Recipes for a balanced diet

Each meal should try to cover three basic ingredients: whole grains, high-quality protein, and colorful fruits and vegetables. The macronutrient ratio should be roughly maintained at 50%-65% of carbohydrates, 10%-20% of protein, and 20%-30% of fat. There is no need to hold a food scale to calculate the grams, copy the precise formula of Internet celebrities, and adjust according to your own physical condition and taste preferences.

I have been doing community nutrition consulting for almost 3 years, and I have seen too many people clinging to the "one-week balanced diet" copied from the Internet. Either they are lactose intolerant and drink the ice milk in the formula and have diarrhea for three days, or they have high uric acid and eat salmon for two days and suffer a gout attack. In the end, they blame "balanced diet is a lie". In fact, it is not the problem of the recipe at all, but that you made a mistake from the beginning: the core of a balanced diet is "adaptation", not "unification".

The 996 operation girl who came for consultation last week had to squeeze 3 minutes out of the morning to watch short videos even after washing her face. I didn’t arrange any troublesome recipes for freshly cooked oats and steamed purple sweet potatoes for her. I just asked her to grab them when she passed by the convenience store every day: either whole wheat bagels with tea eggs and cherry tomatoes, or sweet corn with oden chicken breast skewers and tangerines. She can get all three types of ingredients in 5 minutes, which only costs five or six yuan. She came to see me after half a month of eating and said that she used to get flustered and fumble for sweets as soon as 10 o'clock arrived, but now she doesn't feel hungry until dinner time, and she doesn't feel drowsy after sitting in a meeting in the afternoon.

Do you want to say there is any controversy? Of course there is, and the most heated debate on the Internet right now is whether or not we should eat whole grains. According to the dietary guidelines for Chinese residents, whole grains should account for 1/3 of the daily carbohydrate intake. After all, grains that have not been finely processed retain the bran and germ, and have more than double the dietary fiber and B vitamins than white rice and white noodles. However, many friends who practice traditional Chinese medicine and dietary therapy have told me that if people with weak spleen and stomach eat hard oats and brown rice for a long time, it will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. I fully agree with this. An aunt who suffered from acid reflux all year round came to me to adjust her diet. I directly replaced her brown rice with warm and soft grains such as millet, steamed yam, and steamed pumpkin. She was still able to get the necessary nutrients. After eating it for half a month, she said that her acid reflux problem was mostly cured, and she no longer felt bloated after eating.

There are even more quarrels about fat. The ketogenic party says to eat less carbohydrates and more fat, and the low-fat party says to eat less fat. In fact, how can it be so absolute? If you do strength training more than 4 times a week and your body fat rate is less than 15%, it is absolutely fine to eat more high-quality fats such as avocados and plain nuts. If you have high blood fat or fatty liver, then replace the animal oil at home with olive oil and tea seed oil. Control the amount at about two spoons a day, which is enough for your body.

Oh, yes, many people think that a balanced diet means eating bland food and eating boiled vegetables every day. That is too unfair. When I cook at home, I still use star anise, cinnamon, and peppercorns to stir-fry, and I substitute tomato-braised beef brisket, pan-fried chicken breast, and garlic broccoli. As long as I add less salt and less extra sugar, I don’t need a lot of heavy sauces with dozens of additives. They are delicious. Last week, my friend came to my house for dinner. After wiping his mouth, he asked me, "Is this a balanced meal? It's more delicious than the spicy hotpot I usually order."

You really don’t have to stick to three meals. If you are used to the 16+8 light fast and only eat two meals a day, then you only need to get enough of the three types of ingredients for each meal; if you are a pure vegetarian, replace the high-quality protein with tofu, chickpeas, and quinoa, and supplement with some extra B1. 2. You will not be lacking in nutrients at all; even if you are craving for hot pot today, just add more lean beef and green leafy vegetables with a bowl of multi-grain rice, and drink two sips of fruit tea with half a cup of sugar. This is considered to be in line with the requirements of balance. You don't need to push yourself too hard, but it will easily lead to retaliatory overeating.

To be honest, I have been consulting for so long, and the most annoying thing is that people ask for "complete standard recipes" as soon as they come up. How can there be any perfect recipes? Your own body is the best yardstick. If you eat the whole meal and feel comfortable, you won’t get hungry within half an hour, and you won’t feel uncomfortable. Your annual physical examination indicators are normal. That is the most suitable balanced diet recipe for you. It is more effective than any recipe posted by an internet celebrity blogger.