How to Create Easy and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
In an increasingly busy world, it is becoming harder and harder for people to find healthy meal options for themselves that don’t take an hour or more to create. Many individuals want to eat healthier in an effort to supplement their weight loss, but they don’t know where to start or they fear the time they’ll lose trying to make a nutritious meal will cut out a huge part of their day. In this post, we’ll dive into what aspects you need in each meal to make it as healthy as possible, and also how these foods can be put together to make an easy and wholesome dish.
It’s important to get as much nutrients as you can in each meal that you consume throughout your day. These meals should ideally include the five basic food groups according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these foods include: Protein, Dairy, Grains, Vegetables and Fruit, and Fats and Oils. Let’s dive more into detail about each of these food groups and why they are important to have each day.
Protein in Easy and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
Protein is one of the main components that make up who you are, it is crucial in the repair and maintenance of your muscles, bones, hair and skin. Protein also helps in hormone aid, messenger proteins in your body make it easier for your cells and organs to communicate correctly with each other. Along with these benefits of protein, the enzymes in your body are made up of proteins and enzymes drive the chemical reactions that happen throughout your body. Lastly, protein is a crucial part of transporting and storing the important things in your body, like oxygen molecules. Proteins are made up of units called amino acids which are essential to a diet.
Animal products are great sources of protein, these foods include: chicken, eggs, steak, fish, and some dairy. It is important to get enough protein in your diet each day, but keep in mind this protein amount varies from person to person. According to SCL Health, 10-35% of your daily calories should come from a protein; so 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is the ideal protein amount to consume based on SCL Health’s findings. In short, protein is an essential part in one’s daily diet, and in creating easy and healthy meals for weight loss.
Dairy in Easy and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
Dairy or dairy alternatives are also something that the average person should be consuming daily. Dairy includes a wide range of nutrients including: calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and zinc. All of these nutrients, but especially calcium, are crucial in building strong and healthy bones. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, the average person should be consuming 3 cups of dairy, or a dairy alternative, per day in order to reap its full benefits. If you are someone who is lactose intolerant, or if you just choose to live a dairy-free lifestyle, you can still get the calcium and nutrients you require from dairy alternatives such as almond milk and oat milk. According to the USDA’s chart below (Figure 1), many milk alternatives are lower in calories, fat, and protein but they are about the same when it comes to calcium content per serving. Adding dairy as a component in your easy and healthy meals for weight loss is essential to your wellness journey.
Grains in Easy and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
Having grains in your diet, especially whole grains, can have a wide range of health benefits. Some of the essential nutrients in grains include: complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, fiber, and minerals like iron and magnesium. These nutrients are crucial components when creating your easy and healthy meals for weight loss.
Eating grains in your diet can help reduce your chance of acquiring heart disease, grains also provide your body with fiber which helps one’s digestion, and whole grains can help with weight management according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The amount of grains you should consume per day varies from person to person. St. Luke’s Health recommends that most people should eat 5-8 ounces of grains per day, 3-6 of which should be whole grains. In short, grains are an important part of your daily diet and should be implemented in easy and healthy meals for weight loss.
Eating grains in your diet can help reduce your chance of acquiring heart disease, grains also provide your body with fiber which helps one’s digestion, and whole grains can help with weight management according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The amount of grains you should consume per day varies from person to person. St. Luke’s Health recommends that most people should eat 5-8 ounces of grains per day, 3-6 of which should be whole grains. In short, grains are an important part of your daily diet and should be implemented in easy and healthy meals for weight loss.
Vegetables and Fruits in Easy and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
Both vegetables and fruits provide vital nutrients for your body and its health. Vegetables are full of nutrients like: vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and folate; all of which are essential in building a healthy meal for weight loss. Not only do vegetables include all of these benefits, but they are low in calories, and eating a vegetable-rich diet may reduce risk for heart disease or stroke, help protect against certain types of cancers, and the dietary fiber from vegetables helps to reduce cholesterol levels according to USDA’s “My Plate”. “My Plate” also recommends 1-4 cups of vegetables per day depending on age and gender, you can refer to their servings chart here.
Along with vegetables, fruits are another essential component in creating easy and healthy meals for weight loss and in one’s daily nutrient intake. Fruits have no cholesterol and are low in calories, fat, and sodium. Some of the nutrients that fruit possess are: dietary fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and folate. Fruits are beneficial because they can lower your calorie intake without sacrificing taste, fruits may also help reduce risk for heart disease and stroke, fruits may also help reduce risk of certain types of cancers, and eating enough fruit can help to increase one’s potassium and fiber intake which is essential in any diet. It’s important to incorporate fruit in your diet, according to the USDA’s “My Plate” recommendation chart, you should consume 1-2 and a half cups per day depending on age and gender; you can refer to their daily recommendation chart here. Vegetables and fruits should make up a large part of anyone’s healthy meals for weight loss and both are an essential part of one’s daily diet.
Fats and Oils in Easy and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
Fats are important to the body because they give you energy and also help your body absorb vitamins. Consuming fats is essential, but saturated fats and trans fats can be bad for your body. Saturated fats are found in things like butter, beef fat, and palm. Trans fats are found in foods that are artificial or over-processed; these fats are in foods like frozen pizza, microwave popcorn, and cakes or cookies. Instead of consuming saturated or trans fats, individuals should try to consume the two healthier fats, which are: monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, commonly found in oils, nuts, avocados, and peanut butter.
Replacing saturated and trans fats with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats seem to lower a persons’ chance of heart disease according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to Cleveland Clinic, a persons’ total fat intake per day should range between 20% to 35% of their total calories. Implementing healthy fats in an individual’s easy and healthy meals for weight loss are beneficial, not only in increasing energy levels but also in the body’s absorption of vitamins.
Finding Easy and Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
Each of these food groups are needed to create a healthy body, and all of them are crucial in creating easy and healthy meals for weight loss. In short: proteins are a vital component in building muscle and hormone aid, dairy and dairy alternatives give your body essential vitamins and calcium, grains are able to give your body the complex carbs and fiber it needs, fruits and vegetables are crucial in providing the body with nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber without being high in calories, and eating healthy fats can help your body absorb the vitamins it needs along with supplying much needed energy. In an increasingly busy world, people are finding it more and more difficult to consume a nutritious meal on-the-go that has all of the essential nutrients they need in a single meal.
Thankfully, eating healthy does not have to be a hassle or take up a large chunk of your time. At Better Blend Nutrition it’s easy to get all of your nutrients in one meal replacement smoothie. Each smoothie is low in calories and sugar, packed with premium whey isolate protein, and include 50 vitamins and minerals. Not only are these smoothies an amazing healthy alternative, but each Blend tastes just like its name; so you don’t have to sacrifice flavor for sustenance. With Better Blend Nutrition, finding easy and healthy meals for weight loss is a breeze. Take a look at their menu and stop in at one of the three locations to try a Blend today and help kick start your healthy lifestyle.
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