You can plan a healthy diet-food meal by following basic nutrition guidelines for eating whole, fresh food and keeping calories in control. Steer toward less processed foods, whole grains, and low-fat dairy and meat items to get the best nutrition with the least amount of unneeded fat, sugar or preservatives. Divide your daily total calorie intake by the number of meals you normally ingest so you know the number of calories per meal to target.
Calorie Count
Part of a healthy diet meal should consist of reading food labels and keeping your calories in control, depending on whether you want to lose, maintain or gain weight. The University of Maryland Medical Center says that for a woman, keeping your weight at the same number means eating 10 calories per pound of your existing weight each day. Men get a break with 13 calories per pound equaling a weight-maintenance balance point. Obviously, simply adding a number of calories per pound will cause weight gain, while exercise -- using up calories -- or subtracting a number of calories per pound will drop weight.
Priority on Produce
Treat fresh produce like a main course instead of a side dish to be sure you take in more of the vitamins and minerals in fresh fruit and veggies. MayoClinic.com says you should start any shopping trip in the fresh produce area and keep produce a priority for meal planning. Buy enough produce so you can take in 3 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit each day, divided among your meals. Select different colors of fruits and veggies to make sure you get a complete range of vitamins and minerals.
Fix the Fat
You need some fat to break down fat-soluble vitamins such as E, D, A and K, but you will get enough fat in low-fat dairy and meat items to do the job. The Harvard School of Public Health says that it's better to avoid beef and go for fish, poultry or legumes to get enough protein with much less cholesterol-building fat. Salmon, trout and herring are great choices because of the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids they contain. You only need about 6 ounces of meat-group items daily to get your protein, so go easy on even lean-meat choices. The same goes for low-fat dairy items; 3 cups of low-fat milk or dairy items daily is plenty to help build strong bones.
Hold Out for Whole Grains
Whole-grain breads, pastas and cereals are better choices than refined-grain items because of the natural nutrition and dietary fiber in whole grains. MyPyramid.gov says that even if milled-grain breads and cereals are enriched with the iron and B-complex vitamins they lose during refining, needed dietary fiber is still missing. Look for 100 percent whole grain on the label, as words such as hearty, healthy or enriched don't mean the product will deliver the nutrition you need for a healthy diet-food meal. One slice of whole-grain bread per meal for three meals daily will deliver the nutrition and fiber you need when added to the fresh produce, lean protein and low-fat milk and dairy items in your meals.
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