Mary M. Fynn, Ph.D, RD, L.D.N
A plant-based diet means most of the foods in the diet are from plants – fruits, vegetables, and grains – and there is little animal product. Olive oil is the juice of the olive so it is a plant-based food. The basic components of the diet for each day are:
extra virgin olive oil 3-4 tablespoons 120 calories per tablespoon
Use olive oil at least at lunch and dinner. Other acceptable fats are nuts, especially walnuts. 1 Tablespoon of chopped nuts is about 50 calories. Nuts are a healthy fat for breakfast but should not be used for snacking, if you are trying to maintain your weight.
Vegetables 4 or more servings (about 15 calories/serving; 1 serving = ½ cup or 1 cup salad greens)
Try to have a large a variety of vegetables as possible. Please select vegetables with deep color, especially broccoli, spinach, tomatoes; include canned and frozen vegetables. You can cook your vegetables in extra virgin olive oil. Add vegetable salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil at lunch and/or dinner.
Fruit 3 servings (60 calories/serving; 1 serving = ½ cup or ½ piece)
A serving is smaller than most pieces you would buy. Use as large a variety as possible; try to select ones with deep color; best fruits are grapes, apricots, peaches, berries, raisins.
Starch 6-7 servings (80 to 100 calories/ serving; 1 servings = approximately 1 oz. dry weight)
This group includes bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, beans (legumes), and some starchy vegetables. Please check the exchange list for serving sizes. Try to use whole grain as often as possible.
Dairy 8 oz. plain non-fat yogurt can be substituted for 1 starch. You are allowed up to ½ oz. cheese per day to be used on your sandwich or dinner. Using shredded or grated cheese lets you use less cheese so the calories do not go too high. Two tablespoons or ½ ounce of shredded cheese = 40-50 calories
Eggs can be consumed as often as you like. Eggs are a very healthy, economical food and have never been related to heart disease.
I recommend that you limit your meat/ poultry/ seafood intake. You do not need the extra protein and weight maintenance/ loss will likely be easier if you limit them.
Recipes for plant-based meals that include extra virgin olive oil can be found at:
Breakfast on a plant based olive oil diet
Food items in a healthy breakfast:
1 – 2 servings of starch (whole grain, if possible)
2 tablespoons of nuts /nut butter or 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 – 2 serving of fruit (or you can also have all your fruit at breakfast)
Optional: non-fat dairy (milk or yogurt for cereal), egg
A breakfast for a 1500 calorie diet should have about 400 calories.
Quick breakfast:
Requires slightly more time:
Egg and vegetable sandwich: heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a small pan. Add about 1 cup of vegetables and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Move the cooked vegetables to the side of the pan and add an egg. Cook egg as desired (i.e., sunny side up, over easy). Eat between 2 slices of whole wheat toast.
Lunch on a plant based olive oil diet
Making your lunch will help you to manage your body weight. The more meals you eat out, including lunch, the harder it is to control your weight. Making your lunch will require some advance planning, like grocery shopping in advance and having containers to transport your food, but with a little practice it will become an easy habit.
Tips:
Many lunches are easier to prepare the night before during or after dinner prep as there is seldom time in the morning.
Purchase plastic containers for sandwiches and/or salads. If you are planning to make soup then you should purchase a thermos or glass containers with tight lids that hold about 2 cups.
Cook vegetables in extra virgin olive oil in advance of needing for packed lunches. They can be frozen until you need to use them. Also, soups can be cooked on weekends or a night and left to cool overnight and then portioned into containers.
Food items in a healthy lunch:
2 servings of starch (whole grain, if possible)
2 (or more) servings of vegetables
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (to cook vegetables, use for salad dressing)
1-2 servings of fruit (deep color)
Optional: legumes (beans), egg, nuts (substitute for olive oil), some of your poultry/ seafood for the day
A lunch for a 1500 calorie diet should have about 500-600 calories.
Basic sandwich:
1 cup of vegetables can be cooked in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Cook on medium low heat. Cover the pan to minimize loss of the healthy components in extra virgin olive oil. The longer you cook the vegetables, the sweeter they become. I try to cook them at 10-15 minutes. You can also add some shredded cheese (2 tablespoons = 55 calories; 1/4 cup = 110 calories). You can pack the cooked vegetables and the bread separately as the oil might make the bread soggy if left until lunch. Whole wheat wraps, pita or Lavash bread are less likely to get soggy. Check nutrition labels for calories as not all bread products are the same size so calories can differ.
Dinner on a plant based olive oil diet
The dinner recipes on the plant-based, olive oil diet require less time than ordering out food. Just make sure that you keep the groceries from the food list in your home and you can easily make a dinner is less than 15-20 minutes. And most of that time is not food preparation – it is waiting for the starch to cook. You can also cook up vegetables in extra virgin olive oil in advance and freeze them for later use.
Food items in a healthy dinner:
3-4 servings of starch or what is left from daily total (whole grain, if possible)
2 (or more servings of vegetables)
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (to cook vegetables, use for salad dressing)
Optional: grated cheese, legumes
A dinner on a 1500 calorie diet should have about 500-600 calories (depending on your lunch)
Dinner recipes for a plant-based, olive oil diet can be found at www.medfooddiet.com.
Meal plan 1800 calorie plant-based, olive oil diet
A plant-based diet means most of the foods in the diet are from plants – fruits, vegetables, and grains – and there is little animal product. Olive oil is the juice of the olive so it is a plant-based food. The basic components of the diet for each day are:
extra virgin olive oil 3-4 tablespoons 120 calories per tablespoon
Use olive oil at least at lunch and dinner. Other acceptable fats are nuts, especially walnuts. 1 Tablespoon of chopped nuts is about 50 calories. Nuts are a healthy fat for breakfast but should not be used for snacking, if you are trying to maintain your weight.
Vegetables 4 or more servings (about 15 calories/serving; 1 serving = ½ cup or 1 cup salad greens)
Try to have a large a variety of vegetables as possible. Please select vegetables with deep color, especially broccoli, spinach, tomatoes; include canned and frozen vegetables. You can cook your vegetables in extra virgin olive oil. Add vegetable salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil at lunch and/or dinner.
Fruit 4 servings (60 calories/serving; 1 serving = ½ cup or ½ piece)
A serving is smaller than most pieces you would buy. Use as large a variety as possible; try to select ones with deep color; best fruits are grapes, apricots, peaches, berries, raisins.
Starch 7-8 servings (80 to 100 calories/ serving; 1 servings = approximately 1 oz. dry weight)
This group includes bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, beans (legumes), and some starchy vegetables. Please check the exchange list for serving sizes. Try to use whole grain as often as possible.
Dairy 8 oz. plain non-fat yogurt can be substituted for 1 starch. You are allowed up to ½ oz. cheese per day to be used on your sandwich or dinner. Using shredded or grated cheese lets you use less cheese so the calories do not go too high. Two tablespoons or ½ ounce of shredded cheese = 40-50 calories
Eggs can be consumed as often as you like. Eggs are a very healthy, economical food and have never been related to heart disease.
I recommend that you limit your meat/ poultry/ seafood intake. You do not need the extra protein and weight maintenance/ loss will likely be easier if you limit them.
Recipes for plant-based meals that include extra virgin olive oil can be found at:
Breakfast on a plant based olive oil diet
Food items in a healthy breakfast:
1 – 2 servings of starch (whole grain, if possible)
2 tablespoons of nuts /nut butter or 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 – 2 serving of fruit (or you can also have all your fruit at breakfast)
Optional: non-fat dairy (milk or yogurt for cereal), egg
A breakfast for an 1800 calorie diet should have about 500 calories.
Quick breakfast:
Requires slightly more time:
Egg and vegetable sandwich: heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a small pan. Add about 1 cup of vegetables and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Move the cooked vegetables to the side of the pan and add an egg. Cook egg as desired (i.e., sunny side up, over easy). Eat between 2 slices of whole wheat toast.
Lunch on a plant based olive oil diet
Making your lunch will help you to manage your body weight. The more meals you eat out, including lunch, the harder it is to control your weight. Making your lunch will require some advance planning, like grocery shopping in advance and having containers to transport your food, but with a little practice it will become an easy habit.
Tips:
Many lunches are easier to prepare the night before during or after dinner prep as there is seldom time in the morning.
Purchase plastic containers for sandwiches and/or salads. If you are planning to make soup then you should purchase a thermos or glass containers with tight lids that hold about 2 cups.
Cook vegetables in extra virgin olive oil in advance of needing for packed lunches. They can be frozen until you need to use them. Also, soups can be cooked on weekends or a night and left to cool overnight and then portioned into containers.
Food items in a healthy lunch:
2 servings of starch (whole grain, if possible)
2 (or more) servings of vegetables
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (to cook vegetables, use for salad dressing)
1-2 servings of fruit (deep color)
Optional: legumes (beans), egg, nuts (substitute for olive oil), some of your poultry/ seafood for the day
A lunch for an 1800 calorie diet should have about 600-700 calories.
Basic sandwich:
1 cup of vegetables can be cooked in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Cook on medium low heat. Cover the pan to minimize loss of the healthy components in extra virgin olive oil. The longer you cook the vegetables, the sweeter they become. I try to cook them at 10-15 minutes. You can also add some shredded cheese (2 tablespoons = 55 calories; 1/4 cup = 110 calories). You can pack the cooked vegetables and the bread separately as the oil might make the bread soggy if left until lunch. Whole wheat wraps, pita or Lavash bread are less likely to get soggy. Check nutrition labels for calories as not all bread products are the same size so calories can differ.
Dinner on a plant based olive oil diet
The dinner recipes on the plant-based, olive oil diet require less time than ordering out food. Just make sure that you keep the groceries from the food list in your home and you can easily make a dinner is less than 15-20 minutes. And most of that time is not food preparation – it is waiting for the starch to cook. You can also cook up vegetables in extra virgin olive oil in advance and freeze them for later use.
Food items in a healthy dinner:
3-4 servings of starch or what is left from daily total (whole grain, if possible)
2 (or more servings of vegetables)
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (to cook vegetables, use for salad dressing)
Optional: grated cheese, legumes
A dinner on an 1800 calorie diet should have about 600-700 calories (depending on your lunch)
Dinner recipes for a plant-based, olive oil diet can be found at www.medfooddiet.com.
Food exchange list for plant-based, olive oil meal plan
vegetable | Fruit | starch/bread | dairy |
10 to 30 calories
|
60 calories
|
60 to 130 calories
|
75 to 110 calories
|
Canned, cooked, frozen, raw ½ cup
1/3 cup frozen spinach= 2 cups fresh spinach
salad greens, leafy greens,1 cup
salsa, ¼ cup
tomato sauce, ¼ cup
|
**weight includes skin, seeds
Most pieces are 2 servings Fresh: Apple, ½ (4 oz) Apricots, 1 Banana, ½ cup slices (4 oz) Berries, 1 cup Cantaloupe, 1 cup Cherries, 15 Figs, 2 small (1 ½ in. diam.) Grapefruit, ½ Grapes, 17 each Kiwi, 1 Orange, 1/2 Nectarine, 1 (5-6 oz) Peach, ½ Pear ½ Pineapple, ¾ cup Plums, 2 small (5 oz) Tangerines, 1 Watermelon, 1¼ cup
Canned fruit, applesauce, no sugar added, ½ cup
Dried fruit: Prune, 3 pieces Figs, 1 ½ Raisins, 2 Tbs.
|
60 calories:
½ English muffin 1 oz. tortilla, corn or wheat ½ cup diced raw potato (20 calories per ounce) 2 cups air popped popcorn
80 calories: 1 oz. bread (check label for weight). 1 oz. bagel (weigh) 1oz. pita bread 2 oz. raw weight plantain
90 calories: ½ cup sweet potatoes (35 calories per ounce)
100 calories: 1 ounce dry weight pasta ½ cup cooked brown rice
110 calories: ½ cup beans (black, cannellini, garbanzo, kidney, lentils) 1 oz. of most breakfast cereals (check label for size of 1 oz. serving and calories)
|
75 calories:
1 egg, large
80 calories: ½ cup 1% fat cottage cheese
1 oz. part skim mozzarella cheese
8 fl. ounces non-fat milk
100 calories ½ cup nonfat evaporated milk
110 calories 1 ounce cheese
|
Fat |
Meat |
|
100 to 120 calories
|
30-60 calories/serving
|
|
100 calories:
2 tablespoons of plain nuts
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 ounces avocado
12 large olives
120 calories: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
|
1 oz: white chicken/turkey (no skin)
fish shellfish (clams, crab, lobster, scallops, shrimp)
¼ cup drained tuna (water packed)
|