A Balanced Diet Plan Post your Holiday!

Planning a daily menu isn’t difficult as long as each meal and snack have some protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates and a little bit of fat. Here’s what you need to know about each meal.

Eating breakfast will help you start your day with plenty of energy. Don’t ruin your breakfast with high-fat and high calorie foods. Choose some protein and fiber for your breakfast, and it’s a good time to eat some fresh fruit. A mid-morning snack is totally optional. If you eat a larger breakfast, you may not feel hungry until lunchtime.

However, if you’re feeling a bit hungry and lunch is still two or three hours away, a light mid-morning snack will tide you over without adding a lot of calories.

Lunch is often something you eat at work or school, so it’s a great time to pack a sandwich or leftovers that you can heat and heat. Or, if you buy your lunch, choose a healthy clear soup or fresh veggie salad. A mid-afternoon snack is also optional. Keep it low in calories and eat just enough to keep you from feeling too hungry because dinner is just a couple of hours away.

Dinner is a time when it’s easy to over-eat, especially if you haven’t eaten much during the day, so watch your portion sizes. Mentally divide your plate into four quarters. One-quarter is for your meat or protein source,one-quarter is for a starch, and the last two-quarters are for green and colorful vegetables or a green salad. A light complex carbohydrate-rich evening snack may help you sleep but avoid heavy, greasy foods or foods high in refined sugars.

Breakfast
•One grapefruit
•Two poached eggs (or fried in a non-stick pan)
•Two slices whole grain toast with one pat butter each
•One cup low-fat milk
•One cup black coffee or herbal tea
OR
• One whole wheat English muffin with two tablespoons peanut butter
• One orange
• Large glass (12 ounces) non-fat milk
• One cup black coffee or herbal tea

Snack
•One banana
•One cup plain yogurt with two tablespoons honey
•Glass of water
OR
• Two oatmeal cookies with raisins
• Glass of water, hot tea or black coffee

Lunch
•Chicken breast (6-ounce portion), baked or roasted (not breaded or fried)
•Large garden salad with tomato and onion with one cup croutons, topped with one tablespoon oil and
vinegar (or salad dressing)
•Glass of water
•One cup carrot slices
•Three tablespoon hummus
•One-half piece of pita bread
•Glass of water or herbal tea
OR
• A turkey sandwich (six ounces of turkey breast meat, large tomato slice, green lettuce and mustard on two
slices of whole wheat bread
• One cup low-sodium vegetable soup
• Glass of water

Dinner
•One cup steamed broccoli
•One cup brown rice
•Halibut (four-ounce portion)
•Small garden salad with one cup spinach leaves, tomato, and onion topped with two tablespoons oil and
vinegar or salad dressing
•One glass white wine (regular or dealcoholized)
•Sparkling water with lemon or lime slice
OR
• One trout filet
• One cup green beans
• One cup brown rice
• One small garden salad with two tablespoons salad dressing
• One glass of beer
• Sparkling water with lemon or lime slice

Snack
•One cup blueberries
•Two tablespoons whipped cream (the real stuff—whip your own or buy in a can)
•Glass of water