You would be surprised at how many hearty and healthy dinners you can make for less than 400 calories. All you really need to do is a little research and use a bit of creativity, along with a good grasp of portion size and control. The way you cook your food is almost as important as what you cook.
Depending on the way you cook your food you could be adding hundreds of calories and losing the majority of the nutritional content. What you end up with is a high fat, high calorie food with little nutritional value. Ideally you are going to want to broil, bake or grill your food. It would almost be advisable to throw out your deep fryer and frying pans because all they are usually good for is adding unnecessary calories and fat to your food.
Here are 4 great dinners that you can make for less than 400 calories:
1. Chicken Dinner
– A delicious side salad sprinkled with a variety of the chopped vegetables you love such as onions, peppers, carrot. All served with a tablespoon of low fat dressing.
– The meat is a single serving portion (3 oz.) of boneless skinless chicken breast.
– One small baked potato
2. Chicken Salad
– A large tossed salad with 3 oz. of boneless skinless chicken breast sliced
– 1 tablespoon of vinaigrette or light dressing
– Single portion of yogurt
3. Homemade Chunky Vegetable Soup –
– A broth based soup (not a creamy style) with 2 cups of assorted veggies
– A medium sized side salad
4. Baked Salmon
– One medium portion of baked or broiled salmon
– Bed of baby spinach with chopped onion, mushrooms and cucumbers
The beverage of choice for all meals of course would be water. There are other beverages you can choose from if they are in moderation. You could try a glass of unsweetened orange or apple juice. Diet beverages while they do not contain sugar, contain artificial sweetener which can promote water retention. Coffee can also be considered on occasion if you swap out the sugar and cream for skim milk and sweetener. When it comes to beverages you really need to read the nutritional information labels to ensure they are suitable for your diets requirements.
It is not hard to find hundreds of recipes and dinner ideas for 400 calories or less. The internet is littered with people sharing information and ideas. Virtually every time you go to a supermarket you see cookbooks and magazines featuring low calorie and low fat cooking ideas. One other thing that you need to keep mindful of is portion size and keeping it under control. The recommended general rule of thumb is 3 oz. but if you don’t have a scale handy then the meat portion should fit into the palm of your hand.