400 Calorie Meal Ideas – Healthy Dinners

For people who want to eat nutritious foods and maintain a healthy weight, the 400 calorie meal plan that features MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids) will help hold hunger at bay. After a long day at work, it may be tempting to do carryout from fast food restaurants, but resist the urge. Instead, opt for easy-to-prepare meals to stay on track for a healthier lifestyle.

While shopping, read labels and watch for hidden fats and sugars. Avoid trans fats and foods with high fructose corn syrup. Those ingredients aren’t necessary for food to taste good. To keep dinners interesting, have at least a two-week rotation and try not to repeat the same thing twice. Shop for one or two weeks at a time and stick with items on the list.

Mix and match foods on the menus, swapping out meats and vegetables to prevent boredom. Experiment with spices that add flavor without piling on extra calories. Below are some suggestions for tasty 400 calorie meals that whole family will enjoy.

Oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and halibut provide the omega-3 fatty acids proven to aid in heart health. Serve two or three fish meals per week to reap the most benefits.

Menu for a salmon dinner:

salmon sautéed in teriyaki
brown rice
steamed asparagus
fruit cup with yogurt
Spray a frying pan with cooking spray. Brown salmon fillets and sprinkle teriyaki sauce to taste. Cook until the salmon is done. Serve over a bed of brown rice and a side of steamed asparagus. For dessert, mix berries or melon with low fat yogurt.

Spaghetti with Meat and Vegetable Sauce
Spaghetti can be as healthy as the ingredients you use. Start with whole grain pasta. Top it with a healthy tomato sauce with ground turkey, diced bell peppers, sliced olives and sliced mushrooms for a flavorful meal. The sauce can be made from scratch in advance and frozen, or it can be all natural sauce from a jar.

Menu for a spaghetti dinner:

spaghetti with meat and vegetable sauce
Romaine lettuce salad with olive oil based dressing
low fat pudding cup
Oven Fried Chicken Dinner
Chicken is loaded with protein, and without the skin, it is naturally low in fat. Coat skinless chicken breasts with olive oil and a light dusting of seasoned breadcrumbs before baking. The family will ask for this often.

Nutrient packed sweet potatoes make an excellent accompaniment for almost any meat. Since they are naturally sweet, there’s no need to add sugar or marshmallows. Peel and slice a couple of potatoes for a family of four. Spray the pan with cooking spray and bake them until they’re tender.

Menu for a chicken dinner:

oven fried chicken
two or three slices of baked sweet potato
steamed green beans

An easy 400 calorie dinner that’s packed with nutrition is the ideal way to top off a day of healthy eating. Swap out the salmon for another favorite fish in the salmon dinner. Use pork instead of chicken and try Yukon gold potatoes instead of sweet potatoes when it’s time for an oven fried dinner. Add or subtract favorite vegetables in the spaghetti sauce to change out the flavor. Don’t forget to keep at least one MUFA in every meal to make it Flat Belly Diet friendly.