If you are worried about diabetes and have trouble keeping your blood sugar stable, your doctor most likely told you that you should eat balanced meals. Yet, it is so hard sometimes! No time, no energy for cooking, not the right ingredients in the fridge, no motivation sometimes, or even a lack of knowledge.
Yeah, right, what is a balanced meal in the first place?
Let's take a look at this and I will show you that anyone (and especially YOU, because your are determined!) can eat balanced meals most of the time, even when it seems out of reach, without spending hours in the kitchen and pulling your hair out.
What is a balanced meal?
A balanced meal is a meal that provides you with all the necessary groups of macro-nutrients (carbs, protein, fat) in the right proportion. It is also a meal that provides fiber, vitamins, and all the micro-nutrients needed for your body to thrive.
Check out the 1-minute cooking video below for a super easy and delicious balanced meal that you can prepare in record time!
Not everyone needs the exact same amount of carbs, protein, or fat. It depends on your body's needs, possible preexisting conditions, your level of physical activity, your wellness goals, etc. But for the majority of us, a balanced meal would always include plenty of fiber, a good amount of protein, some carbs, and a little bit of fat.
Let's not talk about the "perfectly healthy meal" here. I will write another article to talk about that later.
In this article, we are talking about the minimum you can do if you want your meals to be somewhat balanced even when it seems impossible.
Balanced meals are too much work!
Maybe you are like some of my dear clients, who eat pizza or fast food 3 times a week for dinner, and most often than not, grab a cookie or a donut at snack time. If that’s the case, eating balanced meals every day might seem out of reach for you. Just like it used to seem out of reach for my clients.
Well, not so fast! Let me show you how easy it can actually be. Eating healthy for the long term is not about dismissing everything you have been doing so far. It’s about tweaking and making small improvements to your current habits.
We will just take 2 examples and then you will know how to adjust to your own needs.
Make your pizza night nutritionally balanced
Make your snack more balanced
You get the idea, right? Always keep those principles in mind:
- add fiber (greens/fruit) to whatever you are having for dinner or for snack;
- add protein if there is none in your food already;
- only eat 1 or 2 servings of the “unhealthy” food.
It’s important that you don’t always focus on eliminating what you like or what is convenient. Because you will be miserable and you will end up quitting. Instead, think about proportions: make sure that unhealthy food is only a small part of what you are eating. See how you feel after making that change!
If you want more ideas or if you need help establishing a healthier lifestyle, let me know. I am here to support you!
You can use my CONTACT FORM or you can request a FREE Discovery Session if you want to know more about my approach and how it might help you reach your goals.
This is a very simple first step to add healthy food to your meal, easy to do! Good introduction to more fiber and protein, it gives me ideas for my child?
Thanks for your comment Eclair OChocolat! Glad you find this article helpful! Too often, we think about removing things from our diet when trying to be healthy, when actually adding the good stuff is often more efficient in the long run. If you think this article can help other moms who are trying to feed their kids better, feel free to share. Together, we are healthier!