A balanced diet:
What is a balanced diet?
A diet containing the right amount of calories, proteins, minerals, vitamins and nutrients needed for overall health. It can come in different proportions at different times as well. Starving for weight loss isn’t the answer. Keep reading to build a healthy diet of your own. Honestly meal prep isn’t as hard as you think it would be, its easy, cost efficient and you don’t have to worry about preparing your own meal everyday. You will start to lead a healthier lifestyle and have a positive mindset through out the day. So what are you waiting for? Keep reading this blog to know more about different types of meals through out the day and how to prep them. Enjoy!
BREAKFAST:
The most important meal of the day is breakfast, so having a healthy breakfast can help you stay awake and energised for the rest of the day. Incorporating flax seeds, chia seeds, nuts, fruits and berries into your breakfast can be extremely nutritious and tasty while containing a good source of protein. The best choice of breakfast are eggs. Undeniably healthy and the best choice of protein packed food. Or to make it more fun, you could also have a cup of greek yogurt with a few berry toppings and that could also count as a nutritious breakfast. One of the most underrated breakfast choice would be oatmeal. It’s lovely for cereal lovers, you can mix a teaspoon of peanut butter and throw in a couple of berries and add a few nuts in there and it can be a yummy breakfast packed with fibre. You can feel full for a good amount of time as well.
Protein content:
1 egg (boiled) can give you 6-7 grams of protein with only 70 calories.
Flax seeds (100 grams) gives you 18 grams of protein.
Chia seeds (100 grams) gives you 17 grams of protein.
One cup of mixed nuts with oil roasted, salt added gives you 27 grams of protein.
So the protein content does matter with the kind of food you consume because our body should always be treated well. An easy oatmeal recipe would be a bowl of oats boiled with one cup of milk till it reaches the consistency you need and add a spoon of peanut butter with half a cup of berries, some nuts on top and enjoy!
LUNCH:
Its not necessary that you have to eat the boring old salad everyday, you can also make the meal exciting by adding whatever you like in it with just a bunch of greens in there as well. And salads aren’t the only healthy option. You can make a healthy yummy sandwich or a soup of your choice or even pastas that are diet-friendly. The best option to add to your lunch would be lean protein.
Chicken, avocado, chickpeas are a great option to add to your lunch that will make you feel full for a long amount of time. They are low in calories and also very satisfying to the stomach. Easy to prep meal planning through out the week can save you a lot of money and energy. Since meal prep is time consuming, you can prepare these meals ahead of time and store it in the fridge and it will stay as fresh for the week. And healthy eating doesn’t mean you eat healthy only during the day, it also means you have to have a light but healthy dinner as well. A few lunch meal prep ideas will be listed down below. Once you start prepping meals ahead of time, it stops becoming a hassle for you since the eating part of the day is already sorted. There are a variety of meal preps you could do to sort out lunch. It can be a hot lunch, or a cold lunch, soups, wraps, salads or pitas.
Benefits of these meal prep will be,
1) Healthier eating
2) Cost efficient
3) No more hassle of preparing your meals every day.
When you are starting to prep meals a little ahead of your time, it always wise to start small. As in, you shouldn’t feel pressured to prep all three meals ahead and stick to it all of a sudden. The key is to start small. Make one meal ahead of time and see if you can commit and follow it on a day to day basis and then start with two meals and then three including small snacks in between. Never restrict yourself to anything, it’s okay to have a cheat meal once a week for you to just look forward to the end of the week and your favourite meal.
How to prep and store:
Identical containers makes it easy and you have an idea of the quantity that you’re having. To prep a hot meal, make sure you don’t store it in the fridge for longer than you are allowed to. Make sure you consume it before it gets spoilt. We don’t want your food/effort to go to waste. Start small like i’ve mentioned before. Add things that you would like, so that you can look forward to a yummy meal that you would like. A simple ideal recipe is shared below. Feel free to customise your favourite veggies and add them to your meal.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa , 2 large carrots, 1 large capsicum, 1 onion ,Olive oil ,Salt and pepper, 1 can of chickpeas, peri peri powder
Bbq powder, Home made tahini with sesame seeds
How to:
Sauté veggies with olive oil and add seasoning of your own. I’m using peri-peri and bbq powder here. Cook the quinoa the way that you like and add it to your prepared tin at first. Then bring the veggies and chickpeas and add them to the container as well. I drizzle tahini on top of the meal and store it. Viola! You are done with the meal prep. Like I said, feel free to add veggies of your choice, you can even switch the chickpea with tofu or paneer if you’re Indian.
DINNER:
Last but not the least important meal, a healthy and filling dinner will give a good sleep wave and will keep you full during the night, not letting you sneak in a snack during midnight. I’m not saying don’t eat a meal after dinner, you can always have another snack like peanut butter and an apple or carrots plus hummus dip. There are so many different recipes that you can make for your dinner that you will look forward to as well. Some make-ahead dinners that you are guaranteed to love are on the internet. If you are a vegetarian, there are hundreds of healthy dinner ideas that you could make ahead and store it in the fridge for yourself and eat if the next day or the day after. Dinner is the last meal of the day and thats why it should be made with absolute care and love. Once you sleep after dinner, the right choice you made will make you eat healthy the next day and make it your lifestyle. Thats why eating a good healthy, nutritious dinner is important to set a routine for your lifestyle. Many problems that occur in the body can be due to poor eating or junk or stress eating unwanted calories. Remembering to eat healthy and in right quantities help you eliminate all these diseases for a much more healthier life style. A better digestion, reducing stress levels and lowering anxiety levels. These days people suffering from anxiety are increasing by the day so it’s always better to consult a professional if things get harder on the way.
A simple dinner idea will be shared below, if you’re looking to be inspired. The meal that can be customised as per your wish if you would like to eliminate some ingredient and add some thing that you like can also be done.
Ingredients:
4-5 thyme leaves picked, 4 anchovies in oil, drained, chopped, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon chilli flakes, 2 tablespoons, olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, Chicken Thighs , 800g baby potatoes, halved lengthways, 250g baby tomatoes
How to:
1) Preheat oven to 200C
2) Combine the thyme, anchovies, oregano, chilli, oil, garlic and lemon zest in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Add the potatoes and toss to combine. Place on a large baking tray and scatter over the speck.
3) Cut the zested lemon into wedges and add to the tray. Season and roast for 40 minutes or until chicken is golden and potatoes tender. Remove from the oven and top with tomatoes. Roast for a further 10-15 minutes until tomatoes are blistered.
4) Squeeze over roasted lemon juice to serve.
It’s a simple and easy dinner that you can have in under 30 minutes so feel free to switch the chicken to whatever you’d like if you’re vegetarian or vegan depending upon your choice. And enjoy!