Before you start planning your evening menu, calculate how many calories your family can eat before bed. On average, this is 20% of the daily diet. Moreover, a woman needs 1500-2000 kcal per day, which means she can afford 300-400 kcal for dinner. A man needs 2500-3000 kcal, so his evening meal should contain 500-600 kcal. Children spend even more energy per day, so their dinner cannot be lighter than 580 kcal. Just don’t be scared - this doesn’t mean at all that you will have to prepare individual dishes for each family member. It’s just that some will have a larger portion, some will have a smaller one. The main thing is to exclude all flour, semi-finished products, smoked meats and mayonnaise from the menu. However, everyone is familiar with these enemies of the figure, but not many people know what fat content cottage cheese should be, what vegetables and fruits should be avoided, and whether it is possible to eat meat in the evening.
No potatoes
What associations arise when you hear the phrase “low-calorie foods”? Of course, vegetables and fruits. These are indeed some of the lightest representatives of the food basket, but among them there are also insidious “accumulators” of fat. For example, potatoes. The fact is that this tuber, beloved by the residents of our country, contains fast carbohydrates, which instantly affect the waistline. If you decide to pamper your family with fried potatoes, then from 100 g of the dish everyone will receive 163 kcal. And that's not to mention deep frying. This dish will immediately give you 270 kcal. Next on the list of not the easiest vegetables are peas, garlic, sorrel and horseradish. True, it is simply impossible to eat more than 100 grams of these green representatives. The rest of the vegetables: cabbage, carrots, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini - green light. The main thing is to cook them correctly. Keep in mind that the more butter, sour cream or mayonnaise you add, the more calories you make your dish. For example, just chopped cucumbers (100 g) and tomatoes (100 g) provide 38 kcal. As soon as they are seasoned with mayonnaise, the energy value increases to 140 kcal. You shouldn't fry vegetables either. The ideal heat treatment for them is stewing, steaming and boiling.
No bananas
Summer dinners are simply impossible to imagine without fruits and berries. First of all, it's delicious. Secondly, it's useful. But in order for them to remain exclusively a source of vitamins and microelements, and not become the cause of extra pounds, you will have to give up some of them in the evening. First of all, you should put bananas aside until the morning. Just 200 grams of this fruit provide 90 kcal, the same amount we get from mashed potatoes with milk (100 g). Also, you should not overuse grapes in the evening: in addition to the fact that they can lead to bloating, these berries are not the lowest in calories (64 kcal). Be careful with peaches (especially canned ones), cherries, kiwis and cherries. If you're a lover of grapefruits, strawberries, cranberries and currants, you're in luck. You can eat these fruits and berries with virtually no restrictions - they have very few calories. True, this takes into account the fact that you will not add sugar. It almost doubles the energy value. Also, do not replace fresh fruits with canned fruits and jam. Any processing carries additional calories. Compare: 200 g of fresh apples contain only 66 kcal, if baked with sugar, it turns out to be 120 kcal, in jam - 266, and in apple pie even more - 330 kcal.
Without dietary cottage cheese
Next in the ranking of healthy and light foods are fermented milk products, namely cottage cheese and yogurt. The latter is especially respected by young ladies who are losing weight and completely switch to it. In principle, yogurt can restore slimness, but it must be correct. Only the label will help you understand the abundance of yogurt. Under no circumstances take cream yoghurts, biogurts, yoghurts, and so on. They are a pathetic parody of the real product, which is proudly called simply “yogurt”. This rule does not apply only to products with the prefixes “bio” and “prebio”. Such products are real yoghurts, but they additionally contain beneficial living microorganisms.
With cottage cheese things are even more complicated. It would seem that if you want a light dinner, go to the shelf with low-fat fermented milk products, and success in parting with extra pounds is guaranteed. In fact, recently nutritionists are increasingly leaning towards cottage cheese with normal fat content. The fact is that a substance called “CLA” was recently discovered in this product. According to scientists, it is this that prevents the deposition of fat in the body. And the most interesting thing is that the higher the fat content of the cottage cheese, the more CLA it contains. By the way, with a 9% product you will eat 155 kcal, with an 18% product - 229 kcal. Ideally, cottage cheese should be eaten “clean”, but almost no one does this. To make the dish truly tasty and healthy, do not put jam or marmalade in it. They are sources of “bad” sugar, which will definitely end up on your thighs. It’s better to put some berries in the cottage cheese: 2 tbsp. spoons of raspberries, 1 tbsp. spoon of currants and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of blueberries - this will add only 15 kcal to the cottage cheese. Women should not give up fermented milk products at all, because they are champions in calcium content. And this means not only healthy hair and nails, but also the absence of cellulite. The fact is that calcium limits the accumulation of fat, which means it also fights unpleasant bumps.
Without liver
If you think that dinner and meat are incompatible things, then you are deeply mistaken. You should only avoid fatty pork, a piece of which will give you 491 kcal, and lamb (209 kcal). In the evening, you can indulge in white chicken meat containing healthy protein, veal or beef. Ideally, they should be boiled or grilled - this way they will not lose their beneficial qualities and will not gain extra calories. As for offal (liver, kidneys, heart, ventricles), you should be more careful with them. Despite the fact that they contain few calories, they can greatly harm the body. After all, in animals, like in people, all waste is deposited in the kidneys and liver. So, if the cattle were fed low-quality products or antibiotics, do not expect anything good from dishes made from such offal. There are no restrictions with seafood. Prepare shrimp, squid, octopus and mussels. And don't be afraid of fatty fish. It contains Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, which promote weight loss. According to recent studies, if you introduce salmon, tuna, and halibut into the diet of a person on a low-calorie diet, he will lose half a kilogram of excess weight per day.
Very low calorie diets
A very low calorie diet consists of less than 800 calories per day. Some very low-calorie diets consist of 500 calories per day. A person should not start a very low calorie diet without medical support as it may be dangerous to his health.
Doctors consider a very low-calorie diet suitable for obese people who cannot have bariatric surgery and need to lose weight quickly and safely.
Your doctor may suggest drinks for a very low-calorie diet that contain vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and fatty acids. The doctor will also monitor weight loss and blood pressure and check blood tests to make sure the person remains within healthy parameters.
Menu for the week
| Day of the week | Dish |
| Monday – 305 kcal | For the main course, make pumpkin pancakes. For 4 servings you will need 200 g of peeled pumpkin, 1 glass of flour, 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar, 4 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil. First, cut the vegetable into slices and cook it in a water bath until tender. Rub through a sieve, add sugar, flour and mix everything until smooth. Roll the resulting dough into a long roll and cut into 20 identical pieces. Give them a round, slightly flattened shape. Fry the pancakes in hot oil on both sides until golden brown. Boil cauliflower as a side dish. To please your loved ones a little with sweets, offer them honey (no more than 3 tablespoons) and a cup of aromatic tea. |
| Tuesday – 380 kcal | To get a dose of Omega-3, cook Chinese salmon. First combine 2 tbsp. spoons of soy sauce with 1 glass of pineapple juice, 3 tbsp. spoons of dry white wine, 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar and boil the resulting mixture to half the volume. Cut salmon fillet (800 g) into strips, pepper, add some of the sauce and cool (30 minutes). Then place on a greased baking sheet and bake until done. The ideal side dish for this hot dish would be rice. For drinks, serve green tea. |
| Wednesday – 340 kcal | On Wednesday, make a very simple dinner. Prepare chicken breast in sweet and sour sauce. First, cut the fillet into pieces. Then marinate them for 10 minutes in sweet and sour sauce, which you can buy at any store. After this, send the chicken to the frying pan and fry it for 3 minutes. Prepare a salad of fresh vegetables for the breast: you can add tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and bell peppers to it. Sprinkle everything with lemon juice. If you can't do without dressing, add a little olive oil. For drinks, offer apple, tangerine or orange juice. |
| Thursday – 330 kcal | If you prepare a cottage cheese dessert with fruit and berry sauce, you will please all the sweet tooth in the family. Make sure that in addition to cottage cheese, your refrigerator contains mangoes, peaches, orange liqueur, and strawberries. First, mix 600 g of fermented milk product with 2 tbsp. spoons of honey. Place the resulting mass in the refrigerator. For the sauce, peel and finely chop the mango. Scald the peach, remove the skin and pit. Wash the strawberries. Mix prepared fruits and berries with 3 tbsp. spoons of powdered sugar, 2 tbsp. spoons of liqueur. |
| Friday – 170 kcal | Have a vegetable dinner on this day. Prepare the stew. Boil a head of cauliflower, 1/2 cup of peas, a cup of beans. Cut the zucchini, eggplant, 2-3 pieces into cubes. sweet pepper, 2 onions. Place all the vegetables in a saucepan, add 2 tomato slices (without skin). Add salt, bay leaf, black pepper, mint and stew for 15-20 minutes. 2-3 minutes before readiness, add 4 cloves of garlic. |
| Saturday – 350 kcal | If you have some free time on the weekend, cook a gourmet dinner with veal rolls. Peel 2 pears, cut each into 4 parts. Sprinkle them with Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and leave for 10-15 minutes. Cut 600 g of veal into 8 slices and pound. Place a pear on each piece, roll it up and tie it. Salt. Dip the rolls in flour and fry in a mixture of butter and olive oil (50 g and 2 tablespoons, respectively) until golden brown. Then pour 1 glass of white wine over them, let them sit for a while and add 2 tbsp. spoons of cognac. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes. You can serve wine with this dish. |
| Sunday – 360 kcal | On this day, you can offer your loved ones peppers stuffed with cottage cheese and baked apples with honey and cinnamon. To make the first course, prepare 4 pcs. sweet pepper, 400 g cottage cheese, green onions, 2 tbsp. spoons of chopped dill. Cut off the cap of the pepper and remove the seeds. Mix cottage cheese with finely chopped onions and herbs. Stuff the pepper with curd filling, cool and cut it into rings. |
Low calorie diet for the day
Below is a 1,200 calorie meal plan for 1 day. It is important to note that this meal plan is only a suggestion.
Breakfast
- 1 medium slice whole grain bread with 2 teaspoons regular jelly
- 1/2 cup shredded wheat with a cup of 1% fat milk
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 cup regular coffee
2 breakfast
roast beef sandwich made with 2 medium slices whole grain bread, 2 ounces lean, out-of-season roast beef, 1 lettuce, 3 tomato slices, and 1 teaspoon low-calorie mayonnaise
1 medium apple
1 glass of water
Dinner
- 50 grams of salmon, cooked in 1.5 tsp. vegetable oil
- 3/4 medium baked potato, seasoned with 1 teaspoon margarine
- 1/2 cup green beans
- 1/2 cup carrots
- 1 small bun
- 1 cup unsweetened iced tea
- 2 glasses of water
Snack
2.5 cups popcorn, popped with 3/4 teaspoon margarine
Stars about dinner
| Valeria – In the evening, it is better to choose protein foods over all other foods. Doctors have long established that the calories we get, for example, from fish, are burned by the body much faster than those contained in vegetables. I have come up with the ideal formula for a light dinner - low-fat cottage cheese. It’s better to buy grain, it’s very tasty. However, regular one can be diluted with yogurt. |
| Anna Semenovich – Many women think that the best way to lose weight is to diet. And they begin to exhaust themselves with painful hunger strikes, which do more harm than good. After all, this is stress for the body. I never go on diets and I don’t advise you to. If you want to be slim, eat a little bit of everything and, most importantly, not at night. There is no need for any dinners: neither light nor heavy. Let your last meal be 5 hours before bedtime. |
| Katya Lel – A light dinner should be healthy. If you care about your figure, do not eat anything fatty, fried or spicy at night. Only dietary varieties of meat and fish, steamed or baked. Also, try not to drink food. As far as I know, the liquid disrupts the digestion process. The only drink allowed is green tea, but it must be in minimal quantities. |
Low-calorie dinners for weight loss
Towards evening, metabolic processes slow down, so you should not eat junk food that weighs down your stomach.
No. 1. Beef meatballs with cheese
- sweet pepper - 1 pc.
- minced beef - 0.45 kg.
- egg - 1 pc.
- hard cheese - 130-150 gr.
- onion - 1 pc.
1. Peel the onion, pass through a meat grinder, squeeze out the juice. Do the same with pepper.
2. Combine the ingredients prepared above with the minced meat and add salt. Chop the cheese into cubes.
3. Place a slice of cheese inside each meatball. Send the meat pieces to bake in a steamer or in the oven. Ready!
Such low-calorie dishes are designed specifically for weight loss. From simple products you only need to take minced meat, cheese, and vegetables. As easy as pie!
No. 2. Broccoli Chicken Casserole
- hard cheese - 80-100 gr.
- minced chicken - 0.35 kg.
- broccoli/cauliflower - 0.5 kg.
- milk - 240 ml.
- onion - 1 pc.
- sweet pepper - 1.5 pcs.
- egg - 2 pcs.
- herbs and spices - to your taste
1. It doesn’t matter what you choose, broccoli or cauliflower, it must be boiled for 7 minutes.
2. In another bowl, combine eggs with milk and beat with a mixer. Blend the onion in a blender and add to the minced meat.
3. Peel the sweet pepper and chop into rings. Prepare the pan for the oven, grease with oil.
4. Lay out boiled cabbage, pepper slices, and minced meat in layers. Pour in eggs and sprinkle with grated cheese. Place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
No. 3. Fish with vegetables in yoghurt sauce
- hard cheese - 0.1 kg.
- onion - 1 pc.
- fish (preferably red) - 0.6 kg.
- yogurt/sour cream - 0.2 kg.
- carrots - 1 pc.
1. Prepare the fish by chopping it into steaks. Sprinkle with salt, grate and leave for 10 minutes. Grease a baking tray and place the fish on it.
2. Separately, fry the onions and carrots in a frying pan. Add yogurt, stir, simmer for another 5 minutes and turn off.
3. Pour the hot mixture over the contents of the baking sheet, sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 220 degrees for half an hour.
