While you often come home exhausted from your day’s work, dinner remains an important meal that you will have to manage to prepare despite the thousand and one logistical things that are necessary in the evening.
Ideally, a balanced meal should provide:
- proteins,
- cooked vegetables,
- rawness (vegetables and/or fruit),
- a dairy product,
- starchy
- and a little fat.
It is quite obvious that the food balance is easier to follow on the day as a whole, even on the week.
If you have only consumed starchy foods for lunch, for example, it will be essential to leave the spotlight to vegetables in the evening.
If your lunch was particularly rich, it will be wise to compensate the same evening with a meal composed only of lean proteins (chicken breast, turkey breast, white fish, plain white cheese 0% fat, etc.) and steamed vegetables.
And if you haven’t had any dairy or fruit for lunch, don’t forget them in the evening!
Starches even in the evening
We hear too often that you shouldn’t include starches in your dinner. However, it remains essential to consume a source of complex carbohydrates at each meal (preferably whole grains for an interesting fiber content) for a sufficient energy intake.
A piece of bread (wholemeal or cereal) or 3 tablespoons of starchy foods (wholemeal) or legumes.
We avoid meals that are too rich, caloric and rich
To promote good sleep, to keep the line and to better digest, we avoid meals that are rich in fat (sauces, fried foods, cold cuts, too much butter and cream, etc.) and that are too copious. If you are invited, do not combine aperitif, starter, main course, cheese, dessert. Skip the aperitif biscuits and settle for sparkling water or vegetable juice, skip the cheese and don’t refill.
To go faster in the preparation, think of fresh, frozen or canned products, but unprepared and unseasoned, frozen plain scallops, bagged lettuce, canned green beans, etc. .
You can also prepare your meals on the weekend and freeze them.
Think of tryptophan
Tryptophan is an amino acid involved in the production of serotonin and melatonin, two substances that contribute to easy falling asleep and quality sleep.
It therefore appears interesting to consume enough during the day and especially in the evening. It is mainly found in brown rice, dairy products, meat and fish, soy and eggs, bananas, legumes, almonds and cashews and brewer’s yeast.