What is a healthy dinner? Healthy meals for your family.

One simple way is to make sure that you always include the right foods to create your healthy meals. It's easier to ensure that all your dinners are healthy if you keep your store cupboard and freezer stocked with some nutritious basics.

Other useful items are cans of oily fish like tuna, salmon and sardines.

Make good use of your freezer, and stock up on frozen chicken breasts, diced turkey and fish fillets.

Focus on wholegrains, fresh produce, lean protein and you'll be serving your family a healthy dinner, every day.

Eat More Wholegrains

Make the switch from refined versions of these foods gradually. You may find your family don't even notice - and if they're like mine, they could surprise you and say they even prefer the wholegrain version of some of their best-loved dishes.

Include these wholegrains in you dinner menus more often: wholewheat pasta, brown rice, wholegrain bread, wholegrain cous cous, quinoa.

Serve Plenty of Vegetables

Serve a green vegetable like broccoli, peas or leeks, alongside a baked or broiled (grilled) tomato, some braised chopped mushrooms, or a sweet-tasting oven-baked onion. Serve vegetable accompaniments with everything, including pasta dishes which don't always merit a veggie.

Chop up a dish of raw vegetable crudites, or put together a little salad bowl and either serve these alongside your main dinner dish, or put them on the table ahead of mealtime for nibbling.

Explore healthy vegetarian recipes to add to your repertoire of meals. Roasted vegetable recipes are quick, easy and always popular.

Make Fruit Your Dessert

Fresh fruit is a great ending to a healthy dinner. You can simply munch on an apple, or prepare a quick fruit salad with chunks of fresh pineapple and mango, tossed together in fresh orange juice. Vary the fruits you serve - banana one day, kiwi the next, baked pears on another.

Go Easy on Protein

• Plant-based proteins are a great choice, and make a good healthy alternative to animal proteins. Use tofu and tempeh, or try pulses such as beans, peas, lentils. Three heaped tablespoons make a portion of pulses, and you can count one portion daily of these foods towards your vegetable servings.

• Nuts and seeds are excellent plant-based proteins, but they are high in fat, so keep an eye on serving sizes. A small handful of either nuts or seeds is sufficient.
• Dairy and eggs. Milk, cheese and yogurt are good sources of protein, but can be high in fat. Eat moderate amounts, and use skim milk and reduced fat versions if you wish. Eggs make a great healthy dinner, especially if you use a low-fat cooking method such as boiling or poaching, rather than frying.
• Limit red meat to twice a week, and cut off all visible fat. Poultry is a good source of protein, as is fish.

What not to eat...

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©2005-2012 healthy-eating-made-easy. All Rights Reserved
The information given on Healthy Eating Made Easy is for guidance only.
Please consult your physician before making any changes to your lifestyle.

SBI!