What are some nutritious lunches and dinners I can make?

Lollipop95

I want to get properly into fitness and nutrition this summer and am looking to join the gym next week. I was just wondering if people would share any lunches/dinner ideas. I posted here before and got great advice about nutrition so I thought I'd post again! These days for lunch I'd generally have a brown bread sandwich with tomatoes, onions and cheese...but I'd like to change it up and don't want to be having the same lunch every day.
I'd also like on some nutritious dinners aswell. I made an omlette for dinner a couple of days ago and included peppers, onions and mushrooms which was delicious. I'm a student and just before I finished this year of college I found myself getting lazy and opting to order a takeaway...I felt so lethargic afterwards so this is something I don't want to be doing from now on.
I was am looking for advice on eating a gluten free diet. I came across an article online the other day and said it can have tons of benefits. If anyone on here is currently on a gluten free diet, might you tell me the benefits of it and if it's sustainable? Thanks in advance!

fussyonion

Lollipop95 wrote: »

I want to get properly into fitness and nutrition this summer and am looking to join the gym next week. I was just wondering if people would share any lunches/dinner ideas. I posted here before and got great advice about nutrition so I thought I'd post again! These days for lunch I'd generally have a brown bread sandwich with tomatoes, onions and cheese...but I'd like to change it up and don't want to be having the same lunch every day.
I'd also like on some nutritious dinners aswell. I made an omlette for dinner a couple of days ago and included peppers, onions and mushrooms which was delicious. I'm a student and just before I finished this year of college I found myself getting lazy and opting to order a takeaway...I felt so lethargic afterwards so this is something I don't want to be doing from now on.
I was am looking for advice on eating a gluten free diet. I came across an article online the other day and said it can have tons of benefits. If anyone on here is currently on a gluten free diet, might you tell me the benefits of it and if it's sustainable? Thanks in advance!

What are the benefits of going gluten free?

Lollipop95

fussyonion wrote: »

What are the benefits of going gluten free?

I've read that it increases your energy levels and removes processed foods from your diets as well as promoting weight loss, hence why I'm considering it as it seems to have a good few health benefits from what I've read a I know a couple of coeliacs who say that it's overall better for your health, even if you don't have intolerances. I'm only thinking about it though

Tigger99

I've friends that are coeliac and they give out about how processed gluten free food can be. It's no better for loosing weight than other food. There's a lot of ill informed comment about the benefits.

I'd suggest that unless you are coeliac there are no benefits.

marialouise

Hey Lollipop.

Generally for a well balanced diet you should try and eat whole foods (unprocessed) where possible, and make sure you're getting adequate protein, healthy fats and good sources of carbohydrates, within a calorie goal that suits your body's needs.

Leaner sources of protein can be chicken fillets, turkey breast, tuna, cod, lean beef, prawns... some fattier fish include salmon but that's an excellent source of essential fats. Try to avoid very processed meats like burgers, sausages etc. Eggs (or egg whites) and fat-free greek yoghurt are also great sources of protein.

Healthy fats can be found in oily fish, avocados, nuts, seeds, oils like olive oil and coconut oil.

Good sources of carbohydrates are oats, quinoa, sweet potato, and wholemeal/wholegrain foods where they're as unrefined as possible.

If you eat a little bit of the above with every meal along with loads of vegetables, get enough sleep, drink enough water and take regular exercise, that's a great start. If you have very specific goals like weight loss/gain then you need to look at your calorie intake in detail and start tracking your food by weighing it and logging it so you know exactly how many calories you're consuming.

Gluten free isn't necessary unless you are actually allergic to gluten. There is loads of gluten free junk food available; it's still junk. Try to minimise processed foods, foods very high in salt/sugar/fat like cake/cookies/chocolate/fizzy drinks, and keep alcohol to a minimum. Of course allow yourself these things from time to time as a treat, but regular indulgence might get in the way of your fitness goals

I like this website for information on nutrition; they also have a few articles with recipes so you can get some inspiration.
https://authoritynutrition.com/articles/healthy-eating/

Personally I have eggs at breakfast, a snack of nuts or rice cakes with cheese or something, a chicken salad at lunch, another afternoon snack like greek yoghurt and berries, dinner will be another meat or fish with loads of vegetables, and I might have something else later on. If I'm training then I'll usually have porridge somewhere before and/or after, with protein powder, but this changes all the time, find what works for you.

SozBbz

Cook from scratch. Eat foods that are identifiable as real foods. There are toones of great resources on line for quick and easy recipie ideas, I find BBC Good Food website to be great as you can filter by difficulty/time/ingrediants whatever.

Things I like to cook are;
Chili con Carne
Spaghetti bolognaise
Baked salmon with sweet potato mash and roast medetarian veg
Red Lental Dahl
Pasta Arabiata

I cook from scratch, don't over do it with oil but what I do use is good quality. All of the above are very easy but do require some forethought in terms of foodshopping etc, but most can be batch cooked so you could get a few meals out of a big one pot dish.

endacl

fussyonion wrote: »

What are the benefits of going gluten free?

The major benefit is fitting in, I believe?

endacl

Lollipop95 wrote: »

I've read that it increases your energy levels and removes processed foods from your diets as well as promoting weight loss, hence why I'm considering it as it seems to have a good few health benefits from what I've read a I know a couple of coeliacs who say that it's overall better for your health, even if you don't have intolerances. I'm only thinking about it though

100% unprocessed



Packed full of gluten.