Proper nutrition: menu and how to make it

Proper nutrition is the key to good health and body shape

Today, healthy eating is a very common and popular topic. The internet is just full of advice and recommendations, however, following them without thinking is unreasonable, and unhealthy.

Therefore, when compiling the right nutritional menu, you should consult a nutritionist. And in general, it will not be superfluous to study the specialized literature on this issue. The main thing is to use reliable sources. For example, the World Health Organization regularly addresses the topic of proper nutrition in its methodological materials.

So, the organization's specialists present 10 principles that will make any diet more useful:

  1. A varied diet allows the body to receive all kinds of nutrients;
  2. Whole grains favorably affect the intestinal microflora, enhance their work;
  3. Fruits, vegetables, and nuts are the best snack choices;
  4. One teaspoon of salt per day is the daily norm for adults, so undersalt is better than oversalt;
  5. It is necessary to monitor the level of sugar consumed, also pay attention to the so-called hidden sugars;
  6. Consumption of moderate fat foods;
  7. In the daily menu, it is better to give preference to fish or poultry, limit the consumption of red meat;
  8. Ready-to-eat food is a rich mixture of trans fats, salt, sugar and various artificial additives;
  9. Fried foods are never healthy;
  10. Alcohol in any amount is harmful to health.

Of course, the tips of this manual do not contain specifics, therefore, based on them, an exact nutritional menu cannot be compiled. But to use it as a guide for further work - you are quite successful.

Also, the best option when choosing a new diet is to consult a nutritionist. A doctor with such training will give a professional opinion and draw up a menu that is not only healthy, but also nutritious and tasty. And today it is not necessary to visit the clinic for this. Many nutritionists hold open lessons and workshops where they share secrets and teach others.

How to make a proper nutrition menu?

The first step towards a healthy diet is the menu. After all, it is the list of "permitted" products that will determine the variety of dishes, the snack system.

Nutritionists when compiling a proper nutritional menu are guided by several main principles:

  • Meat in the diet should be combined with vegetables and fruits;
  • To function properly, you need to consume about 100-150 grams of protein per day;
  • If desired, sweets can be included in the diet. But it is important to remember that its use should be strictly calculated according to the amount of sugar, and you should not eat dessert in the afternoon;
  • Canned and semi-finished products, all kinds of sauces, as well as representatives of fast food under the strictest prohibition;
  • The Food Pyramid is a great way to organize your meals to guide you.

In addition, when compiling a menu, it is important to focus on the time intervals between meals. Depending on the duration, the saturation of the dish with a certain element is determined. But there are also fairly general rules. For example, breakfast is best done half an hour after waking up, and dinner about three hours before bed.

Features of the weight loss meal plan

It is important to understand that a nutritional plan also depends on what goals are being pursued. So, we can distinguish nutrition plans for children, nutrition plans for various diseases, athlete nutrition plans before competition and, of course, diet plans for weight loss.

First of all, we note that weight loss is impossible without proper and balanced nutrition, and the latter never means the presence of water and vegetables. So, we return to the WHO principle - various foods provide a wide variety of useful elements for the human body. This rule must be taken into account when compiling the menu.

Proper and balanced nutrition for weight loss

In addition, if you want to lose weight with the right diet, you need to follow a few more rules:

  • You have to eat at certain time intervals, then the body will develop a regimen;
  • Food should be fractional, the most optimal option is 5 times a day;
  • When planning a meal, you can't go against your lifestyle. Instead, the menu should be adapted to it.

So, we've got two options for a diet designed for early risers and late risers:

Feeding regimen for "Larks" Feeding mode for "Owl"
7, 00 Breakfast 10. 00 Breakfast
10. 00 First snack 13. 00 First snack
13. 00 Dinner 15. 00 Dinner
16. 00 Second snack 17. 00 Second snack
19. 00 Dinner 20. 00 Dinner

Another feature of putting together a menu plan for weight loss is the calorie count. To do this, you need to record all the food eaten throughout the day. And today it is quite simple to do this, because there are a large number of applications specifically for this purpose.

How to plan meals for each day?

Proper nutrition planning is a time-consuming process, the preparation of which should take the following into account:

  • The ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates - it can be different depending on the goal being pursued. For example, during the so-called "drying" it is recommended to increase the percentage of protein consumed;
  • General calculation of calorie content - while the daily caloric dose required, which varies depending on age and lifestyle, should be evenly distributed;
  • A variety of suitable products in terms of nutritional content and caloric content - only proper and balanced nutrition can provide the results. Refusing to eat will only harm your health.

It's also important to remember that "unscheduled" snacking should not be taken as a tragedy, but it makes sense to analyze it and change the frequency or composition of subsequent meals. Another stumbling block could be new foods to the diet. For example, when dieting, it's best not to experiment with new flavor combinations, as those combinations can also negatively affect the regimen.

It is possible to learn more about the rules of nutrition, the principles of forming a reasonable diet in the dietetics course.

Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude that the following product categories should form the basis of a proper nutritional menu:

  • Chicken;
  • Turkey;
  • Fish;
  • Seafood;
  • Egg;
  • milk;
  • Fruit;
  • Vegetables;
  • Green vegetable;
  • Crazy;
  • seed;
  • natural spices;
  • herbs and spices;
  • whole grain products;
  • nuts;
  • Olive, flaxseed, corn, sesame oil.

It is important to exclude from the diet:

  • Sausage;
  • smoked products;
  • Canned food;
  • Snacks in vacuum packaging;
  • semi-finished products;
  • sauce;
  • Ready-to-eat food to be heated in the microwave;
  • Fast food;
  • Carbonated drinks;
  • Packaged juice.
To lose weight, fast food snacks are replaced with fruits

Separately, it should be noted that salted nuts are not included in proper nutrition, as are any products that contain higher levels of spices, additives and flavors. As for confectionery products, it must be reduced to a minimum, and the composition of the product must also be treated responsibly. For example, maybe you have oatmeal muffins for breakfast.

weekly nutrition program

In general, a healthy balanced diet can vary widely, so it is possible to develop a menu that will include a new dish every day. We present a sample menu for the week according to all the recommendations given earlier:

Day of the week Breakfast Dinner Dinner
Monday
  • Oatmeal with dried fruits;
  • 2/3 cup low-fat milk
  • fruit.
  • Vegetable salad (you can take, for example, olive oil as a dressing);
  • whole grain sandwich with herbs, poached chicken breast, and soft cheese;
  • fruit.
Grilled fish, vegetable salad as a side dish.
Tuesday
  • Whole wheat bread;
  • cheese;
  • boiled eggs;
  • fruit.
  • Salad of bulgur, chicken breast and cherry tomatoes (can be seasoned with honey and Dijon mustard);
  • fruit.
  • Whole wheat pasta with tomatoes and dried herbs;
  • herbal tea.
Wednesday
  • cottage cheese with honey;
  • crazy;
  • fresh juice.
  • Sandwich with salmon, avocado and fennel on whole grain bread;
  • natural yogurt.
Chicken fillet with grilled vegetables.
Thursday
  • Omelet from two eggs;
  • tomatoes;
  • cheese;
  • small baked apples with honey and cinnamon.
  • Chicken soup with vegetables;
  • salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, flax seeds with dressing (olive oil).
Pita with lean ground beef, lettuce, dressing - natural yogurt, garlic and fennel.
Friday
  • Smoothies (bananas, yogurt, vanilla);
  • roll with salmon, avocado and cucumber.
  • Roasted pumpkin salad, spinach, cheese, and lemon oil dressing;
  • whole grain bread with lean ham;
  • fruit.
  • Steak with fresh vegetables;
  • baked apples with honey and cinnamon.
Saturday
  • Buckwheat with carrots and peppers;
  • natural yogurt;
  • fruit.
Couscous with carrots, onions, corn, green beans.
  • roasted beets;
  • whole grain bread with soft goat cheese;
  • Olive.
Sunday
  • Cheesecake with maple syrup;
  • natural yogurt;
  • fruit.
  • Broth with croutons and hard-boiled eggs;
  • tomato and mozzarella salad with balsamic dressing.
  • Paprika stuffed with brown rice and ground beef;
  • cherry tomatoes with soft cheese and seasoning to taste.

It should be noted that when small snacks are included in the diet, it is necessary to exclude fruits and nuts from the main menu. In other words, an apple from breakfast is transferred to an afternoon snack. A similar system can be used in reverse, adding snacks to the main meals - breakfast and lunch.

It's also important to remember that servings are calculated individually, based on age, health status, lifestyle, and daily calorie intake. Therefore, the portion sizes for men and women will be different.

Recipe for proper nutrition

We offer some simple, yet delicious and healthy dishes for every day.

  1. Smoothies - 67-70 kcal / 100 gr.Yogurt-based smoothies in a healthy diet

    Material:

    • banana - 1 piece.
    • Oatmeal - 30 grams.
    • Yogurt (or kefir) - 100-150 gr.
    • Vanilla - to taste.

    Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. If desired, you can also add peaches or pears, but not without the abuse of sweet fruits.

  2. Oat-apple pancakes - 152 kcal / 100 gr.Eating right, you can cook oatmeal-apple pancakes for breakfast

    Material:

    • Oatmeal - 80 grams.
    • Medium-sized apples - 1 pc.
    • Chicken eggs - 1 pc.
    • Honey - 30 grams.

    Grind the oatmeal in a blender. Wipe the apples, mix with the resulting powder and egg. Fry the pancakes for about 3 minutes on each side. The dish can be served with honey.

  3. Lecho salad - 50 kcal / 100 gr.Lecho salad can be a delicious and healthy side dish.

    Material:

    • Bulgarian pepper - 4 pieces.
    • Eggplant - 1 piece.
    • Tomatoes - 3 pieces.
    • Vinegar - to taste.
    • Green - to taste.
    • Salt to taste.
    • Vegetable oil - Art. a spoon.

    Bake the vegetables for 15 minutes in the oven, then remove the skin and chop. Add chopped herbs, oil, vinegar, salt to the resulting salad, mix.

  4. Mushroom puree soup - 30 kcal / 100 gr.Mushroom puree soup - a fragrant dish for a healthy diet

    Material:

    • Champignon Mushrooms - 700 gr.
    • Onion - 1 piece.
    • Carrot - 1 piece.
    • Milk - 250 ml.
    • Green - to taste.

    Mushrooms should be poured with boiling water, let it brew. Chop the onions and carrots, cook for 15 minutes with the mushrooms. Boil milk. Transfer the soup to a blender, add the milk and then beat until smooth, garnishing with herbs if desired.

  5. Boiled beef - 80 kcal / 100 gr.Proper nutrition menu includes beef stew with vegetables

    Material:

    • Beef - 100 grams.
    • Buckwheat groats - 150 gr.
    • Carrot - 1 piece.
    • Tomatoes - 2 pieces.
    • Onion - 1 piece.
    • Lemon juice - to taste.
    • Green - to taste.

    Marinate the meat with onions and lemon juice for an hour. Boil carrots, tomatoes, onions and beef in a skillet. When ready, add the greens. As a side dish - buckwheat (cook without salt).

  6. Sweet sausage without fat - 269. 98 kcal / 100 gr.Dried fruit that is useful for making sweet sausages without fat

    Material:

    • Dates - 125 gr.
    • Plums - 125 gr.
    • Peanuts - 100 gr.
    • sesame - 2 tbsp. spoon.
    • Oranges - 1 piece.
    • Cinnamon - teaspoon.

    Plums and dates should be washed and pitted, then chopped in a blender. In the resulting mixture, add the orange zest and 1 tbsp. spoonful of orange juice, mix. First roast the peanuts in a frying pan (without adding oil). Mix all ingredients until smooth. Put the mixture on cling film, form a roll, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place the sweet sausage in the refrigerator for half an hour.

If you want to create a menu for a specific purpose, for example to lose weight, then the most effective option is to go on a diet by a nutritionist. He or she will take into account the individual characteristics of your body and devise a nutritional plan that will help you achieve your goals.