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Healthy Dinner

 
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Healthy Eating related image Photo: Getty Images

It's no wonder we make unhealthy decisions at times ... We're hungry! Sometimes rational thought leaves us as we grab what feels good in the moment, anything to assuage that clawing at our bellies.

The truth is, skipping healthfulness here and there is not the problem. Cheating on the weekends, grabbing a delicious burger and fries once in awhile -- these are not the things which will come back to haunt us or our families.

The real bottom line is, don't make it a habit. Healthy dinners can and should be your mainstay, with a bit of grease and naughtiness thrown in there every now and again for good measure.

Healthy dinners bring families together, make everyone feel good about themselves and feel fitter and healthier, and can also teach kids amazing nutritional lessons.

The simple act of preparing a salad together with your children can teach them so much about vegetables, how they grow, and what you need to do to make something good for you that's tasty.

Making a habit of ALWAYS having a vegetable with dinner is a fantastic rule of thumb. This can be as simple and fast as opening a bag of cold baby carrots, throwing them into a bowl in the middle of the table with some dip and letting everyone munch before, during and after dinner is served.

It can be as elaborate as creating entire meals with vegetables as the main stars of the show. Any meat dish can be turned into a vegetarian dish by substituting veggies for meat or pasta -- like eggplant lasagna using eggplant slices in place of pasta, filling with all sorts of steamed vegetables, onions, garlic and ricotta cheese...

Even families who love meat must be aware that eating meat every single day is not a healthy dinner choice, and that switching up red meat, especially, for turkey, chicken or fish is quite delicious and important to be conscientious about.

Substituting beans, including soy beans in tofu and even eggs for meat in meals is a great idea. Casseroles made with beans, tuna, vegetables and cheese and eggs are not only healthy but inexpensive as well.

For some more ideas about healthy dinner, please follow the links listed below and ENJOY!

Sources:

Vegetarian Dinner Recipes. Better Recipes.
Retrieved from the internet on January 3, 2012
http://vegetarian.betterrecipes.com/vegetariandinnerrecipes.html

Healthy Dinner ideas. Healthy Eating. foodnetwork.com.
Retrieved from the internet on January 2, 2012
http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/index.html

Aimee Boyle is a regular contributor to EmpowHER

Edited by Jody Smith

Add a Comment1 Comments

Such a great post - just teaching our kids how to PREP vegetables is a huge help!

Tiffany

Transfer of Health - Healthy Living and Recipes
LifeFoodStore.com - Health Food and Supplements

January 9, 2012 - 1:31pm
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