When you're trying to eat healthier, planning your weekly meals can seem overwhelming. You may even get bored of the same meals over and over again. However, eating healthy does not have to be hard or boring. Simple changes to your meals each week can help keep them low calorie, while keeping you interested. Consult your doctor about a healthy weight-loss plan for you, especially if you have a medical condition.
Meatless Monday
Meatless Mondays is a movement that encourages individuals and families to give up meat one day a week, not necessarily just on a Monday. Removing meat one day a week can significantly impact your fat and cholesterol intake over the course of a year, which in turn helps reduce risks for heart diseases and can help you lose pounds.
When choosing a menu for a meatless day, focus on alternative protein sources like nuts, tofu, black beans or any other legumes that you like. Mix these with whole-grain pasta or brown rice as well as your favorite vegetables, with fruit for dessert.
Mystery Produce
If your weekly meals are getting boring, consider taking home a mystery piece of produce each week and learning how to cook it. A mystery produce is any fruit or vegetable that you have never cooked with or haven't tasted before, like eggplant, kale, different types of peppers or heirloom tomatoes. The goal is to expand the options you have for healthy ingredients for your meals each week. Once you choose a piece of produce, do a quick cookbook or Internet search for healthy ways to prepare meals using the ingredient.
Feature Whole Grains
Fiber should play an integral role in each meal you plan. MayoClinic.com suggests that men under the age of 50 get at least 38 g of fiber each day, while women should strive for 25 g. Men over 50 should aim for 30 and women over 50 for 21.
Along with fiber's numerous other health benefits, its also takes longer to digest. This means that you stay fuller longer, resulting in less hunger and less likeliness to eat when you shouldn't. Feature whole grains in your meals, such as whole-grain breads, pastas, brown rice, wild rice or quinoa.
Think Frozen
When you don't have much time to prepare a healthy meal during the week, frozen vegetables are a quick and easy way to get the nutrition you need without a lot of prep work. A bag of stir-fry vegetables can quickly be added to chicken or shrimp along with some freshly grated ginger and low-sodium soy sauce for a healthy meal in very little time. Frozen vegetables are also great for soups, casseroles or as a basic side dish to a healthy portion of protein. Several companies now offer entire healthy frozen meals that can be prepared quickly and easily without adding a lot of extra calories to your diet.
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