Looking For A Healthy And Balanced Diet? Here's A Complete Diet Plan Our Nutritionist Explains

A balanced diet will provide you all necessary nutrients

A balanced diet with optimum nutrients is extremely necessary for a healthy body. You might have heard this a thousand times that you are what you eat. Your diet not only affects your body weight but a healthy diet can boost immunity as well as reduce the risk of several diseases. Diet can also affect your mental health. When at home you can make all necessary changes in your diet and fit all nutrients in your diet. During this lockdown make sure that you consume a healthy and balanced diet throughout the day. To answer all your questions about what to eat and when, we spoke to Priyanka Agarwal, dietician and nutritionist from Max hospital.

Healthy eating at home: Here's a complete diet plan

"Always keep in mind that no single food is a superfood and no single nutrient is a magic nutrient," tells Priyanka.

Priyanka explains, "Optimum intake of nutrients can be achieved by following a balanced diet which contains macro and micronutrients. People usually think about the macronutrients that are protein, carbs, energy and fats but they generally forget about the micronutrients which include minerals and vitamins that also play an important role in boosting immunity."

"To follow a balanced diet one should keep in mind that they should consume from each food group and those are- milk and milk products, cereals and grains, fruits and vegetables, pulses and legumes, nuts and oils and meat and poultry (for non-vegetarian). Along with all food group hydration is very important," she adds.

Also read: Are You Unable To Decide How Much You Should Eat? Here Are Some Tips That Can Help

Here's a your complete guide to a healthy and balanced diet as explained by Priyanka.

Breakfast

A healthy breakfast can comprise of protein and cereals. You can choose any one of the following healthy options:

• Oats or besan cheela with egg or curd for protein
• Vegetable poha with some sprouts in it
• Vegetable dalia with curd or buttermilk
• Beans with whole wheat bread
• Omelette with whole wheat bread

Choose a healthy nutritious breakfast to start your day
Photo Credit: iStock

Lunch and dinner

Lunch and dinner should comprise a variety of food items. Always try to start your lunch and dinner with veggies or salad.

• Chapattis (use multi-grain flour with bajra, jowar, chana, oats and bran)/ Brown Rice with season vegetables
• Whole Dal
• Curd/ Raita
• Sometimes one can include different items like wheat pasta, soya rolls, paneer roll, sauteed vegetables with garlic bread.

Also read: Try These High Protein Breakfast Options Which Can Help You Lose Weight

Include a variety of foods to your lunch
Photo Credit: iStock

Mid Snacks

Always choose healthy options while snacking. Following are some options to choose from-

Yogurt with chopped fruits, sprouts chaat, a handful of nuts and seeds, roasted makhana, popcorn without butter, khandvi, dhokla, a bowl of fresh fruits or three beans salad.

To keep body hydrated include natural drinks like coconut water, vegetable fresh juice, lemon water, buttermilk, cinnamon tea, tulsi tea or green tea.

Also read: A Fist Full Of Nuts For Good Health: Reasons Why You Should Eat Nuts Daily

(Priyanka Agarwal department of dietetics & nutrition Max Multi Speciality Centre Noida)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.