the "perfect" balanced diet.

malibulu

Ok... so, here goes... I was wondering if anyone wanted to help me to figure out what the "Perfect" balanced diet would be. Its all very well saying "you must eat..." and "you must not eat..."

BUT... what IS the perfect balance? Does anyone have an example of the foods you would eat that were balanced, nutritious, with enough calories to not go into "starvation" yet, not too many to overeat? With all the different areas of food distributed healthily and that is cheap enough to be affordable, family friendly, and not leave you hungry, craving certain things and sustainable long term?

This is just something Ive always wondered. Its tough to have a diet that is well balanced and tasty...

melaniecheeks

Lots of MFP users have their diary settings so that it is viewable by anyone. You could try looking at a few of those for ideas.

bcattoes

A balanced diet IMO provides a variety of vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.

Some inexpensive balanced meals I like:

One dish beans & rice - dice carrots, celery, peppers (sweet and/or hot depending on what you like), onion and garlic and saute in olive oil to soften a bit. Add cooked dried beans (canned or pre-cooked) and brown rice along with the proper amount of water for the rice. Add seasonings that you like (mix it up depending on what beans you are using) and let simmer together until the rice is done. This can be completely prepared in < 30 min if you use instant brown rice and canned beans.

Chicken & bean Burritos - Saute thinly sliced chicken seasoned with low sodium taco seasoning. Warm a can of no-lard refried beans. Chop onion and tomato. Add all to a whole grain wrap or tortilla and add salsa, guacamole and/or reduced fat cheese. (either the beans or chicken could be omitted, but I like both)

Stir fry - add lean meat and vegetables chopped to bite site to a very hot pan and stir fry just until the meat is cooked and vegetables are crisp tender Season as you like. You can skip the meat and add nuts instead. Serve with brown rice.

Beef with mushrooms and barley. Cut lean beef to 1.5 in cubes and cook in a hot skillet along with sliced mushrooms and onions just until the beef is browned. Add barley and beef broth/stock according to directions on the barley package and cook until the barley is done.

Stewed meat and root vegetables with a slice of whole grain bread.

Pasta with a mushroom or tomato based sauce with shredded chicken, white beans, or lean ground meat, served with a small green salad.

Taboule salad with poached salmon (or other baked/grilled/poached fish or grilled lean chicken)

The list could go on and on. Eating balanced meals is really pretty easy and doesn't have to be expensive.