Help, what are your go to healthy meals and snacks? I've forgotten what healthy food is?

[Embelline]

I had a rough year last year and I seem to have been comfort eating because of it - I'm pretty sure I'm now addicted to sugar and just eating generally.
I used to be healthy and eat a balanced diet but it's like I've forgotten how to do it/what to eat even though that sounds crazy.

What are your go-to healthy meals and snacks? I'm trying to meal plan and I'm just coming up blank - I need things that are quick and family friendly and when I'm looking online a lot of healthy eating plans seem to require a lot of prep.

Help!

snacks:
raw carrot
celery
cucumber
hummus
rice cakes
oat cakes
low fat soft cheese
babybel
fruit
natural yogurt
nuts

base your meals on a lean protein source (chicken, turkey, fish, prawns, eggs etc), a carb (wholemeal / wholegrain if possible) and vegetables / salad.

When I'm in a rut I find it easiest to think in terms of how to get protein and veg into my diet.

So baked salmon, large side of veg and couscous/rice/noodles.
I'll cook a big tray of roasted veg and have with a chicken breast or lamb chops, or fish and a small portion of carb.

Or a soup with lentils and fresh bread.

Having fruit instead of puddings or chocolate.

Stirfrys are excellent.

The BBC website has a lot of ideas.

Good breakfast is a great starting point - omelette or poached eggs if you have time.

I've had to do a rethink of snacks - they used to be sweet or salty treats for the most part, but DS is currently eating 3x as much so snacking has to be a bit healthier!

• pretzels (the biscuit ones)
• plain nuts eg walnuts and almonds, found Quality Save selling them at decent prices
• fresh fruit, I like apples with PB or apples with cheddar
• cream crackers (could go healthier with rye crisp bread things) or oatcakes with cheese
• hummus and various bits of veg or plain tortilla chips/breadsticks
• homemade granola or flapjack bar, so you add what you like and control the sweetness
• cup a soup
• hard boiled egg, maybe with a slice of toast, but imo veering into 'just eat a proper meal' here
• Greek/natural yoghurt smoothie or lassi
• frozen yoghurt ice cream
• diy jelly cup
• those roasted chickpea/broad bean snacks, like Graze but supermarkets do their own now

Thank you!!!! This is so helpful.

really good point about protein in meals. I really struggle with lunch and dinner, lunch in particular as I'm not a big fan of bread.
I tend to need to cook something relatively quick in the evening that we can eat with DS - he's a really good eater so it shouldn't be hard, I think I've gone a bit food blind.

fritatta (or spanish omelette) is good for lunches if you don't do bread, or add lentils to homemade soups.

@emmathedilemma good ideas. Does anyone have any recommended soup recipes, mine always seem to come out quite bland

Soup is a great healthy lunch, I find it's less important what veg you use than to remember you need to add quite a lot of seasoning to make it taste nice, so herbs, pepper, chilli flakes and most importantly, generous salt. We've all thoroughly absorbed the salt= bad health message but vegetables and pulses (which is all soup is usually) do need seasoning or they'll taste bland, and it's much better for your health overall to have a generous pinch of salt in a homemade soup than a bag of crisps! A little bit of dairy stirred through (so cream/sour cream/yoghurt/grated cheese) also improves the flavour a lot, as does giving your onion base a nice slow saute at the beginning. If you like a thick, creamy flavour add some potato to your other veg even in a recipe which doesn't really call for it... Also I know this is MN heresy in some corners but if you don't have time or enjoy cooking your own, it's fine to buy soup from the shop, fresh is great but even tinned is fine, yes heinz tomato is quite sugary but a large part of that is natural sugars from the tomatoes and it's still overall a likely more healthy choice than many other convenience lunch options.

Aside from soup, I find it psychologically/emotionally more healthy to think about adding things to my diet rather than taking away. So things like adding extra veg portions and lean, plant based protein like beans, pulses, seeds, nuts, tofu to meals we already cook and like, having a light veggie soup for starter and fruit for pudding, snacking on veg crudités, making sure I drink plenty of water through the day and adding in some gentle exercise are all changes which feel much lower impact than e.g. banning sweet treats or cutting carbs. You may find you naturally feel fuller and want junk/treats less if you are eating more veg and healthy meals anyway....

Snacks:

handful of almonds
A couple of falafel
Oatcake with cottage cheese or philadelphia.

Lunch:

Mixed grains (a pounch of merchant gourmet does me a few days) with some tinned tuna and/or hard boiled egg, peppers, grated carrots and kimchi

Omlettes

Noodles with soy sauce, tons of veg (frozen stir fry packs), add quorn pieces or prawns for protein

I only snack once in a blue moon and never eat sugar. I eat two or three filling meals a day. If I want a snack I have a piece of cheese or some nuts. I've done this for a couple of years now and feel much better for it.

Nutracheck is the best app IMO, very easy to use and customise. Usually best to give yourself a few more calories than the default in the app, particularly if you are active.

www.jamessmithacademy.com/macro-calculator/

I try not to snack and have filling meals and plenty of green veg instead, but if I fancy crisps or chocolate I have them within my calorie allowance and have less of something else.

If you get enough protein / fat into your meals, then you won't need to snack.

I agree with the above: think of meals as having three elements - protein (meat, fish, chicken, eggs etc), carbs (keep it small and unprocessed as possible) and veg / salad (at least half of your plate). The variations are endless. Tonight we are having roast chicken thighs, sweet potato wedges and steamed green beans. Last night we had salmon fillet, potatoes and rocket & tomato salad.

I don't often eat soup as I don't find it filling enough, unless I eat bread with it, which defeats the purpose.

Lunch - it's a bit of a job to get away from bread if you are used to a typical UK lunch. I live in France and one thing I like is having a proper meal at lunchtime. If I eat at work in the cantine, then it's a full meal of salad starter, meat /fish & veg, cheese or yoghurt, then a small dessert - often fruit. It's modest portions, but the fact that there is plenty of protein / fat, means I have no desire to snack at all during the afternoon and I go straight through to evening dinner at 7:30 without even thinking about food.

Fruit is my snack in the day love veg and sweetcorn I can go through a kg a week love it cauliflower cheese is my big treat on a Sunday, Yorkshire pud too tonight as a treat scrambled eggs for tea. Made with proper butter.

We're having a veg & black bean stir fry tonight. Filling, tasty and very quick.

Other quick and nutritionally balanced meals:

Lentil ragu pasta (made with the ready cooked packet lentils so very quick)

Quick dahl (really tasty)

thehappypear.ie/5-minute-dahl/

Tortilla pizza (tortilla wrap with passata, grated cheese then whatever toppings you fancy - 8 minutes in oven)

Veggie chilli with baked potatoes and greek yogurt

Halloumi and veg roasted in oven served with crusty/garlic bread

Hot smoked salmon on lentils (the Aldi French style packet ones again) blob of greek yogurt, sriacha, steamed green veg - five minutes to cook and assemble.

Am not veggie but DD1 is so we eat a lot of veggie food.

We do have chips/bit of throw it in the oven "beige food" as well - not too calorific in airfryer, beans and veggie burger/cheese and onion pastry. I have enough calories as long as I watch the portions. Sometimes I just fancy chips and gravy!

Best to have an "abundance mindset" re food IMO and have what you fancy in moderation and don't feel like you've gone "off the wagon" if you have a day when you scoff chocolate or overeat. Lots of veg, not too much highly processed food, enough fat, fibre, protein, carbs and calories to keep you going and fuel your body properly.

Easy fruit/veg to keep up your 5 a day count:

Celery sticks, cucumber sticks, tenderstem broccoli (steams quickly in microwave), cherry tomatoes, frozen kale to crush up and chick into soups, frozen peas. Apples, pears and bananas.

I hard boil half a dozen eggs a week and have them for quick breakfast at work or lunches - thrown into salads.

This is all brilliant thank you for everyone who has taken the time to post.

Morrisons do a bag of frozen casserole veg which is my current favourite soup - just cover with water, a veg stock cube and boil til soft then blend. It’s about £1.50 a bag and makes 4 portions.
frozen butternut squash is good too - add a tin of tomatoes or veg stock for a rich thick soup and then you can add chilli, paprika, red Thai curry paste, even a splash of coconut milk is nice with the spices. Or add frozen chopped onions and peppers to it.
I do a green veg soup with frozen peas, brocolli and then add spinach as you blend it. Looks disgusting but fairly healthy!