In our heads, we all want to be slim, fit, and as healthy as we can possibly be. The problem is that leading a healthy lifestyle, and avoiding unhealthy junk food, is not as easy as personal trainers on Instagram would have us believe.
Healthy dinner foods for many people are bland and tasteless, yet if you want healthy dinner ideas that taste fantastic and also happen to be good for you, there are plenty of options for you to choose from. Obesity levels are higher than ever before, life expectancy rates are on the decline, and most of our diets, unfortunately, absolutely suck.
If you want to lead a healthy lifestyle, lose weight, and get fit and healthy in the process, here’s a look at several healthy dinner foods, along with a few healthy dinner ideas you may wish to try the next time you’re in the kitchen.
Table of Content
4 Healthy Foods For Your Healthy Dinner
Eggs
Hold on, eggs? Have we lost our minds? Everybody knows that eggs are a breakfast food, right? Well, not exactly. Eggs may be commonly enjoyed at breakfast, but we like to mix things up sometimes which is why we’re going to be looking at eggs as a healthy dinner option instead.
Eggs can make a wonderful addition to any healthy dinner as they can be used in a variety of different ways. We can use eggs to make an omelet, they can be poached, fried, boiled, coddled, scrambled, and much more besides.
Eggs are rich in protein, which is vital for muscle growth and repair. One egg contains roughly 4 – 6g of protein, depending on its size. As well as that, eggs are also rich in essential and non-essential amino acids and are considered a complete protein source.
You’ll find other minerals and nutrients in eggs as well, including choline, which is great for the brain. If you want a simple yet delicious healthy dinner with eggs, how about a grilled steak, 2 poached eggs, a portion of sautéed spinach, and a baked sweet potato? Delicious!
Garlic
Garlic is considered to be a superfood, yet many people seem to underestimate its effectiveness in terms of health benefits. We all know that garlic can make any savory dish taste fantastic, yet we don’t seem to know why garlic is considered to be such a healthy dinner ingredient.
Garlic is packed full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It is an anti-inflammatory, it’s anti-viral, it’s anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and it is a very effective anti-bacterial ingredient. Garlic contains selenium, metabolism-boosting vitamin B6, allicin, flavonoids, calcium, phosphorus, and plenty more besides.
Garlic can fight and prevent more than 160 diseases and ailments. Because of its potent anti-inflammatory properties, it’s great for fighting inflammation in the body, and there is evidence to suggest that it may even help to fight and prevent certain strains of cancer.
Garlic can be used in a variety of healthy dinner ideas, but here’s a very simple suggestion that we think you’ll love. Simply take a bulb of garlic, drizzle it with oil, salt, and pepper, wrap in foil and bake in the oven on a low heat for an hour. Squeeze the cloves out, mash them up and spread them on bread, meat, or fish as a delicious and super healthy topping.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are very versatile foods that can be enjoyed at any time of the day. There are many different varieties of mushroom out there to choose from, yet in terms of health properties, many of them to provide the same benefits. Mushrooms are a great source of vitamin D, which enables the body to absorb and utilize calcium within the bones.
They’re also high in vitamin C, B vitamins, selenium, calcium, polyphenols, and other potent antioxidants which promote longevity and help to fight and prevent oxidative stress within the body. You’ll also find plenty of dietary fiber in mushrooms, including beta-glucan, which promotes satiety and helps improve digestive health.
If you’re looking for healthy dinner ideas that contain mushrooms, how about slicing some mushrooms, sautéing them in some grass-fed butter with onions, garlic, chopped rosemary, and chopped thyme, and serving them on a thick slice of toasted bruschetta bread for the ultimate garlic mushrooms?
Spinach
Spinach is a superfood that is loaded full of nutrition that the human body absolutely adores. Many a healthy dinner out there would contain a generous serving of spinach, and for good reason as well. Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that contains very hearty amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
In particular, you will find vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, zinc, magnesium, potassium, iron, and calcium in spinach. Iron in spinach, for example, is great for the blood as iron is needed for the production of hemoglobin, which is a substance found in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body.
When we think of calcium, often we think of milk, cheese, and dairy. You may be surprised to learn, however, that spinach, gram for gram, actually contains more calcium than milk. Spinach, therefore, helps promote bone health, healthy circulation, a healthy metabolism, and a healthy immune system.
For a super healthy dinner suggestion, go ahead and grill a piece of salmon and serve it with a side of mashed sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach.
Wild salmon
Wild salmon is rich in omega 3 essential fatty acids, which help to fight inflammation, prevent heart disease, improve cognitive function, lubricate the joints, regulate our hormones, boost the metabolism, and strengthen the immune system.
Studies have found that consuming oily fish twice per week could, on average, increase your lifespan by more than two years. Salmon is also a great source of iron, zinc, and magnesium, as well as antioxidants such as astaxanthin, which helps to eradicate free radicals within the body.
Wild salmon is generally far healthier than farmed salmon because it does not contain antibiotics or other hormones and chemicals commonly found in farmed salmon. It’s also far tastier.
For a delicious healthy dinner containing wild salmon, how about combining roast salmon with mashed potatoes, salt, pepper, dill, and a whole egg and shaping into fish cakes before baking in the oven and serving on a bed of mixed leaf salad with tartare sauce?
Wild salmon and oily fish, in general, is considered to be very healthy, wild salmon is even better.
Healthy Dinner Ideas That Take Less Than 30 Minutes
Have you been scratching your head trying to come up with some new healthy dinner ideas? Not to worry my friends because in this article we’re going to share a few simple dinner recipes that take less than 30 minutes to make and are under 500 calories.
Grilled Steak Tortilla Salad
Serves 4 people. Prep time is about 12 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ lb skirt steak
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- 1 ½ lbs plum tomatoes, cut into pieces
- 2 scallions, sliced
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp, fresh lime juice
- 1 bunch arugula, thick stems discarded
- 1 c. fresh cilantro
- Charred flour tortillas, for serving
Directions
- Season steak with chili powder and ½ tsp of each salt and pepper. Broil or grill to desired doneness. 3 – 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest before slicing.
- In a bowl, toss plum tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno, lime juice, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Toss with cilantro and arugula, fold in steak.
- Serve with charred flour tortillas.
Nutritional info per serving
340 calories, 16.5g fat, 5.5g saturated, 41g protein, 595mg sodium, 9g carbs, 3g fiber.
Hawaiian Tuna Bowl
Serves 4 people. Prep time is about 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. Soy sauce
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. Toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. Honey
- 1 tbsp. Sesame seeds
- 1 lb sushi-grade tuna or salmon, cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ c. pickled peppers, drained and chopped
- Salad greens or cooked rice
- Thinly sliced radishes
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded cabbage
Directions
- In a large bowl, whisk soy sauce, green onions, oil, honey, and sesame seeds. Add fish and peppers, toss until well-combined.
- Serve alone or over salad greens or cooked rice, along with sliced radishes, carrots, and cabbage.
Nutritional info per serving
200 calories, 29g protein, 7g carbs, 5g total fat,1g saturated, 1g fiber, 905mg sodium.
If you do not currently have a slow cooker we encourage you to invest in one as this is another way you can cook healthy meals at home for dinner and have leftovers for lunch the next day. There are hundreds of great recipes online for healthy slow cooker meals.
Some simple things you can cook in a slow cooker are:
Chicken and vegetable soup.
Simply get a whole uncooked chicken and some fresh vegetables place in the slow cooker for a few hours and you have chicken and vegetable soup.
Lean ground turkey and some whole grain pasta noodles along with some chopped onions and green peppers for a few hours. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top and you have a healthy turkey helper meal.
By taking the time to cook at home with healthy ingredients you can enjoy some very delicious and nutritious meals that put the restaurants to shame.
Read the top 10 benefits of eating healthy dinner.
