Deciding what to cook for a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner can be daunting for many people. Following the steps in recipes and finding the best ingredients can be intimidating. But cooking healthy meals for your family or yourself can be very easy, and less time consuming than you might imagine.
Grocery List
An important part of planning meals ahead of time is creating a functional grocery list. Create meals with items that you already have and build your grocery list from there. Using the same ingredients in meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner keeps you from having to come up with meals from scratch and prevents wasting food. Choose a protein, fruit/vegetable, grain, and dairy item for each meal. This ensuresthat you prepare well-balanced meals.
Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast can be easy to prepare and doesn't require a lot of ingredients. A quick breakfast taco is an easy breakfast meal. Fill corn tortillas with scrambled eggs, low fat cheese, and salsa and serve with a slice of melon to complete your meal. Waffles are a morning favorite. Use whole wheat waffle mix and nonfat milk to prepare. Instead of dousing your waffles in syrup, top with your favorite fresh berries. Serve with turkey sausage for a filling meal. A quick breakfast on the go is important to many. Try a salmon and egg breakfast sandwich, by topping a whole wheat English muffin with two scrambled egg whites, smoked salmon, a slice of tomato, and chopped red onion. A glass of orange juice completes this well-balanced breakfast.
Lunch Ideas
The middle of the day demands an energizing meal to keep you going. Preparing something fast and easy is key. A tuna melt is a great option for a healthy midday meal. Top whole wheat bread with tuna salad made from chunk light tuna, light mayonaise, shallots, and lemon juice. Put two tomato slices over the tuna salad and top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese bubbles. Another lunch option is a chicken salad. Simply top fresh dark greens with grilled chicken, red onions, yellow bell peppers, and mandarin oranges. Drizzle with a light Asian vinaigrette.
Dinner Ideas
A healthy dinner can be prepared just as quickly as breakfast or lunch. Cook your whole meal all in one foil packet. Wrap tilapia, squash, tomatoes, red onion, and black olives drizzled with a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in foil. Grill the packets for about five minutes and it's done. Another dinner option is lemon chicken stir fry. Stir fry diced chicken breast, carrots, snow peas, zucchini, and scallions in a sauce of lemon juice, chicken broth, and cornstarch. Serve over brown rice.
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