Virtual dietitian practice, Maya Okafor, RD, LD

Free 7-day meal plan for women who crash at 3 pm

21 blood-sugar-friendly meals and 6 snacks from registered dietitian Maya Okafor. Real food from your usual grocery store, planned so your energy holds after lunch.

  • 21 meals and 6 snacks with the prep time printed on each one. 16 of the 21 meals take 15 minutes or less.
  • A grocery list sorted by store section (produce, protein, pantry, dairy) so one trip covers the week.
  • A plate-builder chart and two batch-prep Sundays (about 90 and 60 minutes) that cover most weekday breakfasts and lunches.

The plan lands in your inbox in about a minute. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

“Day 4, I ate lunch at 12:30 and skipped my usual 3 pm vending machine run. First time in months.”
Leticia R., 47, Round Rock3,400+ women have downloaded the plan since January
Real pages from the plan. Hover or tap to spread them out.

What's inside, day by day

Each day adds one habit on top of the last. By Sunday you have a week of meals you can repeat, and you'll know which ones fit your schedule.

  • Page 3The plate-builder chart, for meals that aren't in the plan
  • Page 10How to order at a restaurant without wrecking the day
  • Pages 12, 13Grocery list by store section, with a column for two people
  • Pages 14, 15Prep Sunday A and B, minute by minute
  1. SundayBefore Day 1

    Prep Sunday A 90 min

    Steel-cut oats, a pot of lentil soup, two sheet pans of vegetables and 12 egg muffins. Breakfast and lunch are handled through Wednesday.

  2. Day 1Monday

    Build the plate

    Steel-cut oats with walnuts, lentil soup with spinach, sheet-pan salmon with broccoli and sweet potato.

  3. Day 2Tuesday

    Protein at breakfast

    Greek yogurt bowl with chia, salmon and chickpea salad, turkey and black bean chili (makes Thursday's lunch too).

  4. Day 3Wednesday

    The 3 pm snack swap

    Veggie egg muffins, chicken and farro bowl, hummus with snap peas at 3, shrimp stir-fry with brown rice.

  5. Day 4Thursday

    Leftovers on purpose

    Oats with pear and pecans, Tuesday's chili with a side salad, sheet-pan chicken fajitas on corn tortillas.

  6. Day 5Friday

    One meal out

    Spinach and feta scramble, fajita salad with avocado, and dinner at a restaurant using the plate builder.

  7. Day 6Saturday

    A slower breakfast

    Cottage cheese pancakes with berries, tuna and white bean lettuce cups, grilled chicken thighs with black bean and corn salad.

  8. Day 7Sunday

    Prep Sunday B 60 min

    Egg muffins, the last of the lentil soup, slow-cooker chicken with white beans and kale that covers two lunches next week.

Is this plan a fit for you?

Maya wrote it for a specific person. Here's who gets the most out of it, and who should skip it.

It fits if

  • You're somewhere between 35 and 55 and your energy drops hard in the middle of the afternoon.
  • Your doctor mentioned prediabetes, or your A1C came back between 5.7 and 6.4.
  • You cook at least 3 nights a week and want meals your family will eat too.
  • You'd rather eat normal food than buy powders, bars or supplements.

Skip it if

  • You want a 1,200-calorie plan or a fast weight-loss number. This isn't that.
  • You have type 1 diabetes or use insulin. You need a plan built with your care team.
  • You want keto or zero-carb. This plan has fruit, beans and whole grains every day.
  • You're pregnant. Pregnancy has its own targets, so ask your OB for a referral.

Written by Maya Okafor, RD, LD

A registered dietitian who spent six years in a hospital diabetes clinic before starting Rootwise. She now sees clients across Texas by video.

RD
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist since 2014
LD
Licensed Dietitian, State of Texas
CDCES
Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist
M.S.
Clinical Nutrition

Maya Okafor, RD, LD, CDCES
Virtual practice, Austin, Texas

Hi, I'm Maya.

In the diabetes clinic, the thing I heard most wasn't about sugar. It was “I'm exhausted by 3 o'clock and I don't know why.”

Usually it came back to lunch: a big, mostly-carb lunch, something sweet to push through the afternoon, then a crash my clients had decided was just part of their 40s.

This plan is the same first week I give paying clients, minus the one-on-one part. It won't ask you to give up fruit or count every carb. It will ask you to put protein in your breakfast and to build your plate in a certain order.

Maya Okafor, RD, LD

What women noticed after the first week

1 of 3
“I stopped buying the 3 pm granola bar. That's most of the review. My Thursday meetings are a lot less foggy now.”
Renee T., 44Project manager, Pflugerville
“My A1C went from 6.1 to 5.8 over four months, with walking after dinner too. The plate chart from week one is still on my fridge.”
Denise M., 52Middle school teacher, Houston
“I liked that it was real food. Lentil soup, salmon, oatmeal. Nothing I had to order online, and my husband ate all of it.”
Priya S., 38Nurse, San Antonio

Individual results vary. The plan is general education, not a treatment.

Questions before you download

If yours isn't here, reply to the plan email. Maya reads every reply.

Is the plan really free?

Yes. You get the 16-page PDF by email, then three short emails over the next week: a snack swap, a check-in, and an invite to a free 15-minute plate review. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe.

Do I have to count carbs or calories?

No. Portions are measured with your hand and the plate-builder chart. If you already track, the PDF lists grams of carbs and protein for each meal in the back.

I take metformin or another diabetes medication. Can I use this?

Many of Maya's clients do, but talk to your doctor first. Eating more steadily can change how glucose-lowering medication affects you, and your dose may need a look.

Can I make it vegetarian?

Yes. 9 of the 21 meals are already vegetarian, and every meat or fish meal lists a swap (usually lentils, tofu, eggs or beans) with the same portion size.

What will the groceries cost?

About $95 to $120 for one person for the week at an Austin H-E-B, based on August 2026 prices. Pantry items like oats and lentils carry over into week two.

How much cooking is involved?

Two prep sessions (about 90 minutes on the first Sunday, 60 on the second), then 16 of the 21 meals take 15 minutes or less. The longest weeknight dinner is 35 minutes, and it makes a second meal.

Start Monday with the plan on your fridge

Most women download it midweek, shop on Saturday and do Prep Sunday A the next day. The checklist is on page 14.

  • 21 meals, 6 snacks, prep time on every one
  • Grocery list sorted by store section
  • Plate-builder chart and two Prep Sundays

The plan lands in your inbox in about a minute. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Virtual dietitian practice, Maya Okafor, RD, LD

You're in. The plan is on its way.

Check your inbox for your 7-day plan

We sent it to the email you entered, from maya@rootwisenutrition.com. The subject line is “Your 7-Day Steady Energy Plan is inside.”

Not there in 5 minutes? Check Promotions or Spam, and search for “Steady Energy.” Moving it to your main inbox means the next two emails land there too.

Wrong email? Go back and fix it
Plate builder: half the plate non-starchy vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter smart carbs, plus a thumb of fat Half Palm Fist Fat

Your first win: build tonight's dinner with the plate rule

You don't need Day 1 groceries for this. Use whatever is in your fridge tonight and fill the plate in this order.

  • Half the plateNon-starchy vegetables: salad, broccoli, green beans, peppers, zucchini
  • A palm of proteinChicken, fish, eggs, tofu, beans or Greek yogurt
  • A fist of carbsSweet potato, brown rice, whole-grain bread, corn tortillas or fruit
  • A thumb of fatOlive oil, avocado, nuts or cheese

Eat the vegetables and protein first and the carbs last. That order alone tends to soften the rise in blood sugar after a meal.

Your week, meal by meal

Pick a day to see what you'll eat, how long it takes, and why Maya put it there.

Want Maya to look at one of your plates?

A free 15-minute plate review by video or phone. It's optional. The plan works on its own.

  1. Pick one of the three times in the booking card.
  2. Reply to the plan email with a photo of a lunch or dinner you eat often.
  3. On the call, Maya gives you two specific changes for that plate.

If you want more help after that, she'll explain how her 12-week program works and what it costs. If not, you keep the notes and that's the end of it.

Plate review with Maya15 minutes, video or phone, free

Maya keeps six of these open each week. Times shown in Central Time.

What lands in your inbox this week

Three emails from Maya, then one recipe email on Tuesdays. Unsubscribe from any of them in one click.

  1. TodayYour 7-Day Steady Energy Plan is insideThe PDF, plus the two easiest ways to start.
  2. In 2 daysThe 3 pm snack swap I give almost everyoneThree swaps for the snacks that cause the crash. It lines up with Day 3.
  3. In 5 daysWant me to look at one of your plates?The plate review invite. If you already booked above, you'll get your reminder instead.