What's for Dinner?
How about Breakfast & Lunch?
Nutritious meals are difficult for many people to plan. Check out this section if you need help. Once you have just a few basic guidelines, it becomes easier to know what to eat - and following the guides will likely help increase energy and improve your overall health - all major pluses - and that's probably why you're here!
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Whether you like to plan menus for a week in advance or simply go into the kitchen and prepare your next meal, start by considering macro-nutrients of what you'll be preparing. This means that, in the beginning, include protein, carbohydrate, & fat sources with every meal or snack. Most people don't need to get down to exact grams of each nutrient unless they're on a plan that requires this - for instance, a low carbohydrate diet with specific macro-nutrient amounts or possibly for some, a lower carb or a very low carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet.
Here are 3 SIMPLE MACRO-NUTRIENT GUIDELINES for meal planning. Include these every time you eat:
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CONCENTRATED PROTEIN (meat, cheese, &/or legumes are concentrated protein examples)
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UNPROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES according to your own personal needs (desserts, soft drinks, and other sweets plus white flour/white rice/white flour pastas are highly processed, start working on decreasing these from your menus - and incorporate unprocessed carbs like more raw & cooked vegetables, fresh fruit, & whole grains according to your personal carb needs)
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QUALITY FAT - don't fail to eat fat (quality fats, of course, rather than harmful fats) since the low fat diet has been proven, in the long run, to be detrimental to health. If you've been eating lots of carbohydrate-rich foods, then start replacing highly processed carbs with some quality fats. Starvation, even if you need to lose weight, is not the objective!
You've probably noticed that I'm being vague in terms of amounts. Actually, I've given you no amounts. This is on purpose since we are all individuals with personal needs based on so many factors, including size, body composition, gender, age/stage in life, activity level, health history, and probably genetics as well. So learning to eat well and for your individual needs is a process - and now's the time to get started if you haven't already begun!
Let's have some fun while practicing menu planning skills and discovering an exciting new recipe! The following video is by Dr. Eric Berg, a popular, nutrition-knowledgeable chiropractor, plus creator of many fantastic YouTube videos that you'll want to check out. I highly recommend Dr. Berg's videos and agree with what he has to say (I definitely don't say that about most online videos since there's so much health misinformation being spread online).
This video teaches you to make a quick, delicious pizza - one that fits into many meal plans as long as dairy & eggs are tolerated. Watch it now, and I'll write, below, how to consider our 3 SIMPLE MACRO-NUTRIENT GUIDELINES when serving this scrumptious pizza.
So, what should we add to make this HEALTHIEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD a complete meal? Do you see any food categories that are either lacking or insufficient, based on the 3 SIMPLE MACRO-NUTRIENTS GUIDELINES I just gave you?
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Let's go over the GUIDELINES again and evaluate the pizza ingredients:
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3 SIMPLE MACRO-NUTRIENT GUIDELINES for meal planning:
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CONCENTRATED PROTEIN
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UNPROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES
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QUALITY FAT
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EVALUATION:
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This pizza recipe DOES contain CONCENTRATED PROTEIN in the form of cheese, eggs, & pepperoni If you use pepperoni, I suggest one of the grass-fed, nitrate-free versions - readily available in supermarkets and natural food stores. You might also use a quality sausage or ground beef in place of the pepperoni, but none of these are absolutely necessary since cheese and eggs will provide sufficient protein for many people.
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This pizza does NOT contain white flour, sugar, or any other processed carbs, and that's a definite PLUS since refined carbs are what we call "empty calorie" foods without beneficial nutrients, but plenty of harmful, quickly absorbed carbs! In terms of UNPROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES, the pizza recipe contains cauliflower, tomato sauce & mushrooms plus optional basil & fresh tomatoes on the pizza. That's another PLUS to this recipe - and superior to typical pizzas commonly eaten. I would add a medium to large garden salad of dark greens plus other fresh veggies for 2 reasons: 1) to get more veggies into the diet and 2) to help limit the amount of pizza eaten. My husband and I shared the whole pizza along with small salads - and, my oh my, were we stuffed! It was far more protein and fat than we need, yet other larger and more active people might need that much. It goes back to eat til you are satisfied and then stop. The pizza was sooo good that we didn't know when to stop, but I think we will next time I prepare this pizza.
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Since the protein sources contain primarily saturated fats, I would add some different fat type to this pizza meal. Salad dressing made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil will provide mono-unsaturated fat as a different type of QUALITY FAT. Saturated fat from meat and dairy is not bad, in and of itself, but we need a variety of fat types in terms of saturation. In order to avoid the undesirable soy or canola oils (due to their being genetically modified & high in omega-6 oils), I avoid commercial salad dressings at home and make our own so we have total control over the ingredients. Even with those commercial dressings that have "olive oil" listed on the front label (often in the name), their primary oil tends to be soy and/or canola oil, both of which contribute to inflammation.
A FEW MORE COMMENTS: The fact that Dr. Berg uses a toxic aluminum pizza pan in his video might be of concern except for one fact: he places parchment paper on top of the aluminum pan so that food does not come in contact with the aluminum. It is a serious concern to me when I go to a potluck and see lasagnas prepared in disposable aluminum pans. The natural acid from tomato sauce will dissolve aluminum from the pan into the sauce, and where do your think the aluminum goes? Unfortunately, into our bodies, and the aluminum contributes to serious medical issues when the body is unable to eliminate toxins, including heavy metals! Learn about using safe cookware to protect your body, including your brain and that of your family!
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There's so much to know to stay healthy! That's why we must keep learning and putting into practice what we learn. Be sure to learn the truth - and that's where I come in. I want to help you learn evidence-based information, not faddish ideas that have no ounce of truth!
BETH'S STORY: Food has such an effect on our health, but we often can't recognize it until after we have cleaned up our diet. When I go out to eat and have a commercial salad dressing on a salad, my joints will invariably remind me of why I need to avoid the omega-6-rich oils present in commercial dressings. (Soy & canola oils are inflammatory.) For a day or two afterwards, my joints speak to me with discomfort. If I were to eat these oils regularly, I would not be able to discern what was causing my discomfort. Many people eventually look to pharmaceuticals for help with their joints when pain becomes bad, and some will later need joint replacement surgery. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid that route by working on TOTAL HEALTH. When I eliminated gluten several years ago, I noticed a big improvement in my joints within a few weeks, and I've learned to get the joint-building block, collagen, from food and supplements. While my joints aren't "perfect" they are much better than they were when I was younger, and it's motivating to me that I can recognize specific foods' influence on my body. Remember, "You ARE what you eat!" And, that is literally so, since food either provides our needed building blocks or it leaves us deficient. Individual foods can also contribute to health problems due to personal sensitivities, intolerance, and/or allergies. In other words, a perfectly wholesome food to most people can be problematic to others.
Here's my version of Dr. Berg's Healthiest Pizza in the World!
WHAT ABOUT YOUR BREAKFAST MENU?
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With 2/3 of Americans being either overweight or obese, this YouTube video by Dr. Becky is pertinent for so many. The information can also be helpful in preventing weight gain and blood sugar issues like Type 2 diabetes.
I personally include some vegetables when I eat bacon & eggs for breakfast, and I often alternate between eggs and plain Greek yogurt (no sugar added) with frozen berries & a small spoon of psyllium husks stirred in for extra fiber. Both breakfasts provide CONCENTRATED PROTEIN that helps keep me satisfied until lunchtime. More active people, including growing children, should include more UNPROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES and QUALITY FATS with their breakfasts, but no one requires highly processed sugars and refined grains that truly harm our health! What have you been eating for breakfast? What you do that might improve your breakfast and resulting energy and brain function? Remember, it's up to YOU to make the decision to change a poor diet!