Dinner is a very important meal for the body as it has the role of nutrition but also of ensuring quality sleep and therefore rest.
These are achieved through the evening meal as glucose and hormones are managed and regulated during sleep so that there is no sleep disturbance and no intense hunger in the morning.
Beneficial nutrients from our dinner will also contribute to the good tissue regeneration that takes place while we sleep. So a good organization will help you a lot.
The key points for correct dinner choices:
* Proteins first (mainly lean chicken, turkey, or lean red meat or fish, seafood, eggs, or low-fat legumes or cheeses. Choose any of the above with a salad).
* Milk or yogurt (research has found that those who consume milk or yogurt at a meal tend to consume about 50 fewer calories at their meal. Most likely due to their protein composition).
* Nuts (almonds, cashews, etc., but a reasonable amount is needed, for example a handful is enough with your salad or in some yogurt).
* Avocado (its soluble fibers delay the breakdown of carbohydrates in the body and increase the feeling of satiety. Combine it with a salad or in a sandwich)
* Apples or fruits in general (due to the abundant fiber they have the property of causing a feeling of satiety, resulting in the consumption of a smaller amount of food and calories. Try them with yogurt or add apple pieces or grated apple to salads).
* Pine nuts or flaxseed (a few pine nuts in your salad can reduce your appetite as they contain a chemical called pinolenic acid, which is famous for this property. Flaxseed also provides fiber, which suppresses the appetite and you can add to salads or your yogurt).
* Salads (vegetables of all kinds are low in calories and high in fiber and will keep you feeling full for a long time).
* Hot peppers (They contain capsaicin which according to a study turns food into heat immediately through a process called thermogenesis, which increases the rate of metabolism and helps us burn more calories).
* Oat flakes (due to the high fiber content increases satiety and keeps blood glucose stable preventing you from extra snacking).
* Soups (soup provides plenty of fluids making you feel full. It may contain protein from chicken or other light meat and vegetables to give you fibre).
* Green tea (drink a green tea infusion after your dinner. The tea stimulates the production of hormones that control appetite, while at the same time it is believed to promote thermogenesis and thus increase your metabolic rate)
What to avoid in your dinner:
Foods associated with increasing appetite and which if consumed have the property of leading to further food consumption such as:
- Foods rich in simple carbohydrates, such as white bread, rice and white spaghetti are foods associated in the brain with the feeling of pleasure and relaxation that everyone craves in the evening and can lead to overconsumption. Starchy whole grains such as wild rice, whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread are recommended as more ideal options at dinner.
- Foods rich in fat, such as high-fat cheeses, cream, fried foods that are tasty and whet your appetite.
- Foods containing monosodium glutamate (MSG). We find it mainly in standard products such as crisps, crackers and ready-to-eat meals. It has the property of causing glucose levels to rise sharply, which then fall just as sharply, and the person calls for a balance through more food to replenish their energy.
- Foods rich in sugar, such as chocolate, syrupy sweets, pastes, cookies, etc. Sugar is that food that immediately raises the glucose in the blood and then drops it abruptly, causing you to quickly seek replenishment with more sugar.
- Foods containing anise such as bread or cookies with anise and ouzo which have a mild appetizing effect.
- Consumption of herbs such as garlic, cardamom, pepper, cloves and ginger because they also have a mild appetite-inducing effect. More practically and based on the above, good but also easy options for dinner could be:
* Seasonal salad (raw or boiled) with chicken or turkey or burger chicken in broth with oats or boiled or poached eggs or tuna or seafood boiled/roasted or grilled or smoked salmon or few legumes or 1 handful of nuts or some low-fat cheese and with olive oil and barley nut or some wholemeal bread. * Or seasonal salad (raw or cooked) with some quinoa or some boiled oatmeal and a teaspoon of flaxseed or 1 teaspoon of pine nuts and with olive oil and a barley nut or some wholemeal bread.* Or seasonal salad (raw or boiled) with cottage cheese or other low-fat and avocado and some green apple and with olive oil and barley nut or some wholemeal bread.
* Or a whole-wheat Arabic pita or whole-wheat bread toast with Philadelphia cheese and smoked salmon and vegetables or with chicken and Philadelphia cheese and vegetables, can also be accompanied with an extra salad.
* Or homemade light pizza with 1 whole-wheat Arabic pita and tomato sauce and low-fat toasted cheese and mushrooms and vegetables and air-baked turkey ham.
* Or a vegetable muffin made with eggs and oats and some low-fat cheese
* Or a wrapped souvlaki with oiled pitta with chicken straw, vegetables and mustard or yogurt sauce or tzatziki or 2 chicken straws with oiled pitta plain.
* Or yogurt with fruit or dried fruit.
* Or yogurt with nuts or flaxseed and fruit.
* Or oat cream with milk and oats boiled together and or grated apple or a little honey and cinnamon.
* Or yogurt with oats and an apple or a few cranberries.
* Or vegetable soup with quinoa and vegetables with olive oil and a little barley nut.
* Or vegetable soup with shrimp or chicken with olive oil and a little barley nut.
* Or omelette with vegetables and minimal oil and salad with olive oil and a little barley nut or some wholemeal bread.
Quantities are not mentioned in the above meals because they are personalized.
Finally, regarding the correct time of the evening meal, ideally it would be 2-3 hours before going to bed mainly for reasons of good digestion to ensure a restful sleep.
