When we’re trying to cut back, cooking healthy meals can seem overwhelming. But it does NOT have to be! It can be really easy to cook healthy meals, I promise.
10 Easy Diet Meals
Here are some notes to keep in mind when creating your easy diet meals.
1. Reduce Starchy Carbohydrates
Please note I didn’t say “eliminate”! Reducing total carbohydrates in the diet is significantly proven to:
– reduce your appetite
– cause faster weight loss compared to high carb diets
– boost your metabolism while losing weight if eating adequate protein
What are starchy carbohydrates? Starches include grains like bread, rice, pasta, and quinoa, and they also include starchy vegetables like beans, peas, corn, and potatoes.
Starch serving sizes are generally 120 calories – a slice of thicker bread, 1/2 cup of cooked rice, quinoa, or beans, or 1 cup starchy vegetables like corn.
When you start tracking your calories, notice how many servings of starches you’re eating. Can you eat 1 or 2 fewer servings without feeling deprived?
2. Add Non-starchy Vegetables for Volume
This is really the best trick! Carbohydrates are primarily found in both starches (listed above) and non-starchy vegetables, but you can get so much more bang for your buck by filling up on the veggies.
For example, would you prefer to eat 1/2 cup of rice, or 3 cups of cauliflower rice?
3. Follow my “Formula” for Lunch & Dinner
It’s easy to create filling and energizing lunches & dinners with my “formula” also known as #thatformula:
– 2 cups of non-starchy vegetables, like lettuces, bell peppers, broccoli, etc.
– 100-200 calories of fats, like avocado, cheese, oil etc.
– 4-5 oz of protein like chicken, tofu, beef, etc.
Most of the recipes I list below follow this “formula”!
Below are 10 easy diet meals with pictures, ingredients, directions, and total calorie amounts!
(Ground) Beef & Broccoli
323 calories
Ingredients:
2 cups broccoli, frozen
3 oz ground beef, 85% lean, raw
3 tsp sesame seeds
1/3 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp soy ginger sauce
Directions:
Spray a pan with an oil spray. Add in garlic. Stir fry beef and broccoli for 5-6 minutes.
Remove broccoli & cut into small pieces. Add back into pan. Stir fry for another 3-4 minutes.
Add in sauce.
Top with sesame seeds when ready to eat.
Notes: No soy ginger sauce? Use soy sauce. No beef? Use ground turkey or tofu. Fresh or frozen broccoli can be used here – whatever you have! Also, if you have another % lean meat, that is also fine, use what you have.
