Last week I shared information about Mary’s Mini, a variation on the McDougall starch-based diet. For all the details about how I prepped for my Mary’s Mini, you can check out last week’s post. But today I’m sharing how I used all my batch prepped food during my 10 day Mary’s Mini.
Check out this week’s video below to see exactly what I ate, how I felt throughout the 10 days, and my reflection on the experience. Or see a summary of the types of meals I ate below that.
Breakfast Hash Browns
For breakfast every day I had hash browns. Having the same thing each day made meal prep really easy. You saw how I made the first batch in last week’s video, and I ended up batch cooking hash browns three times during my 10 day Mary’s Mini.
For the first batch, I seasoned my potatoes with granulated onion and garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, and black pepper. Some days I ate it plain, others I topped it with green onions as pictured above and/or salsa.
For the second two batches I just used a curry powder blend to season my potatoes. I had also received several heirloom tomatoes from my local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), so I had those with it as you see above.
Mashed Potatoes
For lunch and dinner I had either mashed potatoes or steamed potatoes. With the mashed potatoes I usually had some kind of frozen vegetables that I cooked with either some balsamic vinegar, some homemade BBQ sauce, or just plain!
Most often I had broccoli, sometimes by itself, and sometimes with more veggies from my CSA like tomatoes and jalapeños. I usually ate one full 10 ounce bag of frozen veggies as pictured above.
Some other options I used were California Blend, stir fry blends, or as you see above spinach, which I sauteed with onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and tomatoes.
Steamed Potatoes
Then for my third meal of the day I had steamed potatoes.
One day I simply cut my potatoes in half, warmed them up and had them along with steamed broccoli. I topped it with salsa and tomatoes.
But for most of my Mary’s Mini I made potato wedges by cutting my pre-steamed potatoes and crisping them up in the toaster oven. I had these with either ketchup or BBQ sauce and a side salad topped with an oil-free dressing. This was my favorite meal during the 10 days and I looked forward to it every day!
Reflection
I really enjoyed my Mary’s Mini and highly recommend doing it. As I discussed in the video, there was one day early on where I didn’t feel great, and I wondered if maybe I was having some kind of detox. But besides that I felt amazing through my Mary’s Mini.
I only had a few moments where I had cravings. But they passed quickly and I always had more potatoes and non-starchy vegetables on hand to help blunt those cravings if I was really hungry and needed something to eat.
It was so simple to prep for that I had more headspace to think about other things, instead of stressing about figuring out what to have for dinner.
So whether you’re trying to get back on track with healthy eating after too much junk has crept in, or you’re trying to get past a weight-loss plateu, or just wanting to simplify your life with an easier meal plan, Mary’s Mini is a great option.
