Balanced Diet Menu

A balanced diet menu should include food from the four main food groups. They are cereals, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, and milk and other dairy products. If you want to lose weight, you will definitely have to come up with a complete and balanced diet menu. For this purpose, there are many diets that you can choose from. They are:

• Mediterranean Diet: The Mediterranean diet is based on the diet typically followed by the people in the Mediterranean region. It requires a high consumption of fruits, vegetables, bread, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds.
• South Beach Diet: If you want to follow the South beach diet you cannot touch potatoes, fruits, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, carrots and corn for the first two weeks. But after that, you can continue with a few of the above items while most of them will be discouraged.
• Zone Diet: Dr. Barry Sears came up with the idea of the Zone diet. It aims for consuming calories from carbohydrates, proteins and fats but in a balanced manner.
• Atkins Diet: For the Atkins diet, rich foods like steaks, eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, etc. are allowed but carbs should be be totally avoided. The Atkins Diet is quite a controversial diet since the foods that are allowed in this diet are devoid of any nutrition and the person who will follow it will be exposed to a host of health hazards. This has been testified by the American Medical Association's Council on Food and Nutrition.

But as individuals, different people require different amounts of food. Again factors like age, body size, activeness and gender determine the amount of food that a person can take. A balanced diet menu can be incorporated as three main meals in a days. Make sure you are adding variety in your diet by including plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are the main sources of vitamins and minerals which help to keep your heart and body healthy. Along with fruits and vegetables, make sure that you also include low fat dairy products. If you want to add meat in your menu for balanced diet, you can take lean meats, poultry, fish and legumes. Again, if you want to have a vegetarian diet, opt for cottage cheeses and soybeans.

Well Balanced Diet Menu
A well balanced diet menu should be included in each and every meal you might be taking. Here are some suggestions for a balanced diet menu for a week which you can follow:

Breakfast
Start your day with one cup of strawberries, half cup of cottage cheese and a large spoonful of sunflower seeds. If you want, you can add low fat cottage cheese instead of cottage cheese made from whole milk. Have this with a multi-grain toast. You can also go for an omelet made of two eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes, spring onions and shredded cheese as a filling. Add an apple and a glass of water and voila! You have a wholesome breakfast ready.

Lunch
A well balanced lunch can consist of a salad made of dark green lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes. Add two teaspoons of walnut oil and a few pieces of organic meat. You can also have this as a filling for rolls or tortillas. Similarly, you can follow the same idea for making other types of salads like potato, tuna and even a pasta salad.

Dinner
For dinner, take half a cup of whole wheat pasta, a quarter cup of organic marinara sauce and a few pieces of turkey. Now add two cups of cooked green vegetables. Just saute them lightly in two teaspoons of flax oil. You can add tofu instead of the turkey if you want to have a vegetarian balanced diet menu for dinner.

In between breakfast, lunch and dinner many people like to have mid morning and evening snacks to quieten their periodical hunger pangs. So if you are one of them, some healthy options could be apples, walnuts, tofu, carrot sticks, pumpkin seeds, sliced cheese, wholegrain crackers, lean chicken breasts, etc. But remember to measure out the quantities before you take a helping of any of the above mentioned foods.

To make your balanced diet meal more effective, try to eat a minimum of four small meals a day including snacks. Try to have fresh and low-fat foods as much as possible and eat them slowly. Avoid foods that are high in fats and calories like cakes, pastries, candy bars, pies, burgers, pizzas, etc. Along with a balanced diet menu, also do some exercises, drink a lot of water and get plenty of rest and sleep. Only then will you get the desired result that you want.