Healthy Food Menu

Healthy eating is the key to maintaining a healthy weight and reducing your risk of developing chronic diseases. One trick that has successfully kept diets on track is to set up a menu of food items you can eat regularly that will meet your nutritional needs without exceeding your caloric or fat intake. Following a casual menu can help solve the weeknight dinner challenge and help you control the nutrient content of your meals.

Weight, BMI and Health

Your body mass index, or BMI, is a number that expresses the ratio of body fat to lean mass composition. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an increasing number of Americans have a BMI over 30, which indicates overweight and obesity. The healthy body mass index range is from 18.5 to 24.9, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A higher body mass index means you have a higher ratio of fat tissue, which usually results from getting little exercise and eating a diet higher in fat. Obesity and overweight increase your risk of developing certain chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and health challenges related to those conditions.

Weight-Loss Tips

In order to lose weight, you need to balance your caloric intake with your caloric output. You can do this by altering how you eat or by increasing your exercise, or both. In addition to eating healthy food, you should control portion sizes. When you dine out, consider sharing the food or eating half of the food later as leftovers. Finally, increase your exercise by walking farther, choosing the stairs or gradually adding an exercise routine to your day. A reduction of 500 calories per day or burning an extra 500 calories per day will help you lose 1 pound of weight a week.

Healthy Food Defined

Setting a healthy food menu to follow regularly is a good way to control your calories. However, some foods seem healthier than they are, such as oversize muffins or sugary yogurts. Researchers at the University of Washington's Nutritional Sciences Program and the Center for Public Health Nutrition found that the definition of nutritious food is vague and varied. Some organizations recommend foods based on the nutrients they have, while others choose foods based on what they don't have, such as excessive fat or sodium. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, you should eat fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy. Unprocessed foods have more nutrients with fewer calories, compared with packaged or prepared foods.

Setting Your Menu

When you set up a menu for yourself, be sure to pick foods you enjoy eating. According to the American Dietetic Association, you should choose colorful fruits and vegetables; whole and fiber-enriched grains; and low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese and yogurt; and lean meat, poultry, and legumes. Select foods that are reduced-fat, reduced-sodium or reduced calorie where possible.

Specific Items

You can start your day well at breakfast by maximizing your fruit and whole-grain intake. Try a whole-grain cereal topped with low-fat milk, or yogurt and sliced fruit. If you are on the go, choose a whole-grain bagel topped with low-fat peanut butter and a low-sugar spread. If you have a coffee drink, choose low-fat milk and skip the whipped topping.

For snacks, choose whole-grain snacks that are low in fat and sodium. Portion-controlled snacks are an excellent option for regulating caloric intake. Fruit and vegetable sticks make great, nutrient-packed snacks.

For lunch and dinner, add vegetables whenever possible. Incorporate them into stir-fries, casseroles, soups and sauces. Stir pureed vegetables into tomato sauces to increase the nutritional value. Instead of pasta, serve spaghetti squash or other vegetables cut into ribbons. Add chopped vegetables to meatloaf, meatballs and hamburgers to use less meat and increase your vegetable servings. Choose naturally lean cuts of meat, and remove the fat from chicken before eating. Eat at home more often to control the fat, calories and portion sizes of your meals.