Prepare More Healthy Meals

When preparing healthy meals, the ingredients used should be fresh whenever possible. Ingredients of poor quality will produce unhealthy food no matter what the initial motive was. An alternative would be frozen or canned foods packed in water or their own juice instead of heavy syrup. Keep them free from artificial colourings and flavourings too as their natural colours and tastes should be more than enough to satisfy your taste buds.

Meat should be lean (if possible, about 85% fat free) with as little visible fat as possible. Chicken should be skinless and beef should be minced and mixed with ground chicken or turkey to further reduce the total fat content.

Look for whole grain products or breads with the words "whole wheat flour" printed on the labels. Do not be mislead by words like enriched flour, which is actually white flour with colouring like molasses to make it appear like a whole grain product. Always check the labels before purchasing and avoid anything you have never heard of before.

Consider extra virgin olive oil as an ingredient. It is produced from the first pressing of the olives, and is thus of the highest quality possible. It is most commonly used as salad dressings but may be used in a variety of ways when preparing your meals. Light olive oil on the other hand is perfect for cooking.
Yogurt and cheese should be low in fat content. Milk on the other hand is proffered to be 1 or 2%, unless medical reasons permit the use of skimmed milk only. A little fat is of course good and products such as Cottage Cheese would be less healthy without it.

Fruit juices do not contain the fiber of fresh fruits which explains why an apple is more satisfying then just gulping down the juice. Furthermore, additives and flavourings are often mixed into the juice which is not so healthy.

Dark Chocolate is healthy and should be included in your diet. It contains more beneficial antioxidants than a glass of red wine. Simply take an ounce of it after meals for best results.

There are many other ingredients out there for healthy meals. Simply explore the world of natural foodstuffs and they will present themselves.

Visit my Healthy Recipe Blog for all kinds of Pakistani and Chinese Recipes.