Weekly healthy diet menus provide needed nutrients to keep your body operating healthy while lowering risks of developing numerous health ailments including obesity or overweight, heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Eating a well-balanced diet consisting of foods from all groups including grains, fruits, vegetables, meat and unsaturated fats is essential for overall health.
Beverages
Drinking a variety of healthy beverages needs to be included in any weekly healthy diet menu to keep your body lubricated and hydrated. Beverages must be either no calorie, as in water, or low-calorie in order to fit in with the menu. Avoid, or strictly limit, beverages containing excessive amounts of sugar to save on calories.
Damaging Fats
Weekly healthy diet menus need to be low in damaging fats such as saturated and trans fats, according to the American Heart Association. Damaging fats cause harmful cholesterol levels to increase and can result in poor cardiovascular functioning. Harmful cholesterol can cause arterial plaque formation which can eventually lead to heart attacks or strokes. Another damaging fat known as trans fats needs to be avoided or severely limited, according to MayoClinic.com. Trans fats harm cholesterol levels in two ways, by increasing harmful levels while also decreasing beneficial cholesterol levels. Trans fats are found in shortening and partially hydrogenated oils, typically used in commercially-prepared foods including deep-fried foods, processed foods, baked goods and convenience foods.
Fish
Fish contain a vital nutrient known as omega 3-fatty acids. Omega-3 is known for providing many health benefits including lowering harmful cholesterol levels, reducing body inflammation, reduce risks of developing blood clots, lower blood pressure, decrease triglyceride levels, enhance learning abilities and enhance immunity, according to the MayoClinic.com Eating two to three servings weekly of fatty fish is recommended. Fatty fish include salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, sardines and tuna. Taking a fish oil supplement is an option if you do not like eating fish.
Healthy Preparation
You can eat all the healthy food in the world, but if it is prepared in an unhealthy manner, the purpose is defeated. Choose, or prepare, foods using heart-healthy cooking methods to save on calories and fat. Heart-healthy cooking methods include baking, roasting, steaming, parbroiling, boiling, grilling, baking and broiling with minimum added oil, according to the American Heart Association. When ordering out, avoid ordering menu items using frying or deep-frying methods and order stir-frying instead. Make certain foods prepared with oils use only plant-based sources such as safflower, sunflower, olive, canola or corn.
Healthy Plate
Weekly healthy diet menus can be visualized and prepared using a technique involving a 10-inch dinner plate, according to the University of Michigan. A healthy meal will consist of a quarter of the plate being starchy vegetables and foods such as pasta, whole grain bread, peas, potatoes, corn or whole grains. Another quarter will consist of lean protein foods such as fish, skinless poultry, soy foods including tofu and/or lean cuts of red meat. One-half of the plate will consist of non-starchy vegetables including salad greens, broccoli, carrots, green beans, beets, onions and mushrooms. Enjoy fruits for dessert.
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