What does a single meal do?
A meal is just one part of an overall diet, but each meal matters! Here are some effects of a single healthy meal.
- Fills you up/satisfies hunger
- Gets you closer to health goals
- Helps structure your daily schedule
- Provides essential and beneficial nutrients
- Supports socializing
- Supports mental health
- Maintains energy and blood sugar
Healthy meals add up to a healthy overall diet.
What else does a meal do? A single meal has an immediate effect on health. Here are just some things that a meal can affect.
- Blood pressure
- Blood sugar and insulin
- Endothelial function (“stiffness” or “elasticity” of blood vessels)
- Inflammation (related to chronic disease development)
- Gut microbiome (the variety and types of bacteria in your gut)
- Bloating and gas
- Mood
- Ability to think clearly
- Quality of sleep
Research says…Small changes to a meal can make it healthier!
Study 1: Add lettuce to a meal!
16 men each visited the lab twice. Each time, they ate a high-fat meal, which was a cheeseburger.
- One time, they ate the meal with some lettuce.
- The other time, they ate the meal with some fiber.
Over the next 6 hours, researchers found that eating the meal with lettuce led to reduced blood glucose and less of an insulin response. Adding lettuce to a meal improved the body’s blood sugar and insulin!
Shokraei et al; Lipids Health Dis. 2021 Jul 15;20(1):66.
Study 2: Add protein to a meal!
18 men (9 lean with normal blood sugar and 9 obese with diabetes) each visited the lab twice. Each time, they ate jam, which is a source of carbohydrates from added sugars.
- One time, they ate the jam by itself.
- One time, they ate the jam with an egg, which is a source of protein.
Over the next hours, researchers found that eating an egg with the jam led to less of a blood sugar spike at 30 minutes after the meal, and less of a blood sugar dip at 120 minutes after the meal. Adding protein to a high-carbohydrate food led to a healthier blood sugar response!
Basturk; Iran J Public Health. 2021 Feb;50(2):280-287.
Study 3: Make healthy swaps in a meal!
50 participants with diabetes and 50 participants without diabetes each visited the lab twice. Each time, they ate a meal.
- One time, the meal included a burger made with processed pork.
- The other time, the meal included a vegan burger.
Over the next 3 hours, researchers found that after eating the vegan meal, participants had improved levels of GIP (a satiety hormone), PYY (a satiety hormone), oxidation (considered unhealthy). Swapping a vegan couscous patty for a processed pork patty improved health effects!
Belinova; PLoS One. 2014 Sep 15;9(9):e107561.
How do you make a balanced plate?
There are different approaches to making a balanced plate.
You can use macronutrient goals to help build balanced meals. For example, the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) is the range that’s linked to long-term health and weight management. Using AMDR:
- Carbohydrates are 45-65% of total calories
- Protein is 10-35% of total calories
- Fat is 20-35% of total calories
- Keep saturated fat under 10% of total calories
Or you and your healthcare provider can set individual macronutrient goals for your personal needs, e.g., a low-carb diet.
You can use food groups to help build balanced meals. Try to get at least one serving from 3-5 different food groups in each meal. Here are some groups to consider.
- Non-starchy vegetables like lettuce and other greens, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, and onions
- Lean proteins like fish, egg whites, beans, lentils, skinless chicken, peanut butter, and reduced-fat dairy like low-fat cheese and cottage cheese and plain nonfat yogurt
- Fruit including fresh fruit and unsweetened frozen fruit
- High-fiber starchy foods like whole grains and starchy vegetables like peas, corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes
- Healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, canola oil, peanut butter, nuts, and seeds
You can use the plate method to help build balanced meals. It helps with portion control and balance.
- Fill half your plate with a non-starchy vegetable
- Fill one-quarter of your plate with a lean protein
- Fill one-quarter of your plate with a high-fiber carbohydrate
Add healthy fats, fruit, and reduced-fat dairy products at some meals to make a balanced plate with the plate method.
Simplify meals to save time and energy
Making simple meals can save time and energy. Keeping it easy also helps make healthy eating sustainable.
To keep meals simple:
- Try sandwiches, salads, bowls, and sheet pans meals
- Mix and match ingredients to make a variety of meals like soups, stews, casseroles, and salads with only a few ingredients
- Cook in batches to have leftovers and reduce preparation time
- Make one meal for the family by serving additional components if family members want them. Examples include sauces, toppings like croutons and bacon bits, and potatoes
An approach to making meals
Try these four steps to making a balanced meal.
- Prep and use or store ingredients or dishes ahead of time. Wash, peel, chop, and cook vegetables; cook grains, beans, and chicken, fish, and other proteins; make healthy dressings and dips and freeze them in ice cube trays.
- Mix and match. When it’s time to prep meals, gather ingredients. Repeat them as much as possible. For example, if you’re repeating cooked vegetables, whole-grain pasta, beans, and chicken, here are some meals you could make.
- Minestrone soup: Vegetables plus whole-grain pasta plus beans
- Pasta dinner: Vegetables plus whole-grain pasta plus marinara sauce plus cooked chicken
- Pasta salad: Vegetables plus whole-grain pasta plus cooked chicken, feta cheese, dried oregano, olive oil, and vinegar
- Bean bowl: Vegetables plus beans plus shredded cheese plus corn or brown rice
- Taco salad: Greens plus other vegetables plus beans plus salsa plus corn plus chicken
- Craft proper portions. Check labels or use the plate method to approximate serving sizes. You can also measure using a measuring cup and spoons, or by “eyeballing” it. Here are some common serving sizes.
- Lettuce and other salad greens: 1+ cups (softball)
- Vegetables, yogurt, cut fruit: 1 cup (baseball)
- Fish, tuna: 3 ounces (checkbook)
- Chicken, turkey burger: 3 ounces (deck of cards)
- Cooked beans, cooked whole-grain pasta, brown rice: ½ cup (tennis ball)
- Hummus, peanut butter, salad dressing: 1 ounce (two tablespoons) (golf ball)
- Cheese: 1 ounce (tip of thumb)
- Please every eater! If you’re cooking for family members, identify simple ways you can modify the meal you’re cooking in order to please everyone. Examples might include serving yourself plain broccoli before adding cheese sauce to it for the other diners, or serving whole-grain pasta plain so you can add marinara to your own and others can add meat sauce. Or, take a smaller portion of what you’re serving to others if it’s not on your own meal plan; for example, take less steak and potatoes, and add a large green salad with vinaigrette to your own dinner.
