Ideas for healthy meals.

[Springandsummerarecoming]

I’m in a rut. I desperately need to lose weight now but seem to have lost sight of what a healthy meal is.
I had breakfast this morn and decided on a piece of seeded bread with peanut butter and a bowl of fruit and dollop of natural yogurt. It was lovely but I’m hungry already (ate late). Not sure if I’m hungry just because I’m thinking about food and what I can / can’t have but I’m stuck for lunches and dinners. Breakfast I’m probably ok with as can have scrambled egg on toast or small bowl of bean flakes or what I had today. I’ve got chicken and salad ingredients that I’ll prob have for lunch but it’s not inspiring. Any other ideas? Kids are having pizza for dinner but I have no idea what I’m going to have. I fancy eating lots of veggies but I’m stumped.

I would say seeded bread, peanut butter and (presumably full fat) yogurt are "healthy" but not low calories. If you are looking to lose weight you probably want to look at lower calorie options. And high protein as that keeps you full longer.

Right. This is my problem. I think I’ve eaten a good healthy breakfast that will help me lose weight but haven’t. 😢

I like the pinch of nom blog and recipe books. Lots of ideas for low calorie meals which aren't all salad. I know people sometimes use apps like My Fitness Pal to track how many calories they've eaten.

We’ll look up the NHS advice. It’s too carb heavy - go for half veg, a quarter protein and a wuarter carbs and you won’t go far wrong - as long as you also look at standard portion sizes.

Eat fibre as well as protein to fill up. Reduce fat because it is very calorific.

Eat at regular meal times. try and avoid skipping meals or eating late.

BbC food is great, cookies and Kate also very good. start with aiming to get down 2 weeks worth of meals. Good salads for lunch (not just leaves) easy roasting tray dinners. get shopping delivered, prep at the weekend.

You may have to calorie count but you can probably do it with a balanced diet and portion control which will mess with your head less.

Ok. I thought the carbs would stop me getting hungry and getting the shakes. So lunch - just salad (lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes) and chicken? So I need some carbs on quarter of my plate but what do I have? Don’t want potato.

Thanks for the website ideas. I’m going to be looking through them shortly.

After a couple of days eating stodgy conference food, today I am having a carrot and walnut salad for lunch with olive oil, lemon juice and sultanas.

This evening I'm having grilled marinated halloumi and grilled apricots with fresh wholegrain bread. Maybe strawberries and cream after that

Bean flakes 😋 😂

🤣 just seen that. Sounds like a lovely breakfast 🤣

This sounds lovely. I need to get some recipe books as Need some inspiration for nice salads and veggie based dinners.

Best breakfast for weight loss for me is a 2 egg omelette packed full of veg. I usually go for tomatoes and mushrooms. Full of protein but also large volume. V filling.

Lunch - I think soup is underrated. Home made lentil and veg soup will be filling and again loads of protein. Don't add any bread or fat.

Snack- fruit only (whole fruit not smoothie) I especially love satsumas which are sweet and low cal.

Dinner- base the meal on protein and veg with a small amount of carbs. (Modify any recipes to exclude cooking fat)

Small amount of booze and puddings!

I think peanut butter and full fat yoghurt are v healthy but aren't going to help much with weight loss.

Find an App that tracks calories consumed and calories burned. You'd be surprised how many calories are in peanut butter on toast and if it's not keeping you feeling full then it's not a good choice. Aim for high protein meals with lots of fruit and vege. Have a play around and see what weekly calorie consumption and exercise combination results in weight loss for you, once you've worked that out then you can plan meals around that to achieve your weight loss.

So lunch - just salad (lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes) and chicken?

When i make a salad I would use much more filling ingredients like chickpeas, spinach leaves, avocado, bulgar wheat/cous cous/quinoa. Lettuce or cucumber doesn't have much nutritional value I wouldn't have this form the basis of the salad.

Dinner idea
I do cauliflower, tomatoes, spinach, aubergines with loads of spices like cumin, paprika, garam massala and oven bake serve with yoghurt and chicken/fish

Thanks. This is inspiration I need. I’ll shop on Monday morning and make sure I add spinach leaves and add couscous to the list for my salads. I’m going to have a salad for lunch every day next week and need some nice new ingredients because the one I just add was very boring.

I’m going to have roasted veg and salmon tonight. Not got loads of veg left at the No but will have carrot and pepper and hopefully a courgette.

Op look at Pinch of Nom on Facebook. If you’re not on it then look up their website it’s full of great recipes under 500 calories.
Ive lost 18lbs by eating their meals and I’ve had Curries Turkish food, pizza and not felt deprived in the slightest.

Just wondering, maybe opt for sweet potato rather than potato?

I also find that a smoked salmon salad, with lots of pumpkin seeds, spinach, tomato, cucumber, spring onion, mangetout and anything else you might fancy, with a balsamic vinegar dressing goes down a treat.

If you're eating bread, make it as dense as possible - Russian bread, or good quality wholemeal, with marmite, and a banana for breakfast?

My favourite salad is:

Lettuce, onion, tomatoes, avocardo, grilled bacon, grilled chicken, roasted peppers, cucumber, chilli flakes, salt & pepper with dressing of personal choice.

Favourite evening meal
Steak with tomatoes, pesto, Mozzarella and avocardo like the Italian tricolour.

I'd suggest starting by downloading My Fitness Pal or a similar calorie tracker. I put what you'd usually have on any given day and see how many calories you're usually consuming.
Then input a fresh day, upping your protein - this is what is going to keep you full for longer. My Fitness Pal has a calculator at the bottom of each day which works out your macros (how much protein, carbs, sugar, fat etc in what you're eating) and gives you goals which helps to make sure you're getting good amounts of each element.

My day is usually:
Breakfast - weetabix with a bit of sweetener & a coffee
Mid-morning - protein shake (before gym & to up my protein intake)
Lunch - 2 egg omelette with paprika, tomatoes and a small amount of cheese, some Squares crisps and grapes
Mid-afternoon - Apple
Dinner - Bolognaise with 20g macaroni & 10g cheese

20g of pasta? That must be a typo?

Nope, I try and keep my carbs down.

I have bolognaise with swede and carrot mash ! Such a comfort meal.