Six healthy recipe ideas to try this month – and tips for better meal planning

Decided to incorporate more nutritious and healthy meals into your diet this year? Need meal planning tips for long-term weight loss success and ideas for making the most of leftovers? is it?

In honor of these inevitable New Year’s resolutions, The Globe and Mail has collected expert tips and guidance to make healthy eating less of a chore and more of an enjoyment of snacking and eating. .

adopt a meal plan

An ear-playing approach to eating can ruin a healthy eating plan, not to mention creating additional stress when the clock is nearing mealtime. Save money and prevent food waste.

Meal planning may seem like an extra “to-do” for a busy week, but it ultimately saves you time in the kitchen. The more often you plan your meals, and the more they fit into your schedule, the less they seem like a chore.

• To get started, set a day and time to plan your weekly menu. Next, create a simple framework based on meal categories for each day of the week. For example, Monday is plant-based, Tuesday is chicken, Wednesday is stir-fry, Thursday is pasta, and slow-cooker Sunday. Leave space in your meal plan for the occasional takeout meal or leftovers.
• Save time at the grocery store with pre-washed vegetable salads, pre-cut fresh vegetables, and fresh chopped fruit that require no or minimal preparation.
• Stock your freezer with frozen vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, and butternut squash can be roasted from frozen for dinner. Keep frozen kale or spinach on hand to add to smoothies or pasta.
• Keep protein staples on hand for easy midweek meals. Studies suggest that protein, which is effective in curbing hunger, can help improve the body’s ability to burn fat. Plus, consuming enough protein helps maintain strong muscles, a strong immune system, and healthy hair and nails. Place it on the table to make it easy to consume protein-rich foods at every meal or between meals.
• Sometimes dinners don’t go according to plan, so it’s important to have backups. Stock your pantry with ready-to-use staples for healthy eating, such as canned tuna, canned beans, eggs, frozen vegetables, and frozen veggie burgers.

Preparing meals for the week

Once you’ve planned your meals, consider preparing some ahead of time.

• Cook batches of soups, pasta sauces, or chili later in the week or freeze them for another time.
• Batch cook whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, and oats.
• Make a bean or lentil salad for a meatless lunch or dinner side dish.
• Chop vegetables for weekday snacks and salads.
• Hard-boil a bunch of eggs or make fritters muffins for an easy breakfast protein.

Think about how you can make more than one meal out of one dish. Leftover roast chicken, for example, can be turned into salads, wraps, and tacos.

• Cook a variety of grains to use as an addition to salads or as a base for leftovers. Farro, quinoa, and brown rice are all hardy and will last for days without getting the bottom of the container soggy.
• Roasted vegetables brighten up any salad. Chop chop his salad with leftover salad ingredients along with fresh vegetables and meat or tuna. Drizzle dressing when eating.
• Add nuts and seeds, or crushed roasted veggie chips to add crunch to your leftovers.
• I cut up avocados at work and add them to almost every meal.
• Everything is delicious in a wrap. Try toasted seaweed instead of gluten-free wraps.

6 healthy recipe ideas to try in January

Looking for nutritious and delicious recipes to add to your weekly rotation? Consider these recipes handpicked by The Globe and Mail.

lentil and sweet potato soup

This colorful and delicious mixture of sweet potatoes and lentils makes a healthy, light soup that’s low in calories. Cooking time is just 30 minutes.

• Why it belongs on your menu: Lentils (along with other legumes such as beans and peas) are some of the most nutritious foods. One cup of cooked, cooked lentils contains 24 grams of protein (equivalent to four eggs) and 358 micrograms of folic acid (adults need 400 mcg per day). and provides more protein, folic acid and iron than any other bean.

quinoa risotto

Add a splash of color to this nontraditional risotto by using a mixture of several colored quinoas.

• Why it belongs on your menu: Whole grains like quinoa add an amazing amount of protein to your diet. One cup of cooked quinoa adds 8 g of protein to your diet.

winter fruit salad

Winter fruits make wonderful salads when marinated in a delicious dressing. Blood oranges are harvested from late January to April and are an attractive dressing with a bright ruby ​​color. Mix navel oranges, cantaloupe, kiwi, red or green grapes with a simple dressing for a light and delicious afternoon snack.

• Why it belongs on your menu: The brightly colored hues of fruits and vegetables are due to phytochemicals, powerful plant compounds thought to help preserve memory as we age. Kiwifruit, for example, is a treasure trove of nutrients. Two kiwifruit (84 calories) have 4 g of dietary fiber, as much potassium as one banana (430 mg), more vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin E, and calcium than one orange (128 mg). It contains.

vegetarian chili

This protein-filled, low-fat vegetarian recipe for two beans is delicious and nutritious. A great weeknight dinner option when you need a quick, healthy meal in about 30 minutes with simple ingredients and minimal prep.

• Why it belongs on your menu: Beans are a nutrient-dense plant-based protein alternative. It’s a great source of dietary fiber, magnesium, which regulates blood sugar levels, folic acid, and B vitamins, which build and repair DNA in cells. One cup of black and pinto beans provides 15 g of protein and 15 g of fiber, plenty of folate, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

instant spicy green pea soup

This concentrate can be frozen once made and used on its own or as a base for mason jar soups.To serve, add boiling water.

• Why it belongs on your menu: Just as nutritious as fresh peas, frozen peas are a great source of lutein, a phytochemical that protects vision and brain health.

Anna Pipas Hearty Lentil and Walnut Spaghetti

A hearty, plant-based dinner option, this vegan recipe comes together in under an hour. Leftovers can be reused for lunch for up to 2-3 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

• Why it belongs on your menu: Since this recipe has a lot of mushrooms, One cup (about 10 small or 5 scoops) provides 20% to 25% of your daily dose of niacin. Niacin is a B vitamin used in the production of stress hormones, improves circulation and reduces inflammation. You can also get 3 grams of protein in one cup.

If your meals are more than 4 hours apart, plan your snacks so you don’t feel hungry at the next meal. For example, if you eat breakfast at 7am and lunch at noon, include a mid-morning snack at 10am.

If you eat breakfast at 8am and lunch at noon, you probably don’t need a snack. Many people need to eat a snack about three hours after lunch to keep them energized until dinner. If you exercise after work and eat a late dinner, mid- and late-afternoon snacks may help.

Block meal and snack breaks on your calendar, or set alerts on your phone to remind you to eat when you need to. Snacks should contain 150-200 calories for women and 200-250 calories for men.

Do not eat snacks out of the box to manage portion sizes. Read the nutrition label and count crackers and nuts as a serving. Next, measure out one serving and place it in a bowl.

Nutritionist-Approved Healthy Snack Ideas

Instead of expensive coffee shop snacks, plan ahead and pack nutritious snacks in between meals. It is useful for

If your go-to snacks often include so-called “diet” foods like fat-free versions, here are some tips for creating more nutritious and satisfying snacks.

When eating reduced-fat options Like low-calorie peanut butter: eat the real thing, but practice portion control. Peanut butter provides heart-healthy fats that are half the amount from monounsaturated fats, which are thought to improve blood vessel function and help control blood sugar. Natural peanuts with no added salt, oil or sugar Aim for a brand of butter.

If you want to eat rice cake For a low-calorie crunch: Swap the rice cake for a nutrient- and fiber-rich snack like raw vegetables soaked in a few tablespoons of hummus. Mochi is low in calories and made from brown rice. Despite this, it lacks fiber, vitamins and minerals.

If you prefer fat-free Salad dressing or cheese: Replace with a full-fat version (preferably olive or canola oil) with less than 200 milligrams of salt per serving. Oil is required for dressing. Oils add flavor, texture and nutrients, and help the body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins and beneficial antioxidants from greens and other vegetables.

Still looking for snack ideas? Here are eight nutritionist-approved mini meals to add to your menu plan.

• Fruit and a handful of nuts.
• Apple slices and almond butter or pumpkin seed butter.
• Greek or Icelandic yogurt with berries.
• A homemade fruit smoothie made with milk or soy milk.
• Black bean, lentil, or chickpea soup.
• Whole wheat pita halves with tuna and baby arugula.
• Whole grain crackers and cheddar cheese.
• Raw vegetable sticks with hummus (or guacamole).

Enhancing Meal Nutrition (No Supplements)

Here are five whole food ingredients that can boost the nutritional value of your meals and snacks.

Blackstrap molasses: Thick, dark and slightly bitter, blackstrap molasses has the highest nutritional content of all types of molasses. One tablespoon adds just the right amount of calcium (170 mg) and iron (3.5 mg) to your diet, and contains 500 mg of potassium (an adult he needs 4,700 mg a day), a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. will be

Chia seeds: Two tablespoons of these tiny seeds contain 5 grams of fiber, 90 mg of calcium, and a high amount (2.5 mg) of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties.

Flaxseed powder: Like chia seeds, flaxseed is rich in ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid. For men, 2 tablespoons is enough for 2 days (3.2g). Higher intakes of ALA are thought to help prevent type 2 diabetes.

Hemp heart: Use shelled hemp seeds to fortify the protein, magnesium and ALA content of your diet. Two tablespoons provides 6.3 g of protein (the amount found in one large egg) and 1.7 g of ALA, giving women about half a day and men one-third a day’s worth of magnesium.

Nutritional yeast: Nutritional yeast is a source of B vitamins, especially B12. Also fortified with vitamin B12, it makes an excellent source and is popular with vegans. Depending on the brand, fortified nutritional yeast can provide 4-12 mcg of B12 per tablespoon, and an adult needs 2.4 mcg per day.