Five Essentials to Include in EVERY Meal

Use the following four strategies with every meal for a healthier and happier you!

1) Choose a Healthy Cooking Method
The way a meal is cooked determines how many calories, how much added fat, and the number of nutrients that survive. This simple factor can make or break the health of your meal. 

Avoid foods prepared like this:

• Fried and battered
• Processed and packaged
• Doused with cream sauce
• Sauteed

Opt for foods prepared like this:

• Grilled
• Baked
• Broiled
• Steamed

2) Include a quality source of protein
Choose a quality source of protein with each meal. With the first guideline in mind, these should also be healthfully prepared. 

Good choices of protein include:

• Fish
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Eggs
• Lean red meat
• Beans
• Lean Pork
• Whey

3) Include lots of fiber
Fiber is a huge part of eating healthy and being lean. Fibrous foods will fill you up while delivering vitamins and nutrient in low-calorie packages. Fill at least one third of your plate with fibrous, non-starchy vegetables and fruit. 

Try these forms of fiber:

• Salad
• Seasonal vegetables
• Fruit
• Legumes

4) Include healthy fats

Fat is essential for our bodies, but the type of fat you consume is the key. Choose healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats such as the following:

• Avocado
• Unsalted raw nuts such as almonds, pecans, cashews, etc.
• Unsalted seeds such as flax, Chia, pumpkin, sunflower, etc.
• Unsweetened coconut flakes or coconut milk
• Fatty fish or high quality fish oil

5) Lay off the starches
I know this is a challenging one, but too many of the wrong starches in our diet leads to poor health and growing waistlines. 

Starches to Avoid:

• White potatoes
• White pasta
• White rice and cereals
• White bread and crackers

Starches to Include:

• Sweet potatoes
• Winter squashes, such as butternut, spaghetti, and acorn
• Whole grain pastas (stick to 1 serving per meal as indicated on package)
• Sprouted grain or whole grain breads
• Brown or wild rice (stick to 1 serving per meal as indicated on package)
• Quinoa, teff, amaranth or other whole grain 

Once you have reached for weight loss goal or are feeling healthier overall, you may be able to reintroduce healthy starches more frequently. For the ultimate "feel better" fix, include 30 minutes of exercise per day for at least 5 days of the week.