Making Meals Healthier

There are a number of things you can do to improve the nutritional content and decrease the bad-for-you rating of your favourite meals,and lose weight while you get healthier. This article focuses on some of the basics.

Add veggies

You can add vegetables to almost any dish without losing out on flavour and texture. Spaghetti bolognaise? Finely dice (a food processor is handy here) two carrots and add them to the sauce. Lasagne? Cook some pumpkin, mash it, and add to the meat sauce. Curried sausages? Dice some squash or zucchini and add it to the curry about 10 minutes before you finish cooking it. Or add frozen peas to just about anything.

Substitute

You don't want to miss out on the good stuff. I get that. That's what this blog is all about - making changes that are easy enough to be lasting, and heck, maybe even enjoyable! Substitution can help. Making a meat sauce for pasta? Use less mince than usual, and add some cooked green lentils. They have a nice texture, similar protein content, and they shouldn't change the taste much, if at all. Cheese? Use light, and be careful to only use the same amount as you usually would. Rice? Use brown. If you don't like the taste or texture of brown rice, try boiling a small amount of brown rice for 10 minutes, then adding some white rice and boiling for another 10-15 minutes. Making bread, or a cake? Add 1/4 cup ground almonds or hazelnuts. This will actually increase the fat content of the baking, by the way - but it will also add some valuable nutrients and good fats.

Add Salad

Try eating a small salad before the main course, or incorporate the salad into your meal. You'll get more nutrition, and possibly eat less of the main meal without losing out on satisfaction.