Tips for Well-balanced Meals

Healthy eating is not always about how to lose weight. The right nutrition helps children 
to grow correctly, prevents disease and makes weight management simple. Balanced 
meal plans become easier as time goes on, but even starting out can be much faster 
and easier than people expect. Here are five ways to make healthy meal preparation 
simple.
 

Start with Quality 

Organic meats and produce instantly add better flavor and fewer chemicals to every 
dish. Choose the freshest options available, especially in fruits and vegetables to 
ensure the most nutrient-rich items. Avoid processed foods including products like 
condiments, canned broth or instant rice that have minimal nutritional value and lots of 
sugar and sodium.
 

Change Meal Focus

Many Americans make meat the main feature of their meal. Instead, turn the meat into 
the side dish and think more about the vegetables. Dedicate the largest part of every 
plate to vegetables. Prepare more than one veggie per meal, and feel free to add a 
handful of nuts or some fresh fruit to the dishes. Season the vegetables with healthy oils 
like olive or coconut oil and add fresh herbs and seasoning for flavor. Make spaghetti 
squash or buy a spiralizer to turn zucchini into noodles to make the texture and 
appearance of the dishes more interesting.
 

Learn Proper Servings

Weigh and measure all servings for a few days, so proper portion sizes become second 
nature. Many people take in too many calories because they overestimate what a 
portion size looks like. For example, adults should have 5-7 ounces of protein per day. 
A three-ounce serving of steak is the size of a deck of cards. Most adults need two 
servings of dairy per day. A serving of cheese is about one ounce, or a piece the size of 
a pair of dice.
 

Create a Rainbow

Put colorful food on the plate. Greens are wonderful, but the addition of vegetables of 
other colors will add even more nutrients. Red vegetables contain anthocyanins that are 
powerful antioxidants, reduce the risk of macular degeneration and lower the risk of 
stroke and heart attack.
 

Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables have Vitamin C, Vitamin A and folic acid. 
Butternut squash and sweet potatoes offer potassium that helps to lower blood 
pressure, and the bromelain in pineapples may improve digestion and lower water 
retention. White vegetables like onions, mushrooms or cauliflower also contain 
important nutrients.
 

Add Whole Grains
 

Try whole grain products instead of relying on just wheat bread or tortillas. Add cooked 
and cooled quinoa to a salad and put barley in soups or serve it as a side dish. Look for 
recipes that include buckwheat, millet and bulgur for a variety of new ways to make 
whole grains more interesting.
 

Balanced eating is about portion sizes, natural foods and a restriction on empty calories. 
Once people understand how to achieve these simple steps, it becomes easy to adapt 
recipes to match the needs of the family and even to choose healthy options when 
dining out.
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