4 Tips For Healthy Dinner

First, eat less at dinner. Compared with breakfast and lunch, dinner should eat less. Because there are no other activities after dinner, if eating too much can cause raised cholesterol levels, stimulate the liver to produce more low-density and very low density lipoprotein, induced atherosclerosis. Long-term fed dinner, repeated stimulation of insulin secretion of a large number, often resulting in early failure of insulin B cells, thus planting the seeds of diabetes.

Second, eat early is better than late. Most of the family's dinner time is at 7 o'clock. And some people never come home for dinner, every day after work began their "entertainment", eating and drinking for hours. More people, who stay up late to work overtime, eat dinner and supper together and sleep immediately after eating. In fact, these bad habits can cause many diseases.
Generally, 4-5 hours after eating is the body of calcium emission peak, but according to most people's living habits, this time has to go to bed to sleep. So urine remain in the ureter, bladder, urethra and other urinary tract and not be discharged in vitro, resulting in increased calcium in urine, easily deposited to form small crystals, over time, gradually increase the formation of stones.

Third, don't eat oily dinner. According to scientific research, eating a lot of meat, eggs, milk and other high protein foods at dinner will increase the calcium in urine. On one hand, reducing the body's calcium storage, induced rickets in children; on the other hand, high concentrations of calcium in urine, the possibility of suffering from urinary tract stones will be greatly enhanced.

Fourth, don't eat snacks after dinner. Many people like to eat fruit, sweets or fried foods after dinner. In fact, this habit is not conducive to digestion. Others like to drink during meals, this is more of a bad habit, because too much alcohol in the nighttime hinder metabolism, stimulate the stomach to have no rest, leading to poor sleep. Therefore, try not to eat after dinner, so that to fully digest the food and reduce the burden of gastroenteritis.

Vegetarian Dinner Ideas Will Surely Benefit Your Health And Digestion

Vegetables are good for health, and is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Vegetarian recipes need not be bland, boring or unpalatable.

Ideally, while cooking a vegetarian dinner, pick recipes that include vegetables or other ingredients you like. If you enjoy the contents, you are likely to enjoy the outcome. Some tried and tested tasty vegetarian starters are, vegetarian spring roles, vegetarian tacos, vegetarian bruschetta and vegetarian chili cheese dip with tortilla chips. My personal favorite are cheese stuffed mushrooms. While making a vegetarian salad, include the fruits you love and top it with your favorite dressing.

A few popular soup ideas include hot and sour chinese soup, vegetable minestrone soup or crackpot vegetarian split pea soup. While preparing the main course, try to include the vegetables you like. The ingredients that make any recipe interesting are mushrooms, corn or baby corn, nuts and tofu. A vegetarian burger can turn out quite well with a potato patty. Most vegetarians enjoy a good vegetarian bake or pasta, which includes vegetables like carrots, potatoes, peas and beans. Here are a few great vegetarian recipes, which would help in planning dinner ideas that will tickle your taste buds.

Vegetarian Lasagna (Serves 9)

Ingredients

• 1 pound box lasagna noodles
• 4 red peppers, thinly sliced
• 6 to 8 zucchini, cut lengthwise into slices
• 6 cups marinara sauce (you could opt for store bought sauce)
• 24 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
• 5 to 6 portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 32 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup chopped herbs (basil, oregano, or thyme)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• ¾ cup chopped onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 cans (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• ⅓ cup chopped basil

Preparation

Fully cook the vegetables, by sautéing them in olive oil or roasting them in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

To prepare the marinara sauce, start by heating olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Carefully add the chopped onions, and saute until golden brown. Next add the garlic and allow the flavor to set in before mixing in the tomatoes. Allow it to simmer for 25 minutes. Lastly, stir in the basil and add salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Use a 16 x 12 inch pan and line the bottom with a layer of dry noodles. Add about ⅓ of the marinara sauce over the noodles and then ½ layer of the cottage cheese, and over it about ⅓ of the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle herbs over the cheese, and top it off with a layer of vegetables. Repeat all the layers. Finish with a layer of noodles, topped with tomato sauce and finally a thick layer of mozzarella cheese.

To prepare the pan for baking, first cover it with plastic wrap, over which goes a tightly wrapped layer of aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a knife cuts easily through the lasagna. Take off the plastic and foil, and continue to bake for another 10 minutes at 450°F or until the cheese crust turns brown.

Carefully remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil leaves or other fresh herbs.

Japanese Food Art

The Japanese people takes food as a form of art and even their bento (lunch boxes) are beautifully decorated. It certainly heightens the mood of the person who eats the artful food especially children.

Japan is a land of exotic beauty and art. It can also said for cook in Japan. Seafood meals that make up the most important part of a very large Japanese Diet has not been offered to include some type of seafood.

Rice or slivered vegetables and noodles in just a few ounces of extra flavor to meat or poultry has been used mainly in cooking. It is most often delicate taste of Japanese food. Spices, sauces, soup, such as flavor aid , soy sauce, miso aji Ajinomoto, sanshio, sake, Japanese food, such as a stuffed animal worth a try The beef teriyaki. Of course, sushi, sashimi, tempura, sukiyaki Sada Yasushi are favorites.

 In Japanese cuisine, artistic presentation is important. It allows you to enjoy it with your eyes first. Appearance is almost as important as actual taste. In Japan, food and the dishes on which it is served are considered to be a type of art. (source: Japanese Food Culture Association)

Japanese people truly enjoy the artistic sense of the display of the food. They even put extra work to their kid lunch box to make it more appealing. SBS commences its article on Bento Box Art with comparing Australian parents who make simple sandwich as lunch box menu with the ever-creative Japanese who have taken school lunches to a whole new level with charaben (character bento) boxes, which feature food that has been artistically styled to resemble people, animals or other objects.

Improving Your Odds For Healthy Dinner Eating

When planning a low calorie diet for the family, we must take into account certain rules that, if applied on a regular basis, could decrease the number of calories ingested and increase the quality of the meal. We often think about a good dinner as a combination of a main dish and some added-on side dishes, in an attempt to increase the amount of vegetables and create variety in the diet.

The thought is right, initially, but we may end up liking those side dishes so much that we eat less of the main part of the meal, and what we have added is just a few hundred calories to the meal and some pounds to our waistline. Instead, get used to eating only one item at a time, which will provide fully balanced nutrition at the end of the day, if you do it right. Children, especially, are prone to loading on potatoes and rice and leaving behind the protein part of dinner.

I am not a fan of calorie counting but, as an example, one serving of mashed potatoes (1 cup) can add as much as 240 calories to a meal. One cup of cooked rice can approach 150 calories.

Think about healthy dinner as a meal you are going to plan in advance, something you can also prepare in advance and put in the freezer until ready to eat. A good example would be a good bowl of lentil soup/stew. It is easy to make, and we can include some other nutrients to its preparation to add flavor and texture.

• ½ lb of dry lentils. The best ones are the “pardilla” variety. They are dark and small, and they tend to feel softer to the palate when cooked.
• 1 small chicken breast
• 1 medium carrot
• ½ medium onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tsp of paprika or Spanish Pimenton*
• Olive oil

Cut the onions, garlic, and carrots into small pieces and sauté in about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. When the onions are transparent and soft, add the lentils, stirring and mixing in. Immediately add water to cover the lentils and cook slowly until the lentils are soft. It takes about 45 minutes to one hour, depending on the quality of the lentils. Cut the chicken breast into very small cubes and brown in olive oil. Add two teaspoons of paprika or Spanish Pimenton to the chicken. Pour chicken into the lentils, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Treat Breakfast As The Important Meal

Almost everyone treats breakfast as the least important meal of the day. It never gets the attention it deserves. Dinner, on the other hand, is the kind of meal that should always be light and healthy, but we end up overeating at the dinner table (great way to gain weight since the body does not burn the calories readily, after all, you will be going to bed soon). Furthermore, we wake up the next morning 'not feeling hungry' for breakfast. This is the single biggest mistake for anyone trying to lose weight. A meal that is grossly underrated, breakfast 'breaks your overnight fast' and is therefore the most important meal for the day. It allows you to begin the day with energy and vitality.

Isn't it an irony that a timely and nutritious breakfast is a rarity for most of us? You may be a busy corporate executive or a top-level athlete, the importance of breakfast remains the same for everyone. Let us analyze the role that breakfast plays in our life.

Here are the basic truths about that first meal of the day:

Skipping breakfast won't make you thinner.
Skipping this meal will usually cause you to eat more for lunch and / or dinner. If you start the day without a meal don't be surprised if you feel tired, lethargic and easily fatigued later in the day. It's almost like driving to work with no gas. The best strategy for keeping your weight in check and your energy level high is to fuel yourself evenly throughout the day. Eat a good breakfast, moderate lunch, and light dinner, (as well as small snacks in between, if you feel hungry). In particular, if you are about to have a hectic day, it becomes even more important to eat a good breakfast. If you starve your body by avoiding breakfast, it will begin to lose muscle (something you do not want) and retaining fat. The interesting thing is that muscle weighs more than fat, which means that dieting (skipping breakfast) may show up as weight loss on the scale. However, most dieters can become weaker although they may become smaller if they rely on dieting exclusively as a means to lose weight.

Breakfast enables you to function better.
Recent research results showed that children who skip breakfast are less able to concentrate in studies and in play. Their ability to perform complex tasks is impaired. The effects were similar in adults. As an experiment, change (improve) your breakfast habits for 2 days. You will then understand the impact that breakfast has on your day.

Cereals and fruits are still the best.
According to the National Cancer Institute of America, "diets high in fibre and low in fat, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain breads and cereals with low fat cheese or butter may reduce the risk of cancer." Daily fibre intake should be 20 to 30 grams. Insoluble fibre, the kind found in whole wheat bread and wheat-based bran cereals, helps lower the risk of colon cancer and speeds up digestion. Soluble fibre, found in oat bran and fruit, helps lower blood cholesterol, and may reduce the risk of coronary ailments.

Start your day with a piece of fruit, a glass of milk / coffee and some high fiber bread. You can enjoy your breakfast while driving!

So try these simple suggestions and kickstart your day with a healthy breakfast!