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Emma Brown
Nutritionist
Janet Aylott
Nutritionist
Kelly Marshall
Fitness Consultant
Hi, What foods can I eat to be healthier? At the moment I'm trying to stick with cereal with skimmed milk (breakfast & lunch), fruit (snack) and boiled vegetables with soy sauce (dinner)- I'm a vegetarian and seem to be becoming more and more picky over my foods. I'm not a very good cook so when I try and it goes wrong I just end up feeding it to my dog and having a slice of bread. I used to love big bowls of pasta and cheese but after losing 3 stone I've stopped enjoying it. Also is it true that your meal should be the same size as the palm of your hand?
Thanks.
It is really important to eat a varied diet to ensure that your body receives all the nutrients it needs to be healthy ? not forgetting the fact that this will also help you enjoy your food more! And you don?t have to be a great cook to do this.
Looking at your current diet, cereal with skimmed milk is a good way to start the day provided your cereal is not high in sugar or salt (check the ingredients list on the back or side of the pack for this). Cereals based on oats, or containing some nuts and seeds, will provide slow-release energy that should keep you full all morning. Fruit is a good mid-morning snack, but just remember to vary the types of fruit you eat each day to benefit from the different vitamins they contain.
I wouldn't recommend repeating your breakfast for lunch, but introducing some variety and nourishment with other foods. It would be good to include some wholegrain carbohydrates to give you energy for the afternoon - by that I mean something like a wholemeal sandwich. Alternatively you could make a simple large salad with mixed beans (you can buy these in a can, just rinse under a tap) or have some oat cakes, vegetable sticks and houmous.
For dinner, you need to include some protein (e.g. tofu, beans or eggs), ideally 2-3 different types of vegetables and some carbohydrate (e.g. a jacket potato or brown rice). If you like pasta, why not cook some wholewheat pasta, add a non-fattening tomato sauce and top with some grilled strips of red pepper, courgettes, tomatoes or anything else that you like?
I don't recommend restricting the size of your meal at all, as I want people to eat loads of healthy vegetables. Try and fill at least half your plate with these and you should feel full and bursting with goodness and virtue!
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