How to make a healthy evening meal

Preparing dinner after a long, hectic day at work may seem overwhelming, but nutritious and healthy food does not have to be complicated or take up too much of your time.

Focusing on preparing dinners that are tasty, quick and healthy will mean that you feel full and satisfied, which will help you to avoid late night snacking.

Here are a few tips and ideas to get started.

1. Think protein, fibre, fat

You might feel like we’re repeating ourselves here, but it’s for good reason!

Ensuring your meals contain a good source of protein, plenty of fibre and a serving of healthy fats will mean you feel much more satisfied – and for longer – after your meals.

Ideally, your evening meal should include:

✓ Half a plate of non-starchy vegetables
✓ A source (or two) of good quality protein
✓ A small serving of healthy fats

2. Make simple swaps

Make dinner time easier with our simple swaps. That’s things like courgetti in place of noodles and cauliflower mash in place of potato mash.

Embracing simple swaps is one of the fastest and easiest ways to improve your nutrition. You can still enjoy all the meals you know and love, but make them much more filling and nutrient-dense. Plus, you can still eat the same meals as your friends and family.

3. Plan your meals in advance

Planning your meals ahead can help to make dinner times completely free of hassle. It also means you’ll always have ingredients to make a healthy meal, which makes takeaways far less tempting!

It can be as simple as…

✓ Planning recipes for 3–7 days ahead
✓ Writing an ingredients list
✓ Shopping for the ingredients

To save time, you could make 2 – 4 weekly meal plans and rotate them from week to week.

You can download a free meal planning template by clicking here.

Healthy evening meal ideas

Need some inspo to get things started? These are our FREE go-to resources:

• The Stone Soup
• Fats of Life
• Low-carb meal ideas

This blog is part 5 of 11 of our healthy eating & lifestyle for weight loss series.