heating up the stove for breakfast during your chaotic mornings. 

But I like to expand a bit on the typical DTS. I consider myself somewhere in the middle. I do enjoy cooking but life with kids happens and I find myself an occasional drive thru sue. After a long day of work and picking up from ballet, I may be in the McDonald’s drive thru come 6:00. 

Or on a business trip for work, I need portable convenience items that I can take to a conference in my bag or on a plane. 

And sometimes I just want an ultra simple THM on plan meal that I cook at home but that is basically as simple as warming something up on the stove (no real cooking like measuring ingredients and messing up pots and pans). 

THM At the Drive Thru

One of the nice things about Trim Healthy Mama is that you do have the freedom to eat out. And when you do eat at a restaurant, it doesn’t always have to be a salad! 

You can check out this S Drive Thru fast food guide for some options at popular fast food chains.

You can also choose to have an E meal out but it is typically easier to eat Low Carb (S meal) than it is an E. One popular E fast food option is a Wendy’s small chili. Many like to get a side salad and pour the chili on top for a yummy E option on the go. 

Drive Thru Sue Grocery Helpers On THM

The grocery store can be intimidating for the Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue that wants to stay on plan. You may be used to running to the frozen food section, buying a few TV dinners and calling it a day. You may not be up for much more than that. 

But don’t worry, there are some great items that will make staying on plan easier for the DTS. 

Rotisserie Chicken 

Pair it with a steam bag of veggies. Shred it up for super easy quesadillas. Make a simple chicken salad. Use it in a casserole. There are tons of options and not having to cook your protein is a major time saver. 

Here are 5 lunch ideas that you can use to eat all week on one chicken. So it is cheap too. Maybe we will start calling you a Drive Thru Saver (Do it Sue)! 

Pre-Packaged On Plan Options

When you start a new diet plan or lifestyle, it is easy to look at all the things that you can’t eat. But there are several things that you can buy that require no cooking and are easy to take and eat on the go. 

Keep in mind that you can often times make many of these items at home in order to save money but if you need something quick and easy, the upcharge may be worth it. 

Here are a few pre-packaged Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue items that you can get at the grocery store:

Pre-cut Fruit & Veggies
Bagged Salad (avoid the kits that have croutons/dried fruits/sugary dressings)
Whisps Cheese Crisps
Hard Boiled Eggs (usually in the deli section)
P3 Protein Packs
Beef Jerky or Meat Sticks (Look for <2 gm sugar)
Individual Nut Packs
Lily’s Chocolate Bars
Triple 000 Yogurts 
String Cheese
Lite Laughing Cow Cheese
Skinny Pop
Fat Snax Cookies 
Pickles
Halo Top Ice Cream* (Personal Choice)
Natural Peanut Butter (Peanuts/Salt Only)
Polaners All Fruit Spread
Baked Tostitos
Salsa 
Wasa Crackers
Sprouted Pretzels
Ole Wraps
Mission Carb Balance Tortillas

There are plenty of other things you can buy at the store on plan but those are just a few easy items that can be used in easy meals or snacks. Don’t be discouraged by this list! If you think this is all too expensive, read the Budgeting on THM article to find ways to make the plan work on you budget.

Personal Choice Items 

One reason that I love THM is because of food freedom. You can find things that work for you and your weight loss/health journey. Now this doesn’t mean to decide that a candy bar a day is a personal choice for you because that probably won’t lead you to your goals. 

But if you find an item that would be on plan other than an off plan oil, it might be something that you deem ok for you. There are several variations to this thought process but my recommendation is to test the waters. 

If you start using something and quit losing wait, stop and get back closer to the principles of the plan. 

I know everyone always wants to find new things that we are “allowed” to have but there are lots of personal choice items that have already been reviewed by the official THM team and deemed ok for occasional use. Try them out and see how you do. 

*Note: there is debate on this topic within the THM community. As i stated, an off plan oil doesn’t bother me but it would technically be off plan. I choose it as a Personal Choice for me but that should be clarified to add that there are Personal choice items that are officially approved by the THM Admin team. This is your lifestyle plan, do what works for you. 

Super Easy THM  S & E Meals

Creating an arsenal of simple meals is a great way to stay on plan for anyone, especially as a Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue. 

These are a few of our family favorites that literally require only minutes in the kitchen and result in simple but yummy meals that your whole family will eat. 

  • 15 Min THM E White Beans and Ham
  • Grilled Chicken Sausage and Veggies
  • Black Bean Tacos
  • Zevia Crockpot BBQ (Only 3 Ingredients)
  • 30 minute Salsa Verde Chicken With Cauli Rice (Make it even Quicker Using a Rotisserie)
  • 2 Minute Microwave Egg Scrambles
  • Bai Creamsicle (I love this for something sweet after dinner without having to get out a blender & certainly without having to cook anything else!)

Free 7 Day THM Drive Thru Sue Meal Plan 

I put together a no cook 7 day THM DTS meal plan for ya’ll! It is filled with 7 breakfasts, lunches and dinners that are easy to prepare & most require no cooking at all! The ones that do require you to use the stove just require heating – no real cooking at all! 

You can check out that meal plan and free printable grocery list here. 

I hope this Trim Healthy Mama Drive Thru Sue review helped to give you some new and easy ideas to succeed on plan. If you need more help with cooking tips on THM, check out “C” day from the THM A to Z Series. Don’t forget to check back for what is coming up in our Trim Healthy Mama A -Z guide for “E” day. 

Filed Under: Plan, Trim Healthy Mama

Trim Healthy Mama A to Z

July 25, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

All of your Trim Healthy Mama questions answered from A to Z. A complete look into the THM plan with insight on how to make it easier and more cost effective.

Trim Healthy Mama FAQ A to Z - All of your THM questions answered

Are you a Trim Healthy Mama with question? Or are you interested in the plan but afraid to take the plunge? 

Today we are embarking on a 26 day comprehensive look into the Trim Healthy Mama plan. If you have lots of questions or need help on something specific, please join us on this journey! 

I blog a lot about THM and I really did not have that intent when I started blogging! My first goal was to share money saving tips with other moms that I have learned along. Since my full time 9-5 is as a professional buyer, I thought my expertise would be valuable to families that could apply those principles at home to live a better life. 

But then one day in June 2018, I posted a Keto/Low Carb/THM S recipe. It was a pretty simple recipe that I threw together one night in less than 30 minutes and did a quick blog post. The pictures are terrible. The recipe is crazy easy. There are only 4 ingredients. I expected to throw it up and go back to talking about saving money on back to school clothes shopping. 

My THM/keto readers had a different plan though! The post went crazy and the recipe has been shared more than 150,000 times on Pinterest. So I decided that maybe you guys were interested in seeing more Trim Healthy Mama recipes and learning about how to save money and time while doing THM! So here we are, working our way through Trim Healthy Mama A to Z. 

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Trim Healthy Mama Basics

If you read any of the THM posts that I have, I always stress that you should read the book! The internet is a wealth of knowledge but I recommend reading the book to get your own grasp of the plan. In particular so that you can understand the sister’s reasoning for different items and then apply personal choice and food freedom to make choices that work for you and your family. 

So now that you have read the book, we will go over the THM basics before we dive into the Trim Healthy Mama A to Z guide.

What is THM?

THM is a way of eating that combines aspects from several other popular diets like Keto/Low Carb diets as well as lifestyles that focus on low fat meals like Weight Watchers.

On Trim Healthy Mama, your meals are broken out into one of four different types: E meal, S meal, XO or FP meal. There are actually a couple of others (like Heavy S, S Helper, Deep S) but you are not going to worry about those until you get these first few down pat. 

S Meal (Low Carb – Fats allowed)

The easiest way to describe an S meal is to call it low carb. You will eat whatever fats that you want but you will avoid carbs. Full fat dairy, any type of meat, full fat cheese, and full fat dressings are allowed in this type of meal. 

You can also have berries or a kiwi with an S meal but should avoid other fruits. 

E Meal (Healthy Carbs – Low Fat) 

For an E meal, you will have a lean and low fat meal with a healthy carb. You will avoid fatty cuts of meat and all those full fat dairy and cheeses. You should aim for lean meats, brown rice or quinoa, sweet potatoes or carbs that are higher in carbs such as apples, pears, oranges, half a banana. 

FP Meal (No Large Source of Fats or Carbs)

A FP meal is a meal that doesn’t have a major source of fats or carbs. I think of this meal as a traditional diet meal that you might find on a low calorie meal plan. For example, grilled chicken and non-starchy vegetables would not be high in fat or carbs leaving it to be a nothing meal (as I like to call it) or a FP. 

If you read my 9 tips on what to do if you are not losing, you will need to know what a FP is!

XO Meal (Mixing S and E)

If you mix an S meal and an E meal together on one plate, that is called a XO. A crossover (XO) is still on the Trim Healthy Mama plan. However, if you are actively trying to lose weight, they may not be as beneficial vs. separating your fuels. 

An example of a XO would be a fried egg in butter (S because of the fats in a whole egg and butter) with a piece of sprouted toast (E for the carbs in toast). Eating these together is certainly better than eating a donut but it may not have you losing as quickly as you would if you ate your fuels separately. 

XO’s are great for growing children, men, nursing mother’s and those that are at goal weight. They are also good if you are going to go off plan or choose a XO! I would much rather see you eat the breakfast that I described above vs. that donut! And some people even swear by eating a cross over occasionally to kind of jump start their weight loss again. 

Protein

Don’t forget to add a protein to every meal or snack!

Now that you have the basics, lets jump into this 26 article list of all things THM. 

Trim Healthy Mama A t0 Z

Ok, here is the list of Trim Healthy Mama A to Z posts that will solve all your THM problems. A new letter will be added weekly and this will be your one stop shop to see every post from A to Z. 

A – Accountability for Success on Trim Healthy Mama 

B – Budgeting On Trim Healthy Mama and On Plan, Store Bought Bread

C- Cooking Made Easy on THM

D – Drive Thru Sue – What it is & how to succeed if your name might be “Sue”

E – E Meals Simplified

F – Fuel Pulls

G – Giving Yourself Grace

H- Husband’s and THM (Making it Work) 

I- Icecream 

J- Jelly (On Plan, Store Bought Options) 

K- Keto Vs. Trim Healthy Mama (What’s the Difference?)

L- Lunch On THM, More than 35 ideas 

M-Meal Planning Tools 

N- No Special Ingredients (NSI) – Do you really need special items? 

O- Overwhlemed on THM – 5 Simple Tips to Make Life Easier

P- Party Foods & Potlucks – Healthy & On Plan Appetizer Ideas (that even your non-THM Friends will like)

Q- Quitting THM – what I did wrong the first time around & how you can avoid my mistakes!

R- Restaurants & THM – How to eat on plan at virtually any restaurant

S-

T-

U-

V-

W-

X-

Y-

Z-

Drop me a comment if you have a question. I would love to try and help you on your journey. 

Filed Under: Featured, Trim Healthy Mama Tagged With: A to Z, Staying on Plan, THM, Trim Healthy mama

Overwhelmed on Trim Healthy Mama

October 4, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

If you are feeling overwhelmed on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, you are not alone. It can be tough to get started on Trim Healthy Mama and stay on plan but you can do it. 

Overwhelmed on THM - 5 Easy Steps to Take

Trim Healthy Mama is very manageable once you get a few things under your belt. However, it can seem impossible if you pile too many things onto your THM plate. Learning to manage the plan and making it work for your lifestyle is definitely possible.

Try the tips below to help gain control of your new healthy life. 

Join the Protecting Your THM Pennies Facebook group to save money on On Plan items.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Overwhelmed on Trim Healthy Mama

Feeling overwhelmed on Trim Healthy Mama is totally normal and I bet most mama’s have felt that way at least a few times on our journey. But you can overcome the feelings that you are having and make it easier staying on plan with just a few simple tips. 

1. Understand the Basics of the Plan

There are a lot of resources on the internet that will give you a quick overview of the basics. I even wrote a quick overview of what the meal abbreviations (S, E, FP) mean and how to build your plate here. 

I still recommend reading the THM plan book because it is really the best way to fully understand the plan. And one sure way to feel overwhelmed on Trim Healthy Mama is not understanding which foods go with which fuel type.

2. Make a Meal Plan & Have Fall Backs

You can read all about how I meal plan here. It includes important tools & even an app that make meal plans much easier!

A loose meal plan is what I like. That means 7 breakfast ideas, 7 lunches and 7 dinners. Then I make what sounds good from that list on any given day during the week. Having a plan eliminates that “OMG it is 6 p.m. and I have not one clue what to make” problem. 

In addition to a meal plan, I like to keep several fall back options in my pantry. Because sometimes that complicated recipe that you planned on Sunday for a Thursday night doesn’t mesh with the stressful day that you had at work. And standing in the kitchen for an hour sounds horrible. 

So keeping some easy meals that you pretty much always have the ingredients for is a great way to plan for those hard and busy days that pop up from time to time. Here are some of our favorite last minute, super quick THM meals:

  • Black Bean Tacos
  • Pantry White Bean Chicken Chili
  • Tortilla Pizzas 
  • BBQ Kielbasa with Cauli Rice 
  • Breakfast For Dinner 
  • Fried Cabbage & Smoked Sausage 
  • Salad & Rotisserie Chicken (5 lunch ideas with a Rotisserie chicken here)
  • Tacos or Spaghetti – See the Meal prep/Food Prep section below for notes on this.
  • 7 day FREE No cook THM menu

3. Stop Trying Everything (oolong, collagen, baked goods) 

It is tempting to start a new program and jump in at 110%. I did this once and quit after just a couple of weeks. 

Why did I quit? It was too hard. I was working, had one young child at the time, and had just moved several states away. It was a busy and chaotic time in my life and I added to it by deciding to start THM. 

Now, I’m not discouraging you from starting just because you are in a busy season. It is totally doable but start simply. If you are feeling overwhelmed on THM, don’t add to your stress by trying every new ingredient and recipe that you see. 

Eat simple meals and add in the new items or recipes as you have time. And don’t make a bunch of complicated desserts if you are at a breaking point. Don’t worry – I’m not asking you to skip the on plan treats. Just try super simple recipes like this easy mango bai sorbet or just a couple of squares of a Lily’s Chocolate bar.

4. Meal Prep or Food Prep 

Meal prep is not something that traditionally appeals to me. I don’t like eating the same thing multiple days in a row and to be honest I really just don’t want to commit every Sunday to meal prep time. But if you like this technique, go for it! It will surely make the rest of the week easy peasy.

But food prep is a different story. I love food prep! Wondering what food prep is? It is simply pre-preparing items so that they are ready to go at a moments notice at a later date. 

Here are some things that I like to food prep:

  • Ground Beef/Turkey: As soon as I get it home from the store, I brown the meat and package it in portions that will feed my family. Then I place those zip bags in the freezer. When we want tacos or nachos or spaghetti, I don’t have to brown them meat. I simply warm it, add seasoning & serve up a quick dinner. You can always preseason the meat which I do sometimes when I make the Best Taco Meat Ever for the freezer.
  • Prepare Fruits and Veggies: Wash and chop any fresh fruits and veggies that you have for the week. You are so much more likely to eat a celery stalk if it is already washed and cut. 
  • Boil Eggs: Having boiled eggs on hand is such a lifesaver. Eat them for a quick breakfast, turn them into deviled eggs, chop them up for a Chef’s Salad or throw some in this E Tuna Salad. 
  • Baked Oatmeal: This is probably the one meal prep item that I really like. Make a big batch of pumpkin spice baked oatmeal in the fall or Georgia peach baked oatmeal in the summer for a quick breakfast that will reheat great all week. 

5. Eat Fast Food  (On Plan)

If you are just completely overwhelmed on Trim Healthy Mama and need a break, give yourself some grace and grab dinner. A break from cooking can be an occasional way to give you the boost you need to stay on plan.

You can pick up a fast food meal (Free THM Guide here) or go out to a nice dinner and still stay on plan. And sometimes that is just what a tired mama needs. 

5 Things I Don’t Do on THM 

In general, I’m not a rule breaker. If I am following a plan, I go 100% all in and don’t stray. And that perfectionist mentality is exactly why I failed on THM in 2017. 

Every meal I made took 10 ingredients and required a cookbook and a blender. I was making unfamiliar foods, some were good and some were flops. It was frustrating, time consuming and ultimately I quit because I needed easy after a day of work and caring for a family. 

So I put together this list of 5 things I don’t do on THM to help others that might have the same tendency that I do to become a Trim Healthy expert in 2 days vs. starting at a reasonable pace. You will still lose weight without being the newest THM superstar- promise! 

More THM Quick Start Guides

  • On Plan THM Store Bought Bread 
  • On Plan THM Store Bought Tortillas & Wraps
  • THM On Plan Jam/Jelly 
  • What to Eat at a Fast Food Restaurant on THM 
  • THM Food Analyzer App – What fuel is it? Find out instantly.

Filed Under: Featured, Plan, Trim Healthy Mama Tagged With: Overwhelmed, Staying on Plan, THM

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A Little About Me

Hey - I'm Stacy! Join me on a journey to buy smart, plan and save so that you can also PLAY!

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