Proper nutrition is a balanced diet, healthy foods and a varied menu. What is the best way to create a menu for a healthy diet? How to make it interesting?
Proper nutrition: secrets
What should be proper nutrition? Healthy and delicious! It is important to combine these two components.
First of all, the diet should be balanced. That is, the menu should contain enough proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and other valuable substances. And from this comes another rule: the menu should be diverse. You cannot eat only vegetables or grains. Then the body will not get everything it needs. Products must be fresh. Don't forget about calories. It is necessary to choose a daily norm and follow it.
Proper nutrition involves reducing the consumption of sugar and salt. Therefore, instead of salt, you should add lemon juice, spices, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs to your food. As for sugar, you should use more fruits, dried fruits and berries. They can easily replace the harmful product.
You can't go hungry because proper nutrition should satisfy you. But at the same time, overeating is prohibited. Portions should be small. You need to eat little but often. It is good to have three main meals and 2-3 snacks.
Healthy lifestyle: healthy and varied menu
Proper nutrition is part of a healthy lifestyle. Of course, a healthy lifestyle involves not only eating, but also giving up bad habits, exercising, and following a daily routine. However, nutrition plays an important role in life.
How to create a menu correctly? When remembering your preferences, you should consider all the secrets of proper nutrition. You can't cook food you don't like, even if it's healthy. This will destroy everything and delay the transition to a healthy lifestyle.
Here is an example of a healthy eating menu for the week.
1 day:
- morning: rice porridge with pumpkin and pear, yogurt, green tea;
- snack: fruit smoothie (apple, banana, yogurt, blueberry);
- lunch: vegetarian cabbage soup, baked sea bass, salad with peppers and tomatoes, dried fruit compote;
- afternoon snack: cottage cheese with fennel;
- evening: vegetable stew (zucchini, carrot, onion, eggplant, tomato), a piece of boiled chicken, a slice of bread, kefir.
2 nd day:
- breakfast: omelette with tomatoes and sweet pepper, bread, apple, black tea;
- snack: a handful of nuts;
- lunch: buckwheat soup with vegetables, beef with boiled vegetables, cranberry juice;
- afternoon snack: yogurt, four apricots;
- dinner: salad and boiled fish, fermented baked milk.
3rd day:
- morning: cottage cheese with cinnamon and apples, cocoa;
- snack: sandwich with cheese, parsley, tomato, freshly squeezed orange juice;
- lunch: beetroot soup, two chicken cutlets with dill, celery salad with sour cream, raspberry, apple and pear compote;
- afternoon snack: a handful of nuts and dried fruits;
- evening: corn porridge with boiled carrots and dill, yogurt.
Day 4:
- breakfast: oatmeal with nuts and bananas, 100 ml of yogurt, hip infusion;
- snack: fruit salad (kiwi, peach, melon slice);
- lunch: pickle sauce, vinaigrette, bread, carrot juice;
- afternoon snack: cheese, toast, cocoa;
- dinner: meat rolls with broccoli and sweet pepper, tea with lemon balm.
Day 5:
- morning: three cheesecakes, grapes;
- snack: boiled egg, cucumber, bread;
- lunch: fish soup, two slices of boiled beef, salad from Chinese cabbage, celery stalk and carrot, bread, grapefruit juice;
- afternoon snack: fruit and berry salad from strawberries, kiwi, pineapple;
- evening: fish cooked with vegetables, kefir.
Day 6:
- breakfast: boiled beef, sandwich with sweet pepper and basil, coffee;
- snack: three cottage cheese dumplings with natural yogurt;
- lunch: mushroom soup, eggplant rolls with nuts and greens, lingonberry juice;
- afternoon snack: fruit;
- dinner: seafood and rice with vegetables, kefir with cinnamon.
Day 7:
- morning: rice porridge with apricots, fruit juice;
- snack: celery stalk, fennel and greens salad;
- lunch: chicken broth, minced beef, boiled cauliflower and green beans, ginger tea;
- afternoon snack: a few oat cookies, cocoa;
- evening: chicken liver pancakes, bread, tomato and cucumber salad, fermented baked milk.
As you can see, a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition is not a reason to give up delicious food.
Recipes for proper nutrition
You will find many interesting recipes. We present delicious recipes for every day of the week.
Here are some hearty breakfast options.
A healthy sandwich
A slice of rye bread, a piece of cottage cheese, a circle of tomatoes, a sprig of basil.
Oatmeal with fruit
Chop the pears, sprinkle with sugar and heat inside. Cook oatmeal, add pears.
Milk porridge
Cook rice in milk. Finally add some cinnamon and vanilla.
Here are the recipes for dinner.
Pumpkin soup
Chop 500 g of pumpkin, red onion, carrot, add water. Cook until done. At the end, add salt, add spices and beat with a mixer.
Dumpling soup
Chop carrots, onions, peppers, celery. Pour in water and cook for twenty minutes. Add salt and pepper. Mix 100 g of finely chopped cheese, one egg and some flour. Make the dumplings. Put one at a time into the soup. Cook for another 5-7 minutes.
Chicken rolls
Cut the chicken fillet lengthwise, beat, salt and pepper. Put pre-boiled broccoli florets, cheese, twist and burn.
Dill salad
Finely chop the fennel root, half a red onion, a bell pepper and basil. Season with vegetable oil and lemon juice.
And dishes for dinner.
Baked fish
Season the fish with salt and pepper and place on foil. Place any vegetables nearby. Cover with foil and bake for half an hour.
Heart salad
Boil half of the chicken breast, finely chop. Chop the onion, two tomatoes and bell pepper. Sprinkle with salt and vegetable oil.
Dice the celery root, carrot, onion, Jerusalem artichoke and turnip. Boil for fifteen minutes, add salt and oregano, cook until tender.
Other recipes will work as well. You just need to use your imagination and don't forget about healthy products.
Eating right: 10 healthy breakfast recipes
Today we propose to divide humanity into those who don't eat in the morning and those who start the day with breakfast. And for those who eat everything for breakfast and know a lot about the right breakfast. With the help of tips and recipes from MedAboutMe, you can easily move from the first category to the second. And it will be true.
Why is breakfast important?
Scientists have already answered this question by researching it up and down.
Those who choose a normal, healthy, proper breakfast, rather than a cup of coffee on the run, manage their weight better, follow nutritional recommendations better and generally eat more rationally. On average, they have better cardiometabolic risk scores and perform better on tests measuring attention and cognitive function. Some studies have also shown that skipping breakfast means that a person spends less energy during the day and reduces physical activity.
By starting the day with breakfast, we energize ourselves for productive activities in every way. Those who want to lose extra pounds should not forget breakfast, because in the afternoon the body will try to replenish the calories lost in the morning. But we all remember how harmful it is to overeat at night, right?
The right breakfast: what is it?
In addition to having breakfast, it should also be correct, that is, there should be an optimal ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
You should eat at least 25g of protein with your breakfast. Fats and carbohydrates should also be avoided, but the latter should be represented by "complex carbohydrates" that do not cause a sharp increase in blood glucose levels. For example, a good combination would be oatmeal with fruit instead of sugar, eggs and vegetable salad. The total calorie content of breakfast should be between 400-500 calories. This will give you enough energy for active work.
10 simple recipes: a healthy breakfast for everyone
Oatmeal with berries and yogurt
You can cook it the day before in the morning or evening, and in the morning just heat it up in the microwave. Add a small cup of 2% fat Greek yogurt and a handful of fresh or frozen berries or fruit. These can be: black currants, strawberries, blueberries, lingonberries or cranberries, cherries, plums; pieces of apple, pineapple or banana, melon, kiwi or papaya. By simply substituting one fruit for another, you can change the flavor almost infinitely.
Oatmeal with cheese and vegetables
Who says you can't add grated cheese to oatmeal? That's right, no one. Therefore, add it for your health, it will enrich the taste of the porridge and provide the body with much-needed proteins. 25-30 g of cheese is enough for one serving of oatmeal. You can complete this breakfast with sliced cucumbers and a handful of cherry tomatoes.
A cup of green tea with herbal milk will complete your breakfast.
By the way, tea and coffee are absolutely not prohibited for breakfast. Just don't add sugar or too much cream to your cup. You can also make smoothies using pre-made green tea.
Buckwheat porridge with chicken and sweet pepper
Buckwheat with a piece of chicken breast and sliced sweet pepper will fill you up without weighing you down and give you good energy. Buckwheat is one of the healthiest foods in general. Don't forget about him.
Buckwheat porridge with yogurt and fruits/berries
Pour natural yogurt over buckwheat cooked in the evening, add a handful of berries or sliced bananas. A hearty and healthy breakfast is ready.
Pumpkin pie
Cooking is simple and quick. For one serving per person, it is enough to grate one medium pumpkin on a coarse grater and squeeze out the released water. Add an egg and 1-2 tablespoons of whole grain flour (rye or wheat). The amount of flour depends on how well you squeeze out the excess water from the pumpkin. A little sea salt, vegetable seasoning. Fry in an almost dry frying pan so that the pancakes do not absorb excess oil. Serve with yogurt or sour cream. You can sprinkle with chopped greens or cheese.
By the way, exactly the same pancakes can be made without apples. Try it, it's delicious!
Pita with vegetables and chicken breast
Pita can be filled with everything in the refrigerator: lettuce or cabbage, cucumber, cut into strips, celery, cherries or tomatoes. Add a few slices of baked or simply boiled chicken breast, two spoons of yogurt and you have a hearty, healthy breakfast.
Salmon toast
Take a few thin slices of whole grain bread and lightly toast them in the toaster or oven. Spread with cream cheese and sprinkle with smoked salmon slices and lettuce. You can add a few olives or black olives, just not too salty. Salmon is a source of valuable Omega-3 fatty acids.
But if you don't have salmon, you can easily substitute it with canned tuna.
Baked eggs with tomatoes and sweet peppers
Very appetizing and satisfying food. Cooking is simply impossible.
Wash and cut one medium tomato or several small slices. Wash, remove the seeds and cut a sweet pepper into slices or cubes. Fry the prepared vegetables in a small amount of oil on medium heat. Lightly beat two eggs with sea salt, pour over tomatoes and peppers, sprinkle with chopped herbs, cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes.
If you add a spoonful of sour cream or milk to the eggs, the dish will have a more delicate taste. If you add a handful of grated cheese, it will enrich it with calories, and spices will perfectly enrich the taste.
Granola
Although you can buy it at the store, making it yourself can be better because you will know exactly what is in it and you will not use any preservatives, dyes or flavor enhancers. This is not difficult to do. Granola made on the weekend will be a great addition to a variety of breakfasts for a week or two.
To prepare, you will need 1 package of the most common large rolled oats without any additives. Add 150-200 g of any nuts, 100 g of dried berries or fruit, 2-3 tablespoons of natural honey and 2 tablespoons of butter to the flakes. They usually take olive, but it is quite possible to replace it with almonds, cedar, walnuts or sesame.
The taste of the finished product will vary depending on which dried fruits and nuts you use. It can be, for example, walnuts with dried cranberries, or the classic combination of hazelnuts with raisins and dried apricots, or cashews with dates and bananas, or gourmet almonds with dried cherries. It is also good to add some dark chocolate and coconut flakes.
The well-mixed mixture is placed in a baking dish and baked in an oven heated to 150 ° C, stirring well every 5-8 minutes. After about 30 minutes, the granola will reach the desired state: it will be golden and crispy. The cooled product can be placed in a tightly closed jar, which will be perfectly preserved for 2-3 weeks.
Granola can be added to cottage cheese or yogurt, sprinkled on sandwiches spread with cream cheese, added to fruit salad and puddings.
Smoothies
The range of varieties is quite large, because a blender or mixer allows you to create tasty, nutritious mixtures from various ingredients.
For example, try starting with: a glass of oat milk, a banana, a handful of blueberries (ice cream is good), 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese. Beat with a mixer. All.
Bonus: how many healthy breakfasts can be made from cottage cheese! Cheese pancakes with yogurt and berries, cottage cheese casserole, cottage cheese with grated carrots and herbs, canned tuna and cottage cheese spread on crackers with herbs, etc.
One week healthy eating program
In general, a balanced, healthy diet can be quite varied, so it is quite possible to prepare a menu with new dishes every day. Here is an example of a menu for a week, according to all the recommendations given earlier:
| Day of the week | Breakfast | Supper | Supper |
| Monday | oatmeal with dried fruits; 2/3 cup low-fat milk; fruit. | Vegetable salad (for example, you can use olive oil as a dressing); whole grain bread sandwich with herbs, broiled chicken breast and soft cheese; fruit. | Baked fish, vegetable salad as a side dish. |
| Tuesday | whole grain toast; Cheese; boiled eggs; fruit. | Bulgur, chicken breast and cherry tomato salad (can be dressed with honey and Dijon mustard); fruit. | Whole grain pasta with tomatoes and dried herbs; Herbal tea. |
| Wednesday | cottage cheese with honey; nuts; fresh juice. | Salmon, avocado and fennel sandwich on whole grain bread; natural yogurt. | Chicken fillet with baked vegetables. |
| Thursday | two-egg omelet; tomatoes; Cheese; small baked apples with honey and cinnamon. | Chicken soup with vegetables; salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, flax seeds with olive oil. | Lean beef, lettuce, pita with dressing - natural yogurt, garlic and fennel. |
| friday | Smoothie (banana, yogurt, vanilla); roll with salmon, avocado and cucumber. | Baked zucchini, spinach, feta cheese and lemon-butter dressing salad; rye bread with lean ham; fruit. | steak with fresh products; baked apples with honey and cinnamon. |
| Saturday | Buckwheat with carrots and bell pepper; natural yogurt; fruit. | Couscous with carrots, onions, corn, green peas. | cooked beets; rye bread with soft goat cheese; olive. |
| Sunday | cheesecakes with maple syrup; natural yogurt; fruit. | Broth with croutons and boiled eggs; tomato and mozzarella salad with balsamic dressing. | Peppers stuffed with brown rice and minced meat; cherry tomatoes with soft cheese and herbs to taste. |
It should be noted that when small snacks are included in the diet, fruits and nuts should be removed from the main menu. In other words, the apple from breakfast is transferred to the afternoon snack. A similar system can be used in the opposite direction, adding snacks to the main meals - breakfast and lunch.
It is also important to remember that servings are calculated individually based on age, health, lifestyle and daily calorie intake. Therefore, the serving size will be different between men and women.
How to make a healthy diet
Many people try to lose weight using different methods. For the process to be most effective, it is important to follow a certain diet. Proper nutrition allows you to lose extra pounds quickly, but only if you follow its principles. It is necessary to create a proper menu that maintains the balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
What nutrition can be called correct?
Proper nutrition (sometimes called healthy) consists of eating only natural foods that are good for the body. According to this principle, a person who plans to eat should have foods with the right amount of nutrients in his diet. We are talking about the following components:
They need to be counted to meet the daily requirement. It is also important to follow other rules that make nutrition correct. So fast food, processed foods, carbonated drinks and other unhealthy foods should not be included in your diet. It is recommended to limit the amount of salt, exclude fried foods, steam or boil, stew or bake. You should eat at the same time every day.
How to create a menu for the week
The peculiarity of proper nutrition is that it does not involve following a strict menu. It should be designed taking into account a person's characteristics and food preferences. The main thing is to follow the basic principles of combining products. We are talking about the following rules:
- breakfast should be rich in carbohydrates;
- dinner should contain a lot of carbohydrates;
- Each meal should contain foods with fiber (vegetables, fruits, bran);
- if you want to eat sweets, this should be done only in the first half of the day;
- It is important to distribute calories correctly.
Typically, dieters prepare a menu for a week in advance and then simply prepare the meals accordingly.
Monday
It is assumed that the daily nutrition menu consists of five meals. On the first day of the week, you can eat as follows:
- Prepare oatmeal for breakfast. Can be added with any fruit. It is recommended to use tea or coffee as a drink.
- The second breakfast can consist of dry fruits and cottage cheese. Believing that it is the most convenient for losing weight, you should not follow low-fat fermented milk products. This idea is wrong. Experts recommend eating fatty cottage cheese because it is better absorbed.
- Monday lunch may consist of cabbage soup and boiled chicken in meat broth. Be sure to add fiber-rich vegetables. As a drink - compote.
- For an afternoon snack, you can enjoy fruit salad and sugar-free crackers.
- For dinner, it is suggested to prepare an omelette, vegetable salad and tea. With proper nutrition, you can forget about the rule that says you can't eat after 18: 00. But the last dose should be 2-3 hours before bedtime.
Tuesday
The second day's menu is based on the same principles as Monday. Breakfast should be rich in carbohydrates, but porridge should be prepared differently. Tuesday's diet may look like this:
- It is recommended to cook buckwheat porridge for breakfast. It can be added with vegetables and tea.
- You can eat yogurt and apples for the second breakfast.
- Lunch always consists of first and second course. On Tuesday, you can prepare buckwheat soup first, and fish cutlets and mashed potatoes second. As a drink - compote made of dried fruits.
- Midday snack includes cottage cheese, toast and cocoa.
- For dinner, you can eat boiled chicken fillet with vegetables and drink tea.
Wednesday
You can eat more than porridge for breakfast. For example, an omelet would be a good choice. This is what is offered for food on the third day. In general, the Wednesday menu can be designed as follows:
- For breakfast, a person losing weight eats omelette, toast and vegetable salad. He chooses tea as a drink.
- The second breakfast consists of eating yogurt and toast.
- For dinner, you can prepare boiled beef with fish soup and vegetable side dishes. You should not forget about the drink, natural juice can play its role.
- For an afternoon snack, you can safely eat yogurt and cottage cheese.
- For dinner, it is recommended to cook meat and complement it with a side dish of rice. You should also serve this dish with a vegetable salad. Tea can be used as a drink.
Thursday
One of the principles of proper nutrition is variety. You should not eat the same foods every day. The menu is designed so that options are not repeated. So, on Thursday, it is recommended to eat according to the following scheme:
- For breakfast, you can cook rice porridge and taste it with dry fruits. Drink coffee as a drink.
- The second breakfast can include bananas and kefir.
- You can make soup with cereal for dinner. As a second course, you should choose baked fish, complete with a side dish of rice. A salad, for example, a vinaigrette, would not be bad. The drink is compote.
- For an afternoon snack, experts recommend eating cottage cheese with sour cream and dried fruits.
- An excellent choice for dinner is meat cooked with vegetables. You can complete it by drinking yogurt.
friday
Friday's diet is not particularly different from all previous days, because it is designed according to the same principles. The menu might look like this:
- For breakfast, a person eats oatmeal and fruit, and drinks coffee.
- You can eat biscuits for the second breakfast, wash them down with water.
- You can make vegetable soup as a first course for lunch. The second dish can be goulash with a side dish made of baked or boiled potatoes. Also, lunch should have a vegetable salad. The drink is juice.
- It is recommended to eat fruit in the form of salad and yogurt for an afternoon snack.
- Dinner - vegetable stew, ham, tea.
Weekend
Some people believe that they can allow themselves to deviate from the diet on the weekends and eat unhealthy foods that are not on the diet on other days. This idea is wrong, because such an action can negate all the advantages of the previous menu. Of course, sometimes you can buy something not very useful, but in small quantities. Heavy meals can be consumed on holidays, but not every weekend.
In the correct nutrition mode, the menu for Saturday may look like this:
- Breakfast includes oatmeal and baked apples. You should use unsweetened tea as a drink.
- Second breakfast - yogurt and banana.
- You can make chicken soup with vegetables for dinner. Experts recommend choosing fish as a second meal. Salad - vinaigrette. The drink is compote.
- For an afternoon snack, you can eat yogurt and add nuts to it. You can opt for dried fruits instead.
- A great option for lunch would be ham and vegetable stew. Drink is tea.
You can treat yourself to cottage cheese stew for Sunday breakfast. It should be seasoned with honey. You can also eat toast with tea. For the second breakfast, you can choose yogurt and crackers. Lunch consists of borscht, chicken cutlet with buckwheat, compote. An excellent option for an afternoon snack, as always, would be cottage cheese with the addition of dried fruits. It is recommended to eat boiled beef and vegetable salad for dinner.