Adding a Healthy Meal Plan to Your Diet

Despite the best intentions, people often end up eating on the run; consuming pastries for breakfast when they stop for coffee, fast-food for lunch, and take-out for dinner. This type of eating is not only hard on the budget, it is hard on the body as well. It can add up to extra sodium, extra fat, extra sugar and extra calories. In the long run, all those ‘extras' translate into serious health problems. So how can one eat healthy meals throughout the week? The key is careful planning.

Multi-week Meal Plans

Multi-week meal plans allow one to plan menus in advance for the weeks ahead. A good plan incorporates healthy food for every meal, and repeats the most popular meals so that the shopping list is not formidable. Start your multi-week plan by thinking about a healthy breakfast. Nutrition experts say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Because humans are creatures of habit, especially when it comes to breakfast, it is good to choose a menu option then stick to it for the duration of the week. The following are excellent choices for a healthy breakfast:



• Oatmeal with dried cranberries and a sliced banana (dried cranberries will naturally sweeten the oatmeal)
• Low fat granola with fruit and skim milk
• Toast with peanut butter and sliced banana with a drizzle of honey
• Yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and granola
• Low fat smoothie with fruit

A healthy lunch is just as important as a healthy breakfast. While low fat frozen entrees may offer the appeal of being easy to purchase and easy to pack, they are less satisfying in terms of quantity and flavor. They also tend to be loaded with sodium and other additives that one doesn't need. Easy wraps filled with chicken or beans and veggies, along with a piece of fruit, make for a healthy and low fat lunch. If it is not possible to pack a lunch, avoid ordering items that are heavily sauced, deep-fried, or covered in cheese.

Healthy Snacks

Healthy snacks are the cornerstone of every healthy eating plan. Healthy snacks keep one's energy up between meals and avert disaster at the vending machine. Here are some quick snacks to satisfy the late afternoon urge to nibble:

• Mini carrots and hummus
• A small handful of almonds
• One ounce of cheese and several whole wheat crackers
• Apple slices with a tablespoon of peanut butter

Healthy meals include a healthy dinner and leave room for a healthy dessert, precluding any need to sabotage a day's worth of healthy eating!