The Ultimate Guide To Picky Plates (Shopping, Prepping and Creating)

I have been sharing my picky plates every day on social media and you have all been LOVING them and have been inspired to make your own. Plates loaded with colourful ingredients, lots of fruit and vegetables and protein packed - a way to eat lots of food, in a healthy way, and never feel like you are missing out.

You all have lots of questions about how I shop for these plates, what I prepare in advance and how I create them - so here is your ultimate guide to picky plates.

I hope this is a resource that you come back to week after week, as you write shopping lists for your own picky plates and to look through the photos for inspiration for what to make.

Please share this post with others that you know like this way of eating and don't forget to follow Hungry Healthy Happy on Facebook as I post a new plate there every day, and my Facebook page will be a continued source for picky plate ideas and different ways to serve these ingredients so you never get bored.

Jump to:

• What is a picky plate?
• Picky Plate Options and Shopping
• Budget options
• Prep and Store
• Time
• Creating a Picky Plate and "Rules"
• Calories and Nutritional Information
• Food Waste
• Picky Plates on the Go
• Feedback

What is a picky plate?

This might just be the questions I get asked the most on Facebook (where these posts have gone viral - one of them reaching over 5 million people). It's basically a plate of salad type ingredients, arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way on a plate.

The phrase "picky plate" came from my kids when they were toddlers. It was a plate of food that you they could pick at, whilst doing other activities, rather than a proper sit down meal with a knife and fork, and it just kind of stuck.

They have always loved eating this way (even now at 4 and 7) and it encourages them to try new foods and I think it's partly why they are such amazing and adventurous eaters now.

I then thought, why should they have all the fun? Adults can eat like this too and it actually suits my lifestyle better. I tend to workout during my lunch break, so this kind of meal I can eat at my desk whilst I work.

I also like that it naturally encourages slower eating. If I am having a sandwich, it's gone in seconds. Picking at bits, dipping vegetable sticks into hummus, and chewing all these different foods takes time.

Eating slower allows plenty of time to trigger the signal from your brain that you are full, which translates into eating less. It also aids better digestion.

I have been eating one of these plates pretty much every day for the past year and I have lost 58lbs so far. But, beyond the weight loss, I have so much more energy and I really enjoy what I am eating. I always feel full too. Eating this way means it's much easier to add more colour and nutrients to your plate.

I want to show that you don't have to eat less in terms of volume to be healthy/lose weight. Sure, cut back on the junk food and eat less of that, but you don't have to have small portions. Just fill your plate with nutrient dense foods.

Look through these photos and see just how much food you can have for about 500 calories.

Picky Plate Options and Shopping

The great thing about these picky plates is that they are SO easy to adapt. You never have to have the same one twice. You can pick and swap ingredients based on what you like, what you already have in and your own nutritional needs.

I am very aware that everyone has different nutritional needs, allergies and intolerances, as well as different tastes. So, I won't be telling you how to make exact plates, with exact ingredients.

Instead, I will give you a list of the different foods I choose from and shop for, ways you can cook them and lots of photos throughout this post to give you inspiration to write up your own shopping list and create your own.

Vegetables

This is what I try to fill the majority of my picky plates with - it adds all the colour. When I say vegetables, I include salad type ingredients too which some are technically fruit. 

Fruit

Not only does it add some extra colour, but it helps to satisfy my sweet tooth. I know serving fruit with savoury items is not common all over the world, but I love it. Grapes and cheese especially go so well together.

Protein

This helps to make the plates as filling as possible, which stops me from snacking on junk food. I like a good mix of vegetarian protein, meat, fish, dairy and eggs. Remember, vegetables have protein too!

Carbs

If you want to bulk these plates out a bit and make them even more filling, or perhaps you are looking for some extra calories then you can add some carbs like potatoes, pasta, rice or bread.

Dip

I love something to dip all this delicious crunchy veg in and it's an easy way to add lots of extra flavour.

For something spicy you could have some buffalo sauce or make my Homemade Restaurant Style Salsa (B). My go-to dips though are Butter Bean Hummus (B), Tzatziki or Cottage Cheese, because they are an easy way to add lots of protein.

For something a little more indulgent, try our Whipped Feta. I like Greek yogurt with Ranch dressing too.

Prep and Store

The great thing about a picky plate is that they only take about 5-10 minutes to make, even if you are making everything from scratch. That's pretty good for a nutritious and delicious meal if you ask me.

However, to make things even quicker I do some prep in advance and store it in the fridge. I do have a large fridge, so I have space to store all of this. If you have a smaller fridge, then you may only be able to prep enough for a day or two. But, anything helps to save time.

Some things only keep for a couple of days, some keep for about 5 days and some things I will only make from fresh. Generally, I will prep enough for about 3-4 days of food.

It's important to have the right containers to store things in. I use these Glass Storage Containers and Mason Jars to store my food prep in. I also have a Salad Spinner to make sure everything is really dry after it has been washed and this helps it to last longer.

Eggs - I batch cook these and they will keep in the fridge for up to a week if you keep them in their shell. If you have peeled them, then they need to be eaten within a day or two.

Top tip - If you use eggs close to their best before date, they will be easier to peel.

Chicken - I like to cook up a whole chicken twice a week to keep in the fridge, as that takes some time and I don't usually have time to make it from fresh every lunch time.

I make either Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs or Air Fryer Chicken Breasts and shred them up. If you wanted to cook a whole chicken, then try my Perfect Roast Chicken or Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken. Some of this gets used for dinners too like adding to Noodle Bowls, BBQ Chicken Pizza or Creamy Chicken Pasta.

Fruit and Veg - I always keep fruit on hand in the fridge, not only for these plates but breakfast and snacks. For berries and grapes, I rinse them, dry them and then put them in an air tight container lined with paper towel. I buy a whole watermelon and slice it up and keep it in an air tight container for 4 days (not that it ever lasts that long with my kids around).

Cut carrot, celery and cucumber and be stored in an air tight container filled with water and they will keep for 3 days. Cut peppers will keep in a paper towel lined container for a couple of days too.

I make a big batch of my Marinated Olives and Pickled Red Onions and store those in mason jars to add to my picky plates, as well as my breakfasts, as well as Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Roasted Red Peppers.

Dips - Things like hummus and salsa can be batch made and it will keep for 3-4 days. I use the salsa for breakfast served with eggs too and often with dinner as we eat a lot of tacos, so this never goes to waste.

Grains - If I want more of a carb heavy meal, then a grain mix like Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous, Quinoa Greek Salad, Mediterranean Rice Salad or Tabbouleh is my go-to and these can be made in a bigger batch and stored in an air tight container for 3-4 days.

Crackers - We love something with a bit of crunch and have been making these Seed and Cheese crackers as they last for about a week. You could also make our Cheese Biscuits or if you like tortilla chips then try our Air Fryer Tortilla Chips or Oven Baked Tortilla Chips.

Bread - I don't tend to add a lot of bread to my plates, but if I do then I try to go homemade. Some bread items that you can make as part of your weekly meal prep include Easy Homemade Flatbreads, Melba Toast or Easy Homemade Bagels.

Vegetables - I roast up some sweet potato and butternut squash too and that goes well on the picky plates (especially if you want to heat it up to have something warm) and we add them to tacos too.

Time

A lot of people think this takes longer than it actually does. I put a chicken in the oven to roast, and whilst that is cooking I prep everything else. So, it's only taking about 90 minutes and saving me SO much time during the week. I have a food processor with a chopping attachment on it which does speed things up too.

Creating a Picky Plate and "Rules"

Once you have shopped for all the ingredients, prepped some of them and stored them in your fridge, you now need to actually make the picky plate.

Many people have asked me what the "rules" are when it comes to making them, or what kind of guide I follow. In short, there are no rules or guide. I am guided by my belly - haha.

I create my plate each day based on whatever I fancy. What I buy each week changes based on availability, season, what I can find reduced or on offer or what I have that needs using up from other meals.

However, I guess you could say there are some loose guidelines that I have set myself.

I try to make these plates as protein packed as possible. 30g a meal is my aim, but I don't obsess over that too much as I try to look at the bigger picture and that I am getting enough protein over the week. I try to make sure that the protein is a mix of plant based as well as from meat, fish, eggs and dairy.

My plates do tend to be lower on the carbs. There is plenty of carbs from the fruit and veg, but I don't tend to often add things like bread, potatoes, grains etc. and if I do it is minimal.

I will often add some crackers or something for crunch though. I know I got a lot of hate for adding the pretzels and there were comments about them being "empty carbs", but we have got to still include some of the fun food in our life too. It's about balance!

The main "rule" though, is adding as much colour as possible. Eat the rainbow has always been my aim, and I have naturally found that when I eat that way, I eat less junk and have a much better diet overall without having to track anything.

Calories and Nutritional Information

Speaking of tracking, one question that comes up a lot is the calories and nutritional breakdown of my picky plates.

This isn't something I add to every post, because calorie counting can be very triggering for many people. However, if you ask in the comments then I will always work it out and let you know.

I used to calorie count, however I found that it had a bit too much of a control over me. So, once I got to a point where I was more aware of calories and could eat intuitively, then I stopped tracking them.

I do add all the calories and nutritional information for the recipes here on the blog, so I am pretty aware of the calorie amounts in various foods. That allows me to have a rough idea of how many calories I am adding to my plate, without actually having to track. I aim for about 450-600 calories per plate.

I know that as long as I am not loading it up with cheese, or bread, or other high calories foods, then it's all good. I'm NEVER going to obsess about the amount of fruit and vegetables I am eating and I am never going to cut back on those.

There have been SO many comments about the size of my portions, people telling me I am eating too much and sadly that shows the control that diet culture still has over so many people.

Also, we all have different appetites, needs and activity levels. I love food, I can eat a lot of food and I am super active (I workout 6 times a week and run round after 2 kids).

Eating these "huge" portions has helped me to lose nearly 60lbs, so why would I eat less when I don't need to or want to? It's about changing our mindset and knowing we don't have to eat less in volume, we just might need to adapt what we eat.

Food Waste

Lots of questions I received were around how I use everything up, when I have such a varied selection of ingredients, and how I make sure that nothing goes to waste.

Well, as you can see from the plates, the portions are big. This is great for volume eating, whilst still being low in calories, so lots of vegetables get used on one plate.

However, it isn't just me eating it. My husband has one of these plates every lunch too (sometimes a little different with extra carbs etc) and our kids love eating this way too. So, there are 4 of us that eat picky plates.

Also, a lot of the ingredients that go into making these plates can be used in other meals too. Fruit goes into smoothies and snacks, eggs get used for breakfast, vegetables are cooked for pasta dishes, cooked chicken gets added to tacos.

I try to only buy as much as I need and sometimes towards the end of the week, my plates get a little more repetitive as I am trying to use up everything, which is why you will see some repeats. But, I don't mind that if I know I am not wasting anything.

I do understand that this is a harder way to eat if you are making them just for yourself. You may have to have less choice, repeat a lot of the same things or just get really creative with how you use the ingredients in other meals.

Again, it's not about being perfect and you don't have to match exactly what I am doing or do it as often. Little changes all add up!

Picky Plates on the Go

Not everyone is at home for lunch time, so if you want to pack up a picky plate to take to lunch or perhaps you are out with your kids during the day, then here is how to have picky plates on the go.

The simplest, but perhaps not the prettiest, option is to make it a plate and then just dump it all into an air tight container. You could chop it all up and then serve it as a salad too and then just eat it with a fork rather than picking at it.

However, if I know that I am going to be out of the house for lunch, then I make up my picky plate in advance and store it all in a lunch box/bento box. This is the Adult Lunch Box/Bento Box that I use - I love it.

These tend to be smaller portions than I would have on a plate, as there is only so much you can fit in and also certain things I wouldn't pack into them because of keeping fresh. But, generally the same "rules" apply for making them.

My kids love eating this way on the go too and I pack these up for road trips or if we are outside all day - they are kind of like snack boxes. I pack them in their Yum Box Lunch Boxes, and they absolutely love them.

I really hope this has helped to answer some of the questions, and also maybe inspire you to make your own picky plates. It really has totally changed the way I eat.

I love the food I am eating now, I never get bored, I feel so much healthier and I feel like I have finally kicked that "diet starts on Monday" mentality. Don't forget to keep sharing your own picky plates with me.

If you’ve made your own picky plate, let us know what foods you included.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.