A note to Fish readers: On Jan. 2, I began a nutrition plan complete with a certified nutritionist coach. After learning that I’m a journalist and blogger, she invited me to blog about my experiences. The following is the seventh of two month’s of weekly blogs that first appeared on the international Metabolic Balance® website on March 9.  Unheralded.fish will run the first eight blogs in the next two weeks to “catch up.”

In the U.S., “Variety is the spice of life,” is a well-known adage. It is also a quality I practice in many areas of my life.

With the MB® plan, I “could” easily fall into a pattern of having the same few meals  on a regular basis. Like most people, I’m a creature of habit.

Before starting this nutrition program at the beginning of January, I probably had basically the same breakfast nearly every morning for 40 years: a banana, one or two pieces of toasted whole wheat or English muffin bread with thick salt-free butter and Marmite, the latter two items influenced by my 20 years in England and Germany.

I haven’t had a banana nor Marmite for more than two months and one of my favorite foods ― butter? I have only had it once ― on bread ― during a treat meal last month.

One of my favorite new healthy breakfast choices is plain Greek yogurt, sourdough rye bread ― which I make every couple of weeks ― spread with a thin layer of coconut oil, a crunchy Honeycrisp apple and a couple of cups of strong Starbuck’s rich French roast coffee.

My meat options, though ― which are venison and veal ― leave me challenged to come up with different ways to prepare it. I say “it” referring to venison because I have yet to find a source for veal in the large metropolitan area of Minneapolis.

So recently, I decided to make venison meatloaf. It was really tasty and gives me another new easy all-in-one meal option. I doubled the recipe so I had an easy-to-reheat meal.

Here’s my Venison Meatloaf recipe:

Venison Meatloaf
11½ ounces ground venison
7.76 ounces mixed vegetables (I used ½ a medium-sized onion, button mushrooms and four slivers of green, red, orange and yellow bell peppers all finely chopped)
1 egg for binding
Fresh thyme, oregano and basil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cajun spice (for seasoning)
Mix everything together in a bowl and place in two separate ovenproof dishes for two meals-in-one. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

I used what I had in on hand. This meal would also be tasty with celery or any other vegetables that you enjoy. Just make sure to chop them quite finely so that the mixture sticks together.

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Results: Day 63 on the MB® plan, down 24 pounds. I’m back on the treadmill four to five days a week, which supports my weight-loss commitment.

Tip: Be adventurous and try new ways to create meals that keep you happy, satisfied, engaged and nourished each day.

I created my own venison meatloaf meal recipe, which was delicious and called for a proper glass of water for dinner.

I love portobello mushrooms sautéed in organic olive oil or camelina oil. This dinner is rounded out with chopped avocado and cherry tomatoes and my every present bottle of water.

Venison patties along with sautéed button mushrooms are a nice alternative along with mixed greens and water.