What Are Good Health Meals To Eat Throughout The Day?

Eating several small and healthy meals throughout the day can help control your appetite and keep you satisfied longer. This, in turn, reduces food cravings and consumption of unhealthy snacks, which contributes to a healthy weight. Build your healthy meals around fresh vegetables, whole grains and lean protein sources. With healthy preparation, you can enjoy favorites such as salads, tacos and soups.

Health Meals

Eating several small healthy meals everyday can help you lose or maintain weight but only if your total daily calorie intake stays within certain limits. If you consume more calories than your body needs, you will gain weight. Thus it is important to avoid over-consuming calories. Eat several small meals during the day, but keep the energy content of each meal low, to avoid over-consuming calories. For example, eating 300-calorie meals, six times a day, will keep your total calorie intake below 1,800 calories.

Salads

Salad made with fresh low-calorie vegetables and a lean protein source, is a fulfilling meal, packed with fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. Pick your favorite vegetables and use cottage cheese, chicken breast or seafood as a protein source. For example, mix chopped cucumber, apple, ½ cup of mushrooms, a sweet red pepper and 1 cup of spinach together. Mix in ½ cup of low-fat cottage cheese and ½ cup of sliced strawberries for a delicious and filling meal with less than 230 calories. Make two or three servings and eat a portion every two to three hours.

Soups

Soups can be healthy and nutritious but only if you choose the right type of soup. Make your own low-calorie soup using chicken stock, chicken breast and vegetables or pick a canned, low-calorie soup from your local grocery store. Pick a canned soup that contains less than 120 calories per serving. Eat one serving of soup with a slice of whole wheat bread with 15 g of a low-fat cream cheese. This entire meal has around 220 calories per serving. Eat one serving every few hours to keep you full and satisfied throughout the day.

Fish Tacos

Tacos are a healthy meal when done with the right ingredients. Low-fat fish, such as tilapia, halibut and mahi mahi, is not only low in calories but filled with healthy fats and vitamins as well. Grill one 6-oz. halibut fillet in 1/3 tbsp. of olive oil and season with lemon juice, salt and black pepper. (ref2. total of 200 calories) Flake the fish and mix with 1 cup of shredded cabbage, chopped tomato and sweet red pepper for a total of 270 calories. Fill three 50-calorie corn tortillas with the mixture and drizzle with homemade salad dressing for three healthy meals less than 200 calories each. (ref 2 "Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, corn"

Dressings

Any healthy salad or a taco can be ruined with the wrong type of dressing. Prevent turning your healthy meal to a calorie "bomb," by making your own low-calorie dressing such as this one from "Joy of Cooking." Mix 1/3 tbsp. of olive oil, ½ tbsp. of lemon juice, ½ tbsp. of water or shrimp stock, 1 tsp. of minced garlic and 1 tbsp. fresh chopped herbs together and drizzle over your salad. Season with salt and black pepper. This dressing contains less than 50 calories and can be used to flavor your salads and tacos.