We hear the phrases “Balanced Meal” and “Balanced Diet” thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean and how can you start to eat balanced meals?
I feel like this post was inevitable considering that is The Balanced Blend haha.
There’s a lot of people online claiming that they live a “healthy” lifestyle, but they’ve cut out whole food groups for no valid reason.
Personally, that’s not a healthy or balanced way of eating for me.
Eating healthy food to me means eating meals that makes me feel good after eating them, mentally and physically, and eating an overall balanced diet.
But what is a balanced meal and diet?
What is a Balanced Meal and Why Try and Eat a Balanced Meal?
A balanced meal to me means a protein, carb, fat, and some sort of veggie or fruit.
Personally, I don’t even try and consciously eat balanced. Now, it’s pretty much second nature.
It might seem like a lot of work to think about all of this, but I promise it’s not as hard as it sounds (more how I eat balanced later).
The reason I started to try and make my meals balanced was to help my digestion, my mood, and my overall daily and long-term health.
I struggled with bad digestion and just feeling grumpy and sluggish every single day. I got tired of how I was feeling, and decided I wanted to feel better, for my health today and in the future.
So, after trying a bunch of things that I’m not particularly proud of, I decided to just go back to the basics.
Eat simple foods. Have the 3 macronutrients at every meal.
And the shift in my quality of life was amazing.
I started to have more energy after meals, I didn’t feel sluggish. My digestion improved. I started to sleep through the night. I felt more satisfied after meals and didn’t feel “snacky” all the time.
And by eating mainly whole foods, I know that my body is getting the nutrients it needs and wants, which is helping me feel better now, and is probably going to benefit my health in the long run.
What is a Balanced Diet and Why I Don’t Try to be “Perfect”
No one’s perfect. Not every single meal of every single day can be perfectly balanced.
But what’s important is what we do a majority of the time.
To me, a balanced diet means eating whole foods a majority of the time, trying to have all 3 macronutrients plus some fruit or veg at my meals, and not feeling bad if I have something that’s not a whole food or if I have a meal that isn’t “perfectly” balanced.
Eating a balanced diet to me means eating all foods I crave, whether their processed or unprocessed, without any second thought.
I love eating lots of fresh food and eating balanced meals because of the way my quality of life has improved, not because I think it’ll make me look any different.
That’s why I don’t stress if one of my meals doesn’t have one of those four things, or if I have ice cream for dessert when yesterday I had chocolate covered dates.
I know that the benefits that I get from eating balanced meals, like better digestions, sleep, energy, mood, satiation, etc., aren’t going to magically go away if I have one meal that doesn’t have protein or a vegetable.
It’ll be okay.
But I know that when I do have eat balanced meals, I feel so great. Which is why I continued to try and make balanced meals, which has led to my natural cravings to be for more balanced meals.
Another thing I want to mention about an overall balanced diet is variety. Variety is soooo key in making sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs.
If you’re eating whole foods, but eating the same thing every single day, you’re not going to be eating very balanced diet.
For example, anyone who knows me knows I had a phase with RxBars and Lara Bars. I was obsessed, I used to have like 6 a day, no joke. I just loved how they tasted.
But, even though these bars are made with whole foods and are balanced snacks on their own, I found that I never felt really good after eating a lot of them and that eating so many of these was also contributing to my poor digestion. After a while, I realized that the saying “too much of a good thing, isn’t a good thing”.
I wasn’t getting any variety, and when I started to incorporate different snacks, I started to feel so much better and more energized.
How I Eat a Balanced Diet
Like I said, you can’t just snap your fingers and suddenly be eating balanced.
It does take some thought in the beginning, but with these tips, you’ll be making delicious, satisfying meals easily in no time.
Look at your current meals
Firstly, I would just look at the meals you’re eating now and try to figure out if they’re balanced. If yes, great! If not, it’s an easy fix.
Look at what’s missing from the meal and try to figure out a tasty way to add it in.
A couple examples:
- You eat peanut butter toast for breakfast. You’ve got carbs, fats, and a little protein. But, we could definitely add some extra protein and some fruit or veg. I would add some hemp seeds on top as well as a banana. Ta-da, balanced.
- For lunch, you have some rice and tofu. Yummy, but we could definitely boost up the satiation. I would add some veggies like some kale, bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions. I would also add some avocado and some sort of dressing made out of tahini or olive oil. Next 🙂
- For dinner, let’s say you have some lentil dal. YUM. But I would top it with some avocado for fats, some bread or rice for carbs, and maybe some roasted bell peppers or fried eggplant on the side.
Tweaking the meals you currently eat is the easiest and most sustainable way to have a balanced diet. You don’t want to change too many things at once, or you’ll never be able to sustain the changes.
How do you feel?
Next, focus on how you feel after you eat balanced meals.
I’m gonna guess that you’ll feel really good after eating these meals, but make sure to take note of that. If you notice the benefits of eating balanced, you’re more likely to want to continue to eat balanced.
Incorporating Variety
Eating a variety is so important and can be so exciting too!
I love trying new foods haha.
Next time you go to the grocery store, pick out a new fruit or vegetable you’ve never had before.
Also, eating seasonally is a great way to try new things and get some more variety in your meals!
Focus on implementing these tips for a week or so, and you’ll be a pro and you won’t even have to think about it.
Eating food shouldn’t be complicated.
It should be simple, and a source of joy, enjoyment, and creativity
Stay happy. Stay Balanced.
If you want some inspiration for balanced meals, click here to see all my free and balanced recipes 🙂
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