What does a model eat in a day for lunch? Read my model food diary (again)

I’m a model. And yes, I eat.

I eat breakfast, I eat lunch and I eat dinner. You can read about what I eat in a day for breakfast as a model on my other blog post. And sometime in the future I’ll clue you in what I eat for dinner.

Right now, I’m here to show answer, “What does a model eat in a day for lunch?” And I’ll also provide a few recipes, too.

What does a model eat in a day for lunch?

What a model eats in a day for lunch isn’t surprising. My typical lunch consists of a super-sized salad, a cup of legumes and a piece of fruit. If I’m not satisfied I’ll add another ½-1 cup of legumes or a ½ cup serving of oats. Lately, the extra legumes or oats have been come standard as I stopped focusing on losing weight.

Now, I focus on maintaining weight, decreasing my body fat and looking toned. Lowering my body fat percentage by increasing muscle mass also increased my BMR (i.e. caloric needs).

What does a healthy model eat? Salad, of course.

Some consider salad boring. I beg to differ! The sheer amount of variety salad brings to the table is astounding. By swapping out one ingredient, you create a new salad.

There are three places you can swap out ingredients:

1. In the base
2. In the toppings
3. In the dressing

I’ve experimented with the following salad bases:

• Spinach
• Green leaf lettuce
• Arugula
• Iceberg lettuce
• Kale
• Red leaf lettuce
• Cabbage

A salad of spinach can taste wholly different than the same salad with another green. Mixing and matching the bases gives a variety of tastes, textures and nutrients.

Ramp your salad fun to another level with different toppings. This is my favorite part. Here are some fruits and veggies I’ve experimented with in salads:

• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Beets
• Sprouts
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Peach
• Watermelon
• Frozen peas
• Apples
• Bell peppers
• Corn
• Cilantro (and other herbs)

My most-used veggies are onions, carrot and zucchini. They’re the cheapest, most easily available and store well in my fridge for a week or more. One of my favorites is beet because of the vibrant purple color it adds.

If you have a favorite fruit or vegetable, why not try adding to a salad? Fresh or cooked broccoli or cauliflower could add a hearty bite to your salad. If you love sweet foods, try adding your favorite fruit. The only fruit I can imagine that isn’t suitable for a salad are bananas.

Last is the dressing. You can include a wide variety here by adding various herbs, spices and other seasonings. Make it sweet, spicy, savory or any other flavor you can dream of.

Below is my basic salad dressing I use for lunch.

Basic Whole Food, Oil-Free Salad Dressing:

• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 15 g (¹/₂ oz) raisins
• 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
• 3-4 tbsp water
• Black pepper, to taste
• Turmeric, to taste (optional)

Preparation:

Combine the flax, raisins, acid (lemon juice or vinegar), three tablespoons of water, black pepper and turmeric in a small blender cup. Blend on high until the raisins are broken up and the mixture has become homogenous. If your dressing seems a bit thick, add water a tablespoon at a time and blend again. Pour over your salad and enjoy immediately.

Tip: Make the raisins easier to blend by microwaving them in a few tablespoons of water for 15 seconds.

I’ve used most or all of my herbs and spices in my dressings. My most used ones are:

• Nutritional yeast
• Cumin
• Black pepper
• Turmeric
• Cilantro (or other herbs)
• Paprika
• Garlic

I have everything in my spice cabinet from curry powder to parsley to nutmeg, all of which I’ve used at least once. I don’t love using the variety just for a change in taste. It’s also a great way to add different nutrients to my meals.

I’ve given you an outline of how I approach making my daily salads. Now I have three simple recipes for salads you can make for lunch or dinner. You can make them three completely different salads by changing the base, the salad topping(s) or different flavoring(s) in the dressing.

Summery Squash and Pepper Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 leaves kale
• 100 g green leaf lettuce
• ¼ c sliced red onion
• 1 small/medium summer squash
• ¹/₃ bell pepper
• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 15 g raisins
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3-4 tbsp water
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp paprika
• Black pepper, to taste
• Turmeric, to taste (optional)

Preparation

De-stem the kale and slice it into bite-sized pieces. Add to a large bowl along with the lettuce and onion.

Use a mandolin to thinly slice the summer squash. Use a knife to thinly horizontally slice the bell pepper into strips. Add the pepper and squash to the bowl. Toss.

Combine the flax, raisins, lemon juice, three tablespoons of water, black pepper and turmeric in a small blender cup. Blend on high until the raisins are broken up and the mixture has become homogenous.

Add the garlic and paprika and blend again to distribute. If your dressing seems thick, add water a tablespoon at a time and blend again. Pour over your salad and enjoy!

Warm Fall Chutney Salad

Ingredients

• 1 medium carrot, finely grated
• 100 g green leaf lettuce
• ¹/₃ c of your favorite sweet chutney (I make my own apple chutney)
• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 15 g raisins
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3-4 tbsp water
• 1 tsp garlic
• ½ tsp cumin
• Black pepper, to taste
• Turmeric, to taste (optional)

Preparation

Grate your carrot into a large bowl. Add the lettuce and chutney on top and toss to distribute ingredients.

Combine the flax, raisins, lemon juice, three tablespoons of water, black pepper and turmeric in a small blender cup. Blend on high until the raisins are broken up and the mixture has become homogenous.

Add the garlic and cumin and blend again to distribute. If your dressing seems thick, add water a tablespoon at a time and blend again. Pour over tossed salad and enjoy immediately.

Green Italian Goddess Salad

Ingredients

• 5 leaves kale
• 50 g green leaf lettuce
• 1 summer squash or zucchini
• ¼ c cilantro
• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 15 g raisins
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2-3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp. thyme
• Black pepper, to taste
• Turmeric, to taste (optional)

Preparation

De-stem the kale and slice it into bite-sized pieces. Add to a large bowl along with the lettuce. Chop cilantro and add to the bowl, too.

Use a spiralizer or julienne peeler to spiralizer your squash or zucchini. Add the zucchini noodles to your salad and toss.

If you don’t have a spiralizer or peeler, thinly slice the fruit vertically to make long, thin strips. Then stack the strips together and vertically slice the strips into thin noodles. Alternatively, save yourself the headache and slice the fruit using a mandolin!

Combine the flax, raisins, lemon juice, three tablespoons of water, black pepper and turmeric in a small blender cup. You can also add any remnants of the summer squash if there are any odd pieces left. Blend on high until the raisins are broken up and the mixture has become homogenous.

Add the garlic and cumin and blend again to distribute. If your dressing seems thick, add water a tablespoon at a time and blend again. Pour over tossed salad and enjoy!

What about the legumes?

Ah, yes. The legumes! No meal would be complete without them.

I don’t have a particular recipe that I eat every day. What I typically do is warm a cup of leftovers from the night before. After I’m done with my meal, I eat my legumes.

Sometimes I run out of leftovers to eat. If that’s the case, I often add one or a combination of the following to my salad:

• Chickpeas
• Lentils
• Frozen peas
• Frozen edamame

Tip: if you need a portable lunch, add legumes to your salad. You can either use leftovers, canned legumes or frozen legumes.

Here are some tasty, legume-centric dinner ideas for leftovers:

• Easy Mexican Black Beans (pictured above)
• Best Sweet & Spicy Vegan Quinoa Chili
• Saucy Vegan Vegetable and Chickpea Curry
• Authentic Ooey Gooey Refried Beans
• Indian Daal Makhani (omit the oil)

If I’m still hungry after my salad and legumes, I might have half of cup of oatmeal, a banana and/or an apple. A small potato or sweet potato are other good options if you’re still hungry.

What are your thoughts on salads for lunch: light and energizing or not filling enough? Share this post if you love these lunch ideas.

Wondering, “What does a model eat everyday for breakfast? Read my other post, What does a model eat in a day for breakfast?. There’s lots of helpful information on filling and nutritious breakfast options.