How to Create a Nutritious and Well Balanced Meal

A nutritionally balanced meal doesn't necessarily mean a low-calorie meal and vice-versa. Even if you're not on a "diet," it's worth learning how to combine foods in a way that promotes absorption of all available nutrients.

Step 1: Cover all four of the major food groups. These include protein (meat, fish, legumes, nuts); starch (today more commonly known as carbs – bread, cereal, rice, pasta); fruits and vegetables; and dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt).

Step 2: Think colors. If your plate is a rainbow of garden-and-farm-raised foods in hues of brown, yellow, purple, red and green, then you've likely created a well-balanced, nutritionally sound meal. Example: a German-themed meal of Sauerbraten, red cabbage, mashed potatoes, applesauce and cucumber salad.

Step 3: Eat natural, unprocessed or minimally processed foods. If it's from the earth and relatively untampered with, it's probably good for you. Sure, mac and cheese does have certain nutritional benefits. However, in all likelihood you bought the boxed kind which contains man-made "cheese food" and white-flour pasta that's been stripped of its fiber and vitamins. A better choice for yellow on the plate might be Yukon Gold potatoes, spaghetti squash or calabash (summer) squash.

Step 4: Combine foods that promote the best absorption of vitamins and minerals. Many recipes for dark, leafy greens call for olive oil and lemon. This is especially relevant because Omega-3 oils from fish and plants increase absorption of the vitamin A in the greens. Likewise, the acid from the lemon helps the non-heme iron get through the intestinal walls and into the body for energy.

Step 5: Know which vegetables are really starches. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and corn are "sort of" vegetables, but they actually count as starches (carbs). So if your dinner consists of a full serving of rice plus meat and a sweet potato, that's twice the amount of carbohydrates your body needs in one sitting. You can have more than one carb if you really want; just reduce your serving size to half of each.

Step 6: Avoid drinking coffee or tea an hour and a half before or after eating a meal, particularly if you're eating iron-rich food. Tea and coffee inhibit absorption of the nutritients in our food.

Back to cooking tips page

Website designed and managed by Wordfeeder Copywriting and Marketing.

cooking with my friends dot com