Tasty Weight Loss Meals

Preparing tasty, low calorie meals at home will help you lose weight. You need to either burn 500 calories or eat 500 fewer calories each day to lose 1 to 2 lbs. per week, according to MayoClinic.com. So cooking and eating healthy meals---along with exercise---will help keep you on track.

Eat Oatmeal for Breakfast

Begin losing weight each day by eating a hearty and tasty breakfast. ACEFitness.org encourages you to "wake up and eat" a healthy, tasty breakfast. Whole grains such as oatmeal are hearty enough to stay with you throughout the morning, making it easier to resist the donuts and bagels. Turn thick-cut rolled oats into a tasty breakfast by adding 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 1 tbsp. craisins or dried blueberries and 1 tsp. toasted walnuts or pecans. Adding a small drizzle of honey is optional. Mix 1/3 or 1/2 cup of the oatmeal with double the amount of water and microwave for two minutes. In summer, toast 2 cups of oats in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes---add 2 cups of store-bought granola to reduce the calories.

Summer Salad Meals

When the weather is warm, eat large, meal-size salads for dinner. Make taco salad with beans, tofu crumbles, tomatoes and salsa. Try a brown rice salad with red onion, toasted almonds, carrots, tomatoes and parsley. Make a steak-and-potatoes salad by cooking 3 to 4 oz. of steak per person and slicing it into thin, bite-size pieces. Roast one large potato, cut into bite-size chunks. Toss the steak and potatoes with lots of lettuce, tomatoes, radish slices, leftover or newly cooked vegetables---such as green beans or broccoli and kernels cut from two ears of corn. Serve with slices of cantaloupe on the side. For dessert, serve cut summer fruit such as strawberries, nectarines, peaches or plums with 1 to 2 tbsp. of yogurt, according to health.gov---mix 3-1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt with 1/3 cup or less of honey and cinnamon to taste.

Winter Soup Meals

Turn any soup into a winter meal by adding hearty foods such as potato chunks, beans, whole grains like barley or cracked wheat and legumes such as lentils. Begin all winter soups by sauteing one onion and adding low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth. Mark Bittman, author of "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian," explains how to cook his mushroom barley soup---use 3 cups of stock to 1 cup of pearled barley. Add 1 lb. of cooked mushrooms and three sliced carrots. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes and add 1 tbsp. of low-sodium soy sauce before serving. Serve with a green salad with tomatoes and 1/3 cup of sliced red cabbage. For dessert, serve sliced oranges or pineapple with yogurt dip.