Healthy Dinners

Instructions for balanced dinners:

• Cook meals at home more often. Making your own food saves you money and the food is often better for you.

• If cooking and planning is new to you, choose 2 to 3 dinner meals per week and make enough for leftovers. Cook meals your family will enjoy and are easy to make.

• Plan your meals on the weekend or when you have more time. To help you plan, list meals on a whiteboard, chalkboard, notebook, calendar or in your phone.

• Create a shopping list and buy the food you need. Having necessary ingredients for meals helps you stick to your meal plan. This can prevent changing your plan to a fast-food meal.

• Eat delicate produce first such as lettuces or berries. Use longer lasting produce such as carrots, potatoes or apples toward the end of the week to avoid waste and spoilage.

• Always have a vegetable with dinner including salads, cooked and fresh vegetables.

• Be mindful of food safety. Most leftovers can be safely kept in the refrigerator and eaten up to 3 to 4 days after cooking.

• Sit down, slow down and enjoy your meal. Take at least 20 to 30 minutes to eat. Pay attention to what you are eating and savor each bite.

• Sit together with your family at a table for dinner. Limit distractions. Turn off your phone, television, computer or smart tablet.

• Limit snacking before dinner.

• Involve children or family members in meal planning and prepping when you can.

• Limit take-out or fast-food to one time a week or less.

Time savers when preparing meals:

• Jarred garlic and other herbs

• Bagged salad or stir fry mix

• Canned or frozen vegetables (low or no sodium)

• Pre-cooked grains

• Frozen pre-cooked meats

• Frozen fruit (no sugar added)

• Prepare parts of the meal a few days ahead or the night before.

• Clean and chop fruit, vegetables and herbs and keep them in the refrigerator.

• Cook and portion meat, grains, and pasta. Then freeze or refrigerate for meals later in the week.

• Cook soups, stews and casseroles and freeze them. Freeze leftovers for a quick homemade meal.

Tips for cooking:

• Add salt at the end of the meal instead of while you are cooking.

• Instead of French fries, bake fresh cut potato wedges in the oven.

• Use flavor enhancers such as low-sodium soy sauce and broths, olive or avocado oil, herbs, and spices.

• Try making a one pan meal by roasting chicken, vegetables and potatoes on a sheet pan or stewing beef, vegetables and potatoes in a slow cooker or pot.

• Use a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking process.

Mix and match dinner ideas:

Choose 1 item from at least 3 categories to make a balanced meal.

Carbohydrate/starch

• Bread, tortilla, biscuit, muffin, naan, chapati, roti, flat bread

• Potato, sweet potato, yam

• Corn, cassava, butternut or acorn squash

• Pasta, couscous, egg noodles, soba noodles, rice noodles

• Wild rice, brown rice, bulgur wheat, quinoa, faro

Meat/protein

• Beef, ham, turkey, pork, chicken

• Salmon, haddock, cod, tilapia, tuna

• Shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, oysters

• Lentils, peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, cannellini beans, refried beans

• Hummus, seitan, tofu, tempeh

• Sunflower seed, pumpkin seed

• Cheese, cottage cheese, paneer

• Nuts, nut butter

• Egg, egg white

• Vegetarian meat alternative

Vegetable

• Broccoli, spinach, kale, collard greens

• Carrot, cucumber, peppers

• Mushroom, tomato

• Zucchini, summer squash, eggplant

• Green beans, peas

• Asparagus, brussels sprouts

• Beets, radish

• Salad greens, cabbage

Fruit

• Banana, apple, peach, pear

• Strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry

• Cantaloupe, melon, watermelon

• Avocado

• Plum, cherries, grapes

• Orange, pineapple

• Mango, guava, papaya, kiwi

Dairy/ dairy alternatives

• Cow's milk

• Plant-based milk (nut, soy, oat, hemp, or pea milk)

• Yogurt, kefir

Try these dinner ideas:

• Vegetables sautéed with salsa, cooked diced chicken and brown rice

• Whole wheat pasta and marinara sauce mixed with lean ground turkey and vegetables

• Green spinach salad with diced egg, cheese, cannellini beans and tomatoes

• Cooked wild rice with sautéed vegetables and tofu, shrimp or chicken and seasoned with soy sauce

• Grilled turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread and vegetable soup

• Roasted salmon, cauliflower and sweet potatoes

• Turkey burger on a whole wheat bun with carrots and hummus

• Vegetable fajita with sautéed peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions on a whole wheat tortilla with shredded cheese

• Pizza with homemade or store-bought crust, English muffin or bagel, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and topped with your favorite vegetables

• Black beans, rice, ground chicken and sautéed pepper and onions

• Grilled fish on whole wheat tortilla or corn taco topped with shredded cabbage, guacamole, and salsa

• Vegetable chili with chickpeas, black beans, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, corn

• Tortellini soup

• Vegetable or Minestrone soup and a turkey wrap

• Grilled chicken, corn on the cob and spinach salad

• Shrimp and orzo with olive oil, lemon juice and shredded parmesan cheese

• Cooked lentils over faro and green beans

• Salad with chickpeas, feta, cucumber, olives

• Chicken meatball sandwich

• Eggplant parmesan with whole wheat pasta

If time is limited and you need a pre-packaged meal or food, choose options that have the following:

• Lower in added sugar (8 or less grams of sugar)

• Whole wheat or whole grain and higher in fiber (3 or more grams of fiber per serving)

• Lower in total fat (4 or less grams of fat)

• Lower in saturated fat (2 grams or less)

• No trans fat

Reviewed on June 1, 2022, by Rebecca Rogers, RD