Easy Dinners

When planning your dinners, remember the general recommendations of 50-60% of calories from carbohydrates, 15-20% from protein, and less than 30% fat. Keep in mind that carbohydrates aren't just starches like potatoes, pasta, rice and bread, but also include fruits and vegetables.

Another easy way to plan a healthy dinner is to think of dividing your plate into quarters. One quarter of the plate should contain your protein (meat or beans), one quarter a starch (potatoes, rice or pasta) and the remaining two quarters (yes, half the plate) should contain fruits and vegetables.

If all your dinners center around a big hunk of meat and a potato, you're probably going overboard on the fat and protein and missing out on some important vitamins. However, if you're a meat and potatoes guy, don't despair.

The type and amount of meats you choose can make a big difference. Look for "select" cuts of meat, instead of choice or prime, which contain more fat, and keep the portions reasonable (3-6 ounces). Limit red meat to a couple nights per week and eat poultry or fish on the other nights. If you're really brave, try a bean dish now and then like black beans and rice, bean enchiladas, or bean chili.

Oh and about those potatoes... there's nothing wrong with them, unless you fry them or pile on the fat. French fries and hash browns aren't the best choices. Baked or mashed are fine, but limit the butter and sour cream. Instead, add flavor with herbs, pepper, garlic, and low fat sour cream.

Although potatoes are technically a vegetable and they do have some important nutrients, they aren't nutritional powerhouses like green and orange vegetables. Add a salad, broccoli, peas, green beans, carrots or squash to get those important cancer preventing vitamins.

By the way... sweet potatoes pack a lot more nutrition than white potatoes, but you still need to watch the butter and sour cream. Try sweet potato "fries". Just slice some sweet potatoes, spray with olive oil, and add a light sprinkling of season salt. Bake at 425 degrees F until tender and browned.

Most people really can't afford the extra calories of dessert. However, if you really want dessert, make it something low fat, such as sorbet, low-fat frozen yogurt, or some angel food cake with strawberries. If you have chocolate cake or pecan pie after dinner every night, you'd need to be training for a triathlon to burn those calories and I'm still concerned you might keel over before the finish line.

Prepared Meals
This is a relatively new phenomena and includes all those ready-to-eat meals you can pick-up at your grocery store, deli, and even some restaurants. These aren't chilled or frozen meals, but hot meals that are often kept in steam trays at the deli counter. If you get them home fast enough, you don't even have to reheat them. The appeal is that these meals are as convenient as fast food, but in theory more like the dinners mom use to make.

Choices often include chicken, ham, meatloaf, lasagna, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, and a couple vegetables. This is indeed an improvement over burgers and fries, but you still need to watch the fat and portion size and steer clear of places that throw in a free pie!

Just like planning home cooked meals, it's best to choose lean meats (chicken instead of meatloaf) and go easy on the potatoes unless you know they don't have a lot of added fat. Stock up on the vegetable side dishes, but avoid those in cream, cheese or butter sauces.

Frozen Dinners
Frozen dinners have come a long way since the TV dinners in foil trays. Some not only taste good, but are pretty good for you. I wouldn't recommend eating frozen food every night, because the salt and fat content can be high, the vegetable portion is way too small, and fruit is usually nonexistent. However, frozen dinners can be a fine choice a couple nights a week.

One problem with frozen dinners is that they often aren't enough food to fill you up. Some frozen dinners have fewer than 300 calories, which is more like a snack than a meal. Add a salad, soup, extra vegetables, or some rice or pasta to fill out the meal.

Another approach is to buy frozen entrees (just the main dish) and plan on adding your own side dishes. Some of my favorite frozen meals are:

Asian noodle bowls with a big serving of added broccoli
Enchiladas with canned black beans and canned corned
Ravioli on top of a big plate of fresh spinach

Incorporating more vegetables with your frozen food is almost always a good thing! It fills you up and provides valuable nutrients without adding a lot of calories.