Build Your Own Balanced Meal 101

Welcome to Diet and Fitness Podcast, a free audio podcast sponsored by Diet.com. This is your fit, fun, and fabulous host, Lady Diet, ready to give you the skinny on the latest diet, fitness, health tips and news.

When you’re learning about how to eat healthier and change your diet, phrases like “balanced meal” often come into play. But has anyone ever actually told you what a balanced meal is? What is it exactly that you’re supposed to put on your plate that will make dietitians everywhere smile? And just how much is a diet-friendly portion? In today’s podcast, I present to you an easy approach to building a balanced, satisfying meal!

1)The first step in making a healthy meal is choosing a food source of immediate energy - that is, finding a source of whole grains or starchy vegetables. These two food groups have more nutrients and provide you with longer-lasting energy than refined grains. Go for whole wheat toast, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, or quinoa. Starchy vegetables I recommend are corn, green beans, squashes like pumpkin or butternut, and sweet potatoes.

2)The next thing on your plate should be something that fills you up, but doesn’t weigh you down with lots of calories – think non-starchy vegetables or fruits. These include leafy greens, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, eggplant, green beans, tomatoes… the kinds of vegetables you often see in salads. Fruits like apples, bananas, mangoes, grapefruit, blueberries, etc. are excellent sources for filling power.

3)Lastly, you need a good source of protein to keep you satisfied for longer. Any leans meats such as turkey, salmon, wild game like duck or venison, and lean beef are great sources of protein. Vegetarians out there, I haven’t forgotten about you. Though tofu is a great vegetarian source of protein, there are plenty of other options out there that can spice up your plate and provide you with protein. Try nuts and beans and even tempeh, which contains soybeans and grains.

4)So now you’ve got three key ingredients to building a balanced meal, but how much should you have of each? Try visualizing how the whole grains, vegetables, and protein will fit on your plate. As a general guideline, fill one half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables or fruits, and leave one fourth of the plate for whole grains or starchy veggies, and the other fourth for protein!

So you see, building a balanced meal doesn’t have to be complicated! Whether you’re at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or you’re having a snack, keep these tips in mind to help you get the recommended serving amounts for all the food groups. MyPyramid.gov has the ever-famous food pyramid to help you understand what these recommendations are. Once you’ve figured that out, plan your meals out ahead of time and track what you eat using Diet.com’s very own meal tracker. It’s a sure way to maintaining a successful diet! Good luck, and happy meal planning!

If you have any comments or suggestions about today’s podcast, or any fun health diet or fitness tip, please feel free to email me at LadyDietPodcast at dietdotcom.

This is Lady Diet signing off…