Healthy Meals

oo7

Hi,

There are 1000's of websites out there that claim to list healthy meals / plans... even Mens Health magazine like to list some meals as healthy, when in my eyes they are clearly not. I guess the term "healthy" is quite broad and relates to each person's specific goals and lifestyle.

I am looking for alternatives to my usual post workout dinners, which usually consist of a mixture of one of the following:

- 2 chicken breasts, broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes
- 2 salmon darnes, rocket leaves, sweet potatoes
- fillet steak, broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes

As you can see, my meals are quite boring and not exactly the most tasteful.

I eat 6 meals a day, and i understand that you would need to take my over all daily intake into account to review how "healthy" my overall diet is, but it usually consists of, protein shakes, porridge, nuts, fruit, eggs, turkey, salads... then right up to my post workout main dinner.

Can anyone suggest alternatives for my post workout dinners... as i am getting really bored of them :-)

Should i avoid brown rice and stick to sweet potatoes? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Alf Veedersane

Do you get spices involved in your dinners at all?

oo7

Hi, i've started to put a small bit of smoked paprika on my sweet potatoes but always worried that spices were full of salts etc...

It's very hard to find a good reliable nutrition advice / plan website as all authors have different goals in terms of what they deem healthy.

Blacktie.

oo7 wrote: »

Hi, i've started to put a small bit of smoked paprika on my sweet potatoes but always worried that spices were full of salts etc...

It's very hard to find a good reliable nutrition advice / plan website as all authors have different goals in terms of what they deem healthy.

Add some cayenne and black pepper to that. Food of the gods.

Also no need to worry about salt in spice. They're different things.

Buy normal basic spices and mix things up a bit. Don't buy the branded packet "this is tasty for chicken" ones
Ginger and garlic go nicely in things also

Alf Veedersane

oo7 wrote: »

Hi, i've started to put a small bit of smoked paprika on my sweet potatoes but always worried that spices were full of salts etc...

It's very hard to find a good reliable nutrition advice / plan website as all authors have different goals in terms of what they deem healthy.

Only if you but the packs of mixes. If you're using anything that's sold as cumin / ginger / paprika etc you've nothing to worry about.

Spices bring the meat alive. I could have chicken a couple of nights in a row but spiced differently and feel like I've had something different each night.

oo7

Ok cool, thanks...

Any input on brown rice?

Alf Veedersane

oo7 wrote: »

Ok cool, thanks...

Any input on brown rice?

Yeah, it's fine. Just watch the portion size, that's all.

GiftofGab

You seem to want extremely healthy meal plans......my meals wouldn't be as healthy as yours be still contain all the nutrients I need. High protein and reasonably good carbs. Healthy enough meal plans. I eat 5 times a day.

For me dinners can consist of:
- Chicken / beef stir fry with mixed vegetables and brown / basmati white rice (if you dont like brown rice, basmati white rice is the next best thing - it still contains a low GI content). Mainly use sweet and sour sauce.
- Chicken in wholemeal wraps with a mix of onions, green / red peppers, (tomatoes if you like them), rocket. Put it all in a wrap then add a bit of satay table sauce for extra taste.
- Beef taco's in wholegrain tacos. Use fat free beef mince. Again mix desired vegetables. I also had small amounts of spice and sauce.
- Homemade burgers with fat free mince and wholegrain bread. Again mix desired vegetables. Also add in some homemade sweet potato chips.
- Chilli con carni with fat free beef mince and brown / basmati rice.
- Sunday roast. Chicken, sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, pumpkin roasted in oven with some pepper sauce.

You can also mess around with your above meals. Potato's and veg can be boiled, baked, fried, roasted. As posters above stated you can add a mix of spices.

These are just some of the meals I make. I might get slated for them but I basically just use a mix of turkey, chicken, beef, steaks, fat free mince, (I don't like fish) for protein. I also use basmati rice, potato's, sweet potato, wholemeal wraps / tacos / burger buns for carbs. I also add small amounts of sauce as (for me) I don't think I can stick it out long term without and sauces for taste.

Again these are just some of my idea's. I'm not a fitness model (my ex was a sports dietitian so got a few pointers from her). If you're worried about the calorie content use a calorie counter for a sample day's meal plan. How many calories are you looking to eat a day?

oo7

Ok cool, thanks for all of that, much appreciated ;-)

GiftofGab wrote: »

I might get slated for them but I basically just use a mix of turkey, chicken, beef, steaks, fat free mince, (I don't like fish) for protein... burger buns for carbs. I also add small amounts of sauce as (for me) I don't think I can stick it out long term without and sauces for taste.

I won't slate you :-) and others will hopefully correct me if i am wrong, but is there really such a things as fat free mince, and using burger buns for carbs :eek:

My weakness is also sauces, i just find food very hard to eat without some sort of sauce but i've been using a mixture of chopped tomatoes and a small bit of fat free organic yogurt with some spices to help create a reasonable sauce.

Mr. CooL ICE

Carrots and broccoli parboiled, drained, then covered in lashings of butter with a little salt, pepper and ground cumin. Eaten with steak. Om nom nom.

I've sometimes made oven-baked 'chips' using a combination of potatoes and parsnips and use hummus as a dip.

Lyssa

oo7 wrote: »

I won't slate you :-) and others will hopefully correct me if i am wrong, but is there really such a things as fat free mince, and using burger buns for carbs :eek:

I use one of these instead of a burger bun.. I think they weigh about 30g, but are wholemeal so better (I think!) than white burger buns?

oo7

LordChessington wrote: »

lashings of butter with a little salt...

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

GiftofGab

oo7 wrote: »

Ok cool, thanks for all of that, much appreciated ;-)



I won't slate you :-) and others will hopefully correct me if i am wrong, but is there really such a things as fat free mince, and using burger buns for carbs :eek:

My weakness is also sauces, i just find food very hard to eat without some sort of sauce but i've been using a mixture of chopped tomatoes and a small bit of fat free organic yogurt with some spices to help create a reasonable sauce.

Go for the extra lean beef mince then.

Yeah wholegrain burger buns. I don't have them everyday so it's not going to do an awful lot of harm.

IMO there's not too much wrong with having a bit of sauce every now and again unless you're a fitness model or so. Ronnie Coleman eats BBQ sauce with his chicken.

Blacktie.

GiftofGab wrote: »

Ronnie Coleman eats BBQ sauce with his chicken.

Along with some pharmaceticals .

OP small changes are the key here. More veg and meat, small bit of fruit nuts and berries. Try to avoid packaged stuff as much as you can but don't let it drive you nuts. Bring all this in slowly. Don't just go full on straight away and if you fail once or twice no big deal just hop back on the horse and all that.

Though I would start experimenting with spices if I were you.

oo7

Cool, thanks all...

I'm going to try this with chicken and brown rice instead... minus the olive oil & sea salt

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/good-old-chilli-con-carne

cullenswood

oo7 wrote: »

Cool, thanks all...

I'm going to try this with chicken and brown rice instead... minus the olive oil & sea salt

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/good-old-chilli-con-carne

Olive Oil is not necessarily bad for you.

oo7

cullenswood wrote: »

Olive Oil is not necessarily bad for you.

It is when it changes from unsaturated to saturated after you heat it.

Blacktie.

oo7 wrote: »

It is when it changes from unsaturated to saturated after you heat it.

Na still not. The whole saturated fat thing is not correct.

Mr. CooL ICE

oo7 wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

I see your multiple eek smilies and raise you a

GiftofGab

IMO you should leave in the olive oil. You said you eat nuts so I think you know a list of all the healthy fats.

If you really want to have a healthy as a diet as you can you should count your macros. Measure your calories. Then break down your calories as a % calculate how much protein, carbs and fats you should be eating.

From what ive read the list should be;
- Higer carb for bodybuilding: 40-60% carbs, 25-35% protein, 15-25% fats.
- Moderate carbs for maintenance: 30-50% carbs, 25-35% protein, 25-35% fats
- Low carb for fat loss: 10-20% carbs, 40-50% protein, 30-40% fats

oo7

The fat found in nuts is unsaturated fat.

If you are just pouring olive oil over a salad, then yes it is good for you in moderation, however if you cook olive oil it changes it's chemical makeup and nutrition value.

Alf Veedersane

oo7 wrote: »

if you cook olive oil it changes it's chemical makeup and nutrition value.

It doesn't change it to saturated fat.

It doesn't make it toxic or anything like it.

But if you don't have an aversion to it over salads etc then work away but don't leave it out of cooking because of some myth that it changes to a saturated fat.

mickman

Blacktie. wrote: »

Na still not. The whole saturated fat thing is not correct.

Correct. The whole saturated fat myth has been debunked. Saturated fats are good for you if you get them in correct format i.e. coconut oil etc

Its the rubbish fats that companies use in making things like butter etc that have given saturated fats a bad name

And olive oil should not be used for cooking as its low smoke point makes it get nasty quite quickly - again use coconut oil for cooking

Olive oil just poured over a salad is very good for you - assuming you have good olive oil and not the junk you get in most places

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

when people say smoke point.. should the olive oil actually be smoking?

ive started using olive oil instead of coconut oil in my stir fries as I find it sticks around longer, the coconut oil seems to evaporate or get sucked into the food or whatever and I'm left with burny burny vegetables.

I only have ****ty electric hobs and I use it on medium heat so.. I doubt it gets terribly hot.

Alf Veedersane

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

when people say smoke point.. should the olive oil actually be smoking?

NO, try to keep it below the temperature where it starts to smoke. Otherwise it will affect the taste of the olive oil.

Cheaper / lower-quality olive oil will have a lower smoke point.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

oh, well mine hasn't been smoking so that's grand.

Alf Veedersane

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

oh, well mine hasn't been smoking so that's grand.

It's probably because your cheap olive oil hasn't been heated enough

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

hooray for inefficient cooking appliances

runawaybishop

oo7 wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Whats wrong with butter or salt? Both are good for you, you should cook all your food in butter.

Alf Veedersane

mickman wrote: »

And olive oil should not be used for cooking as its low smoke point makes it get nasty quite quickly

A good quality olive oil won't have that low a smoking point so it's fine to use in cooking.

Blacktie.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

A good quality olive oil won't have that low a smoking point so it's fine to use in cooking.

This explains why my sweet potatoes are making smoke anyway. What is the range of smoking point of olive oil and how do yo ensure you're getting a quality one over an inferior one?

Alf Veedersane

You're best off going for the virgin or extra virgin olive oils. If it's decent, you're looking at a smoking point of about 185-205 degrees C.

I'm not sure what kind of range a bog-standard cheap/mass produced olive oil is.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

the aldi 'extra virgin organic italian buzzword buzzword buzzword' stuff is pretty cheap. i don't know a damn thing about olive oil but it's what ive been using and it seems nice, no smoking or anything

mickman

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

A good quality olive oil won't have that low a smoking point so it's fine to use in cooking.

I still wouldnt use it in cooking - only on salads and bread

Alf Veedersane

mickman wrote: »

I still wouldnt use it in cooking - only on salads and bread

Suuum cuique.

Just pointing out that a low smoking point is what you get with a poor quality olive oil.

Sangre

BBC Good Food Non-Gluten section is a goldmine for dinners without pasta etc.

GiftofGab

So what other meals do people eat?

Blacktie.

Chillies, curries, spiced chicken breasts. Everything made with homemade sweet potato chips. I eat so much sweet potatoes. Mmmmm.

oo7

runawaybishop wrote: »

Whats wrong with butter or salt? Both are good for you, you should cook all your food in butter.

And there's why i find it so hard to find reliable / healthy recipes online...

Sangre

GiftofGab wrote: »

So what other meals do people eat?

Stews and casseroles. Throw in lots of veg, lots of meat, stock, beans, lentisl spices or whatever and simmmer.

runawaybishop

oo7 wrote: »

And there's why i find it so hard to find reliable / healthy recipes online...

You don't need to define "healthy" as low in X with added X - healthy is something that fits into your diet - not everything needs to be "healthy".

Butter is better for you than plant oil though

conzy

Anything you make yourself that contains meat and green veg is healthy. You can also make healthy versions of typical meals. What defines healthy? for me it has a large percentage of protein 40-50% and minimal processed sauces and crap

Make chili, bolognese, paella, shepherds pie, stew whatever takes your fancy, use tinned tomatoes / coconut milk / yogurt for your sauces. Lord on the spices job done

thegreatiam

If you're stir frying with olive oil then you're doing it wrong. Stir fry is a high heat cooking method. Hot pan hot oil short cooking time. If your olive oil is not smoking it's because the pan isn't hot enough. Better to use coconut or peanut oil/grapeseed oil.

I use olive oil for other methods of cooking tho. Plain sautéing at a lower temp for example. Or if I'm caramelising onions etc.

Mr. CooL ICE

oo7 wrote: »

And there's why i find it so hard to find reliable / healthy recipes online...

What exactly is your definition of reliable and healthy?