A balanced menu means good health, well–coordinated work of the body. Every meal is important: breakfast, lunch, dinner. How to organize lunch and recipes for proper nutrition.
(1) – “Nutrition and exercise help to keep the body healthy and recover when you are not feeling your best.
By eating healthy, your body and mind might feel better since they are receiving the nutrients that they need to function. This could help you as you move through your day.”
The principles of a healthy and proper lunch How to organize lunch and recipes for proper nutrition.
Plan your lunch based on several principles:
#1. About 30 minutes before lunch time, drink a glass of water at room temperature. This will trigger important metabolic processes and speed up metabolism, reduce appetite and help reduce portion size.
#2. The optimal time for a daily meal is considered to be the interval between 12 o’clock and 15. During this period, the processes of digestion and processing of nutrients are activated, which favorably affects the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
#3. A proper lunch menu should include a single meat dish. Therefore, if you are used to eating the first, second and third, then reduce the portions and include meat only in the soup or eat it with vegetables for the second.
#4. Limit the consumption of such products: potatoes, pasta, white rice.
#5. Don’t eat everything too fast. A full-fledged, satisfying and satisfying lunch should take at least 25-30 minutes. All food should be chewed thoroughly.
#6. Don’t overeat. After eating, you should feel slightly full, not heavy.
#7. Prepare dishes with minimal heat treatment. You can cook food for a short time, bake it, steam it, stew it, fry it in a frying pan or grill (preferably without oil or with a small amount of it).
Optimal caloric content, balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates How to organize lunch and recipes for proper nutrition.
What to eat for lunch with proper nutrition? It is important to maintain a balance of nutrients:
Protein. They account for about 30% of the daily diet. This is about 100 grams. Proteins are found in fish, poultry, meat, in vegetable sources – legumes, mushrooms.
Fats. Their daily normal amount is about 20%, which is 35-70 grams. Fats can be vegetable or animal, and the most useful are included in the composition of oils (sunflower, olive, linseed and others), as well as eggs, sea fish.
Carbohydrates. Their share in the total amount of food is half or from 150 to 200 grams. Complex carbohydrates are preferred, which are absorbed gradually and processed into energy. They can be obtained with side dishes from cereals (brown rice, buckwheat), pasta from durum wheat, as well as legumes.
It is also necessary to receive minerals and vitamins, which are abundant in vegetables, greens, beans, and cereals.
What foods to use for a proper lunch How to organize lunch and recipes for proper nutrition.
Meat. White can be consumed 4-5 times a week, and red – no more than once or twice. It is better to eat stewed, boiled, steamed or baked meat.
Seafood, which can be periodically replaced with meat. These are squid, mussels, and shrimp.
Fish. Low-fat white species such as pollock, cod, navaga, hake are preferred to maintain their shape. But you also need to include red sea fish rich in omega-6 and omega-3 in your diet. These are trout, salmon, pink salmon, salmon.
Beans: beans, chickpeas, peas, lentils.
Cereals, especially buckwheat, rice (preferably brown), pearl barley, oatmeal, and spelt.
Vegetables, for example, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, beets, zucchini, pumpkin.
Greens – spinach, celery, lettuce leaves.
Cabbage of all kinds: white cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts.
Berries, unsweetened fruits. They can be added to side dishes, salads.
Sesame seeds, flax seeds.
Vegetable oils that can be used as salad dressings.
Whole grain, rye bread – one small piece.
Low-fat dairy, fermented milk products such as low-calorie cottage cheese, cottage cheese with a fat content of 9%.
Mushrooms: white, chanterelles, champignons.
By-products: stomachs, lungs, liver.
Pasta made from durum wheat (one serving – no more than 100-150 g).
The perfect menu for a proper lunch for the week How to organize lunch and recipes for proper nutrition.
Healthy menu for the week:
Monday: cauliflower, carrot and onion puree soup with turkey meat; stewed low-fat sea fish (for example cod) with fresh lettuce leaves; a glass of herbal tea with a slice of lemon.
Tuesday: baked veal with boiled or stewed vegetables (carrots, zucchini, broccoli); a piece of rye bread with low-fat hard cheese; green smoothie.
Wednesday: Boiled bulgur with onions and carrots; tomato, red pepper and cucumber salad with a little oil; citrus fruit; a glass of pear drink with honey.
Thursday: vegetable stew with steamed chicken fillet; a piece of wholegrain or rye bread; Peking fresh cabbage with carrots; orange juice.
Friday: pickle with beef meat; vegetable salad; coffee.
Saturday: pilaf with rabbit or chicken; fresh or stewed vegetables; a small piece of gray bread; herbal tea.
Sunday: vitamin salad with cabbage and herbs; steamed fish cutlets; some bread; berry juice.
Food options for a healthy lunch
#1. Meatballs with sauce and brown rice How to organize lunch and recipes for proper nutrition.
Let’s cook meatballs with tomato sauce and bulgur. It takes 50 minutes for 4 servings.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
bulgur 1 cup
minced meat (pork and chicken)17.64oz
carrots(medium) 1 piece
onion 1 piece
ripe tomato 1 piece
bell pepper 1 piece
tomato paste 3 tablespoons
olive oil 3 tablespoons
spices and salt to taste
rice 4 tablespoons
Instruction:
Cooking time is 50 minutes
Cook the rice until tender, add it to the minced meat along with peeled and finely chopped onions and salt. Form the meatballs and bake them or fry them in a dry non-stick frying pan. Boil the bulgur.
Make the sauce. Wash the tomatoes, peppers and carrots. Rub the carrots. Peel the pepper from the seeds and stalks, cut into strips. Cut the tomato into cubes. Fry all the vegetables for 2 minutes, add tomato paste with salt and simmer everything for about 10-15 minutes.
Arrange the burger and meatballs on plates, put the sauce on top.
#2. Chicken cutlet with baked vegetables
A quick, healthy, fairly simple lunch is a chicken cutlet with baked vegetables. You can cook it for two people in 40 minutes.
Ingredients for 2 servings:
minced chicken 10.58oz
onion 1 piece
any vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes) 17.64oz
Olive oil for greasing and frying 3 tablespoons
seasonings, salt to taste.
Instruction:
Cooking time is 40 minutes
Add finely chopped onion and salt to the minced meat. Form two cutlets and cook them in any way: steamed, in a frying pan, in the oven.
Peel the vegetables, brush with oil, sprinkle with seasonings, add salt and wrap in foil. Bake them at 356F in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve the cutlets with the vegetables.
#3. Broccoli cream soup How to organize lunch and recipes for proper nutrition.
This creamy broccoli soup is light, hearty and healthy. Sprinkle this delicious soup with toasted broccoli croutons and shavings of vegan cheese.
Ingredients
olive oil 3 tablespoons
broccoli (about two heads)14.20oz
carrots 2 pieces
celery (about two stalks) 3.53oz
of chopped onion 1 piece
garlic, minced 2 cloves
flour 3.53oz
vegetable broth 4 cups
vegetable milk 2 cups
of fat canned coconut milk 1/2 cup
food yeast in flakes 1 tablespoon
lemon juice 1 teaspoon
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
Toasted broccoli croutons:
broccoli inflorescences 3.53oz
vegetable oil 1 tbsp.
salt to taste
Instruction:
Cooking time is 30 minutes
In a medium saucepan, heat vegetable or olive oil over medium heat. Add broccoli, carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Fry until the onion is translucent and tender, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the vegetables with flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Gradually add the vegetable broth and vegetable milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add coconut milk and edible yeast. Cook the soup over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Whisk the soup to a consistency to your liking. If desired, adjust the consistency with vegetable broth or vegetable milk. Mix it with white wine vinegar. Try and adjust the taste for salt, pepper, vinegar (and, if desired, sugar if you use unsweetened vegetable milk.
Broccoli croutons
In a separate saucepan or frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
Add the broccoli florets and sprinkle with salt. Fry until half cooked. Increase the heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli has a nice brown/ruddy side on at least 1 side. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Pour the soup into bowls or plates. Add a little olive oil, toasted broccoli florets on top, shavings of vegan cheese (optional) and ground black pepper. Serve with crackers, bread or salad.
Recommendation
When using vegetable broth with or without low salt content, add salt to taste.
When using unsweetened vegetable milk, add up to 2 teaspoons of sugar for a better taste.
#4. Warming sweet potato soup
An easy-to-prepare sweet potato soup, cooked in one pan, it is slightly spicy, thick and creamy! Fragrant, seasoned with coconut milk and smoked paprika — a wonderful hearty dish for the cold days of the year!
Ingredients 4 servings:
vegetable oil 1 tablespoon
shallots, diced 2 pieces
garlic 2 crushed cloves
large sweet potatoes 2 pcs
of fatty coconut milk 1 can
buffalo sauce or sriracha 1 teaspoon
water 1 cup
smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon
salt to taste
Instruction:
Cooking time is 30 minutes
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium or high heat. After heating the pan, add the onion, garlic and fry for 3 minutes or until the onion is tender.
Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into small cubes of the same size. Add diced sweet potatoes, whole coconut milk, buffalo sauce, water, smoked paprika and salt to the pan.
Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
Transfer to a high-speed blender and whisk until the soup is smooth and creamy. You can add a little water to adjust the consistency to your liking. Taste and adjust the salt and spice to your liking.
Serve immediately with your favorite soup supplement options. Tofu or tempeh are great for adding protein and getting a complete lunch option.
The soup can be stored for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. If you don’t want the soup to be too sweet, you can use half sweet potatoes and half regular ones.
Start with one teaspoon of hot sauce and add more to taste after whipping the soup. One teaspoon of buffalo sauce is enough to add a pleasant spicy flavor without interrupting the taste of sweet potatoes.
(1) – U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. https://aglab.ars.usda.gov/the-nutrition-corner/maintaining-a-healthy-diet-and-eating-better
