In this series of articles, we will provide a sample daily meal plan that is easy to prepare, provide a balance of all major nutrients, and aid in progressing towards and/or maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Provides: 2000 calories approx.
Works for: Healthy individuals on a balanced diet, patients with Diabetes, High blood pressure, and Cardiovascular disease. For weight loss, if you have otherwise been consuming more than 2000 calories per day.
Balanced Meal Plan for Healthy Individuals
| Meal | Food item | Description | Portion | Total Calories | Nutrition facts | Other Nutrients |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early morning | Apple | Apple-1 no. | 150g | 78 | Carbs-21g, Proteins-0.4g, Total fats-0.3g, Dietary fiber-3.6g | Good source of antioxidant polyphenols, dietary fiber, and vitamin C. |
| Breakfast | Steamed Oats, uthappam | Usually prepared with Oats-50g, upma rava-20g, onion, and tomato-40g, grated carrot-20g, coriander-10g, without oil on non-stick tawa | 2 nos | 300 | Carbs-53g, proteins-11g Total fats-4g, Dietary fiber-4g | Oats are a great source of manganese and phosphorus. They are also a good source of biotin, vitamin B1, magnesium, dietary fiber, zinc, and protein. |
| Breakfast | Mint and tomato chutney | Mint 30g, tomato 100g, green chilly 2, 1 tbsp flax seed powder, jeera 0.5tsp | 1 cup | 75 | Carbs-7g, proteins-5g, Total fats-3g, Dietary fiber-2g | Mint and tomato are rich sources of Vitamin C, calcium, potassium, fiber, antioxidant lycopene |
| Lunch | Rice | Steamed, milled rice | 1cup- 150g | 520 | Carbs-119g, proteins-9g, total fats-1g, dietary fiber-1g | Milled or brown rice is packed with B complex vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium, iron, folic acid, thiamine, and niacin. |
| Lunch | Mixed veg curry | Green peas 30g, carrot- 30g, cauliflower-30g, tomato 20g, 1tsp, ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp oil | 1 cup | 95 | Carbs-11g, proteins-3g, fats-4g, dietary,fiber-2g | Vegetables are packed with nutrients including potassium, folic acid, vitamins A, E, C, and dietary fiber. green peas are a good source of proteins, iron, vitamin K, magnesium, dietary fiber, and folate. |
| Lunch | Palak dal | Tur Dal-20g, palak 50g, onion 20g, green chilly-3, 1 tsp oil | 1 cup | 130 | Carbs-17g, protein-6g, fats-5g, dietary fiber-1g | Spinach is a great source of vitamin A, C, calcium, iron, folic acid, and fiber. dal is a good source of calcium, iron, protein, potassium |
| Lunch | Curd | Curd-100g,1tsp cinnamon powder | 1 cup | 68 | Carbs-5g, proteins-3g, total fats-4g, dietary fiber-1g | Curd is rich in lactic acid, calcium, and phosphorus and low in saturated fats and cholesterol |
| Snack | Almonds | Soaked Almonds-10 | 10 nos | 78 | Carbs-2g, proteins-3g, total fats-7g, dietary fiber-1g | Almonds are good sources of protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin E. |
| Snack | Whole moong sprouts | Sprouted moong-30g, sprinkle some lime juice and a pinch of pepper | 30g | 99 | Carbs-17g, protein-7g, total fats-0.3, dietary fiber-1.2g | The whole moong is a good source of manganese, potassium, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc, and various B vitamins. |
| Dinner | Roti | Whole wheat atta-100g | 2 nos | 340 | Carbs -69g, proteins-12g total fats-2g, fiber- 2g | Whole wheat is a good source of B vitamins, and minerals including selenium, manganese, phosphorus, copper, and folate. |
| Dinner | Chicken curry | Skinless chicken breast 100g, onion, and tomato-40g, ginger garlic paste-1 tsp, green chilly-4, 2 tsp oil.
|
1 cup | 196 | Carbs-4g, proteins-25g total fats-8g | Chicken is rich in essential amino acids and good in niacin, selenium, and vitamin B5. |
Notes:
1. In the case of high blood pressure limit the amount of salt used in the preparations.
2. The brown peel of almonds contains tannin which inhibits nutrient absorption. Once you soak almonds overnight the peel comes off easily and allows the nut to release all nutrients easily.
3. If portion size varies from above, calculate the calories accordingly.
4. 1 tsp = 1 Teaspoon