If you are trying to lose weight or achieve other fitness goals, then you may already know that nutrition and consistency are key important factors in the process.
Some of below tips and recommendations may not be completely comfortable or applicable to you, but I am sure It can give you new ideas for daily nutrition. On the other hand, you can change quantities and ingredients according to your needs and your goals (bulking, strength, fat loss, etc..)
Healthy Meals That Do Not Require Cooking
1- Nuts with Dates & Cucumber
This snack is very nutritious and energy fueling especially for performance, strength & bulk training. Nuts like walnuts and almonds usually have 15% protein content, while dates provides the carbohydrates needed for energy. For more protein value, you can use peanuts.
Cucumber on the other hand plays a role in satiation beside its aromatic characteristic that adds a beautiful flavor to this snack. Cucumber can be replaced by berries or other fruit depending on your personal preference.
2- Tuna with Chickpeas & Olive Oil
I can not think of higher protein value than what is available in this meal. Considering a normal tuna can with a cup or less of chickpeas, you can easily reach 50 grams of protein. This is very suitable If you are going into fat loss routine but you want to maintain and build muscles in the same time. Olive oil is used for seasoning.
The only downside of this meal is that both tuna and chickpeas used are canned. However, comparing with fast food or other unhealthy options usually available, the above ingredients are way much better option.
3- Cheese with Tomatoes & Olive Oil
Since cheese in general have medium density of calories, this type of ingredients are suitable for weight loss diet. 100 grams of mozzarella or goat cheese usually have more than 20 grams of protein, while other type of cheese have less than this amount. This can be a salad or sandwich (using whole grain bread). different additives can be used to improve taste and flavor, especially olive oil. However, you need to consider the amount of olive oil added as 1 tsp of olive oil have around 120 calories.
Healthy Meals That Requires Little Preparation or Cooking
1- Oats With Hot Milk
The high amount of complex carbohydrates available in oats makes it available as a daily meal for lot of performance athletes. Oats also have around 12% protein and lot of fibers which makes it perfect ingredient that can be used for bulking as well as fat loss. The combination of oats with milk of whey protein will increase the protein value in this meal as well as other macro nutrients.
The amount of oats used in this meal will varies according to your goal. for fat loss purpose, consider no more than half cup of oats with whey protein instead of milk. In this way, you will reduce the amount of carbs and increase the amount of protein, but in the same time you will still benefit from the satiation & long lasting energy provided by oats.
2- Protein Shakes (Whey with Fruits, Oats, Others)
Instead of consuming your whey protein shake separately as a post workout supplement, think of blending it with bananas, dates, oats or others in order to make it a regular meal.
Using a whey protein in a combination with other nutrients will save you lot of time because it will replace the post workout meal which is quite necessary especially if you are looking to add more muscles (bulking).
3- Omelette
Traditional egg omelette is very easy to prepare, plus it can be easily seasoned by different options. Eggs yolk are high in leucine which is very important for muscle recovery.
Healthy Meals That Requires Simple Cooking
1- Pancakes
Pancakes are not only simple to make but also can be easily modified. This is because of the flexibility you have in adjusting the quantities of the main ingredients needed to make any pancake.
Regular simple pancakes are made of one egg mixed with half cup of flour, after that you need to add milk slowly till you have smooth texture. But if you want to make it healthier, you can replace the regular flour with oats flour and increase the number of eggs to make it higher in protein, and finally adding the milk.
If you are using oats, you might find it hard to reach the desired texture. However, adding cinnamon powder will not only improve the texture but also improve the taste, it also boosts metabolism.
Using cinnamon and oats to make pancakes is very recommended if you are trying to lose fat. It is healthy, tasty, and high in protein.
2- Boiled Eggs with Cheese
This meal might be the most time consuming meal on our list but still simple and easy compared to traditional meals. The amount of protein provided here can reach 35 grams or more depending on the quantity. However, just like other protein dense meals, it is better to add some vegetables that are high in fibers to improve digestion.