We can give you the fish or we can teach you to fish and be independent! Same goes for the healthy dinner ideas – to come up with your own, you should first learn some basic principles and healthy eating facts. This article presents you the basics of healthy dinner ideas along with sample recipes to help test out some of them.
Basics of healthy eating
- Eat regular meals that contain carbohydrates
- Eat more high-fiber foods including fruits and vegetables (at least 5 portions each day)
- Choose wholegrain foods
- Reduce fat and red meats dramatically
- Reduce sugar, salt and alcohol consumption dramatically
- Adopt USDA approved ‘Myplate’ dietary advice or portion control plates
Healthy dinner ideas also come from understanding the food groups and keeping it light.
There are three major food groups (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) which need to be included in your meals. Whether a dinner is ‘light’ or ‘heavy’ is not dependent on just the quantum of food on the plate – it is also dependent on what is on your plate. Fixing or planning a light dinner therefore requires a reasonably good understanding of the nutrients in each food as well as its fiber, fat, sugar and salt content .
Check out some great tips that will help you create some lovely light dinner ideas
- Include Soups: Your dinner will be ‘light’, with good fiber and nutrition.
- Include light Pate: Instead of cream or butter, use a reduced-fat cream cheese combo.
- Cheese based starters: Use goat’s or feta cheese.
- Savoury Nibbles: Light brush oil and bake instead of fry.
- Mince: Pre-cook to drain off fat.
- Pies: Use a thin layer of pastry or use potato topping instead.
- Pasta dishes: Use tomato-based rather than cream based sauces.
- Mayonnaise: Use a natural yoghurt and half-fat crème combo.
- Home-made ice creams: Use half-fat instead of double cream.
And last but not least, if you prefer salads in the evening, check out some healthy dressing recipes!