Todays Special: Healthy Meal Plans by Carolyn Knight

Today Tasting Out Loud will take a different route, a road less travelled by food bloggers/hunters. I am glad to feature a guest blogger who shares with us her creative ideas on eating healthy meals. As much as all of us love to eat, we do need to take care of our body. Deprivation is not the way, but ,making good choices at the right time will help us enjoy our days longer. There is a time to enjoy your favourite foods in so many places while other times we need to take things into our own hands. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. Thanks Carolyn! ~ Sue

Healthy Meal Plans for the Foodie Turned Health Freak

by Carolyn Knight

If you want to live a healthier, longer life, you’d better start eating nutritious foods and staying away from foods with tons of fat. But every time you go on a diet you long for those delicious meals, those glorious platters, those rich flavors. Guess what? You don’t have to deprive your choosy palate of its favorite foods. With healthy meal plans you outline every week, you can continue having nutritious and delicious meals regularly. 

Lots of means are available in order for you to create healthy yet appetizing meals; being a chef or having plenty of time is not a requirement. Follow these steps to assembling easy, quick, and nutrient-rich meals.

1.    Achieve Balanced Meals

When you prepare meals, make sure that you include a variety of foods such as grains, fruits, veggies, dairy, and protein. Even though you adore steak and fries, you should not eat such meals excessively. Just 2-3 oz. of steak is a sufficient amount to maintain energy and healthy, caloric intake. And what about the fries? Lots of fats, I’d say. You are much better off ditching fatty fries with whole grain pasta, instead. For a side dish, try opting for some green beans, enhanced with parsley, shallots, clove garlic, bit of salt, couple drops of olive oil, and ground black pepper.

2.   Know the Correct Food Portions

If you hear your stomach growl when you spy someone eating your favorite cheesecake, you shouldn’t simply watch enviously, depriving yourself of your craving. Why not indulge, within reason? You can always just cut your serving size in half, thereby minimizing the amount of calories. Try also taking little bites because, according to American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, chewing food slowly will also lessen your intake of food.

There are predetermined, healthy portion sizes for every food group. Keeping to these can help you control your food intake and balance your meals more correctly.

3.   Get in the Kitchen

There are plenty of folks who subscribe to the phrase “Eat to lose weight.” However, many people are now thinking that a more apt way to lose weight is to simply get i the kitchen. And why not? It makes sense. When you do the preparation of the meal yourself, you will be in a better position to make certain that everything you put the meal is proportional and healthy. You can also avoid excess oil, butter and fats are kept out.

If it is part of your family tradition to eat dinner out on the weekend, maybe it’s time to modify your former habits. Dining in is less costly and healthier! To make old dishes interesting, add new colors and flavors into the mix. Experiment with spices, seasonings, vegetables, and fruits. The deep purple eggplant is the key ingredient in this tempting eggplant parmigiana and there’s also the Halibut Veracruz for your avocado. These recipes are not only simple, they are quick to make and would surely make your family’s mouth water.       

So, ready to start cooking healthy? Just follow these uncomplicated healthy meal plans and you’ll soon be eating healthy, while still enjoying your love of good food.