A formula for a healthy meal
Hungry - what to eat?
An easy formula to remember is:
P+C+V = A healthy meal.
P- Protein-rich foods
C- Carbohydrate-rich foods
V- Vegetables
This easy formula provides a guide for how to make up your meals balanced both in terms of the energy providing nutrients, such as carbohydrates and proteins, and also in terms of essential vitamins and minerals, like iron and calcium. It is good to have a little protein and carbohydrate in each meal, as carbohydrates are the bodies preferred source of energy and protein spread over the day is great for muscle maintenance.
The nutrients provided by these three groups of foods are also quite different, so the blend of the foods normally provides us with our nutrient requirements, however, a more detailed analysis of the diet may be desired to help you determine if this is the case for you.
Protein
High protein foods include; those that are animal-based, such as, fish, meat, poultry and eggs and dairy. Non-animal based high protein sources include, nuts, legumes like chick peas and tofu. Do be aware that vegetables and wholegrains also have protein in moderate amounts and help add to your protein intake, such as ½ cup of oats is 5 gm of protein. Protein is important for many of the structures in the body, including the immune system and your muscles.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates may be obtained from grains, such as oats, breads or pasta, but other sources include, fruit, starchy vegetables like corn and potato, dairy foods and legumes. A no-carbohydrate diet is therefore very difficult, as many nutrient-rich foods contain carbohydrates. There is no need to have a no carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrates are not a problem per se, but it is the type of carbohydrate that you need to be aware of. A diet high in processed carbohydrates, such as refined breads, white rice, white pasta, muesli bars, chips etc etc, provide low nutrients for the amount of energy they contain. However, wholegrains, such as, brown rice, Bulgur (cracked wheat), cornmeal wholegrain, buckwheat, oats and other wholegrain forms of carbohydrates, can add important nutrients to the diet, particularly Thiamine for energy production.
Vegetables
Then the important part, and I stress important, is to fill up half the plate with vegetables, either cooked or raw. 1 cup of salad is about equivalent to ½ cup of cooked vegetables and we should have at least 5 of these servings of fresh or cooked vegetables a day, and, if possible, from a variety of vegetables.
Keep in mind to also consume some foods naturally high in healthy fats, such as fish and nuts as fats are also needed for healthy cells in the body to prevent risk of heart disease.
Then what about cake, chocolate, chips, how do these fit in? Of course try and limit these foods, as they provide little nutrition, and lots of energy. It is recommended to limit these foods to 0-2 servings a day, which is like 2 scoops of icecream or ½ small chocolate bar or 10 crisps. If you happen to eat extra foods that is ok just balance it with fresh wholesome food throughout the rest of the meal and day of eating.
So this is the PCV formula, it is a general structure to healthy meals, but there is a lot more to add to this, which I will add in the upcoming blogs.
Enjoy!
