Tips For a Healthy Diet Menu

Tips For a Healthy Diet Menu : A healthy diet menu is something that most people know they SHOULD be incorporating. More than likely you know what sort of items comprise a healthy diet menu, too. The problem is putting it all together and consistently eating healthy the majority of the time.

I say "the majority of the time" because you do need to live a little. Everyone should have an occasional indulgence. I'm not the diet dictator. Even I've been known to scarf down a handful of potato chips to squelch a PMS-induced salty craving. Hey, I'm only human!

3 Simple Steps to Organize A Healthy Diet Menu

These are some really easy ways to follow a healthy diet menu:

Step 1: Plan out a whole week and commit to eating healthy for that length of time. You plan so many other things in your life. Spending 15 minutes to sit down and create your menu for the week is no big deal. This is the start of a healthy lifestyle. There's even a show on the Food Network that helps you plan out easy healthy meals for a week with minimal time and ingredient preparations. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of it. I think it might be Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller. She has a recipe book, too.

Step 2: Avoid processed and packaged foods. You've got to realize that while a lot of these "items" (I can't really classify them as food) are tasty, they have ingredients which actually work against your weight loss success. Even the ones that are low fat or low calories. I know they now have these little bags in 100 calorie servings. The problem is that it's still 100 calories of crap that you don't need. Your body gets nothing beneficial. I used to use the Rice-a-Roni (mmm, chicken "flavored") out of the box.

Then when I discovered that it was filled with preservatives and junk (duh! Of course it is) I made the switch to buying a nice, pure rice. Plus, it's cheaper. For convenience, look for one that doesn't take an hour to cook. And no, minute rice does not count. NO enriched white rice. Jasmine or basmati varieties are healthful and taste good. I've found some that take only 15 minutes to prepare.

Step 3: Incorporate variety! A wide array of brightly colored fruits and vegetables can make following a healthy diet menu, fun, pretty, and tasty. Blueberries and broccoli are considered "super foods" because of all their wonderful health benefits.

The goal of a successful healthy diet menu is to be well balanced and increase your intake of vital minerals, vitamins, and other necessary nutrients. You'll feel more energized and start looking trimmer in no time. Plus, it's just a great thing to do for yourself and your family.