From meatless Mondays to Taco Tuesdays and Fakeaway Fridays, you will find five summer dishes approved by a nutritionist with which you can lose weight from our local nutritionist Melissa Meier.
In midsummer, slaving over a hot stove is never fun – but if you keep an eye on your waistline, convenient take-away meals won’t do you much good either. See: Five Simple Peasy Summer Dishes That Are Quick, Easy, And Oh So Good For You.
Mango and tuna salad
Nothing says summer like a sweet and juicy mango. Not only are they a refreshing sweet snack, but they work wonders in savory dishes too. I like to throw a handful of finely chopped mango in a salad alongside spinach, corn, Spanish onions, and chilli tuna (note: don’t drain the tuna, use the oil as a dressing).
The mango provides a boost of good-loving fiber and beta-carotene for healthy eyes, while tuna and corn provide a boost of muscle-building protein to keep hunger pangs at bay.
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Shrimp Tacos
Taco Tuesday gets a healthier note with this nutritious combination. Fresh prawns, quartered cherry tomatoes and red cabbage make the corn tortillas easier to fill. If you feel like it, you can even soak the cabbage in a little red wine vinegar for a few minutes to make a quick pickle. Top your tacos with a dose of heart-healthy fats in the form of homemade guac – stick to just a quarter of an avocado per person for good portion control.
Bake the chicken and vegetable tray
This dinner is as simple as one, two, three. Just chop some cauliflower, pumpkin, and potatoes into small cubes, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for about an hour.
In the meantime, marinate a few chicken legs in olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of dried oregano and place on top of the vegetables towards the end of the cooking process. You are in the mood for a vegetarian, balanced meal that only takes five minutes in the kitchen.
Homemade beef burger
A few simple tweaks can quickly turn a burger from an occasional indulgence into an everyday fodder. To keep saturated fat levels low, start with a homemade patty made from 100 percent extra lean ground beef and opt for a small whole grain bun for a fiber boost.
Then fill your burger with some mustard, a slice of cheese, and a handful of lettuce and voila – you’ve got a healthy meal in hand in less time than it would take to drive to your local burger chain.
vegetarian pizza
Ham, salami, and ham are standard pizza toppings – and while they are delicious, they aren’t as good for your ticker health thanks to the copious amounts of saturated fat and sodium they contain.
For a far healthier piece, choose a homemade vegetarian version made from whole grain wraps, tomato paste, zucchini, mushrooms and a light pinch of mozzarella. You’ll save a stack of calories and feel a lot better for it.
Melissa Meier is a Sydney-based accredited practicing nutritionist. You can connect with her on Instagram @honest_nutrition.
