Dinner is often used as a scapegoat for weight gain. In fact, a healthy dinner menu can actually help you lose weight and improve sleep quality. you know.
Many people believe that limiting or avoiding dinner can help you lose weight. In fact, your weight is not entirely determined by what time you eat, but by what and how much food you eat and how high your level of physical activity.
Some studies even show that eating dinner can help maintain a healthy heart and control blood sugar the next morning. However, the dinner menu that you consume must of course be healthy and in accordance with the calorie needs per day.
Healthy Dinner Menu Options
There is no exact number of calories for dinner. It all depends on how many calories you have eaten throughout the day. If in the morning and afternoon you have eaten a lot, you may need to reduce your dinner portion to maintain your current weight.
However, it's a different story if you want to lose or gain weight. Whatever your target, eating a healthy dinner menu needs to be prioritized. Here are 4 examples of healthy dinner menus that are easy to make at home and delicious to enjoy:
Dinner menu 1
- 1 piece or about 140 g of grilled or steamed salmon seasoned with salt and pepper
- 4–8 tablespoons brown rice
- 40 g steamed broccoli
- 200 ml fat free milk
Dinner menu 2
- 1 serving or about 140 g of grilled meat or chicken cooked in a healthy oil, such as olive oil
- 150 g steamed potatoes (± 1 medium size potato)
- 75 g steamed carrots (± 1 medium carrot)
- 200 ml fat free milk
Dinner menu 3
- 200 g spaghetti Whole wheat cooked with tomato sauce
- 100 grams of chicken breast, sauteed in olive oil or coconut oil
- Stir-fry spinach, tomatoes and garlic
- 200 ml iced tea with lemon or lime juice
Dinner menu 4
- stir fry tofu, bok choy, and paprika
- 200 g brown rice
- 200 ml iced tea with lemon or lime juice
The menus above are just examples. You can create a healthy dinner menu that you like, as long as it follows the rules of balanced nutrition.
Snacks on the Side of a Healthy Dinner Menu
If the healthy dinner menu above has not made you full, you can make a healthy evening snack menu that suits your taste and calorie needs. The following are some food choices that you can snack on in addition to your healthy dinner menu:
Egg
Eggs are a good source of protein to help reduce hunger. Eggs can also be processed into a variety of healthy snacks and are relatively easy to cook. You can cook eggs just boiled, scrambled or tossed with olive oil or scrambled.
Yogurt
Yogurt is a good source of protein as well as rich in calcium. Eating yogurt at night is believed to improve sleep quality and reduce hunger the next morning. Choose yogurt that does not contain added sugar. To add flavor, you can work around this by adding nuts, fruits, and honey.
Fresh vegetables
If you want something crunchy and fresh but low in calories to eat at night, fresh vegetables can be the solution. Vegetable choices that you can try are carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, celery, or tomatoes.
You can chop these vegetables and eat them with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Don't forget to wash it first, okay?
The healthy dinner menu and snacks above can help you feel fuller, so you don't need high-calorie, low-nutrient snacks, such as chips, cookies, or candy, in the middle of the night. Foods like this are at risk for gaining weight.
Instead, eat a healthy dinner menu with the number of calories that suits your needs. However, choose the right time for dinner, because dinner that is too close to bedtime is also at risk of causing digestive disorders.
If you want to lose weight or have a medical condition that requires you to pay attention to your schedule and diet, you should consult with your doctor regarding a healthy dinner menu or dinner time that suits your condition.
