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With the abundance of healthy recipes and eating plans available online, learning how to build the perfect skinny dinner can be a bit daunting. What’s one to do with the seemingly conflicting information that is out there? All you want is a healthy dinner that’s simple and easy to make! Have no fear, because meal time doesn’t have to be complicated at all. With a few easy steps, you can learn how to build the perfect skinny dinner!
Choose your protein
The first step to build the perfect skinny dinner is to start with protein. Four ounces of lean protein is sufficient for most people. Choose any protein of the following:
- Lean chicken or turkey breast
- Wild salmon
- White flaky fish
- Wild-caught shrimp
- Lean beef
- Tofu or another meat substitute
- Legumes
- Natural pork chops or tenderloin
Add fiber with leafy greens
Next up to build the perfect skinny dinner is fiber. While all non-starchy vegetables are beneficial, leafy greens are particularly “skinny-friendly.” They contain fiber and nutrients that slow down digestion and provide better glucose control. You’ll feel full without adding a lot of calories or carbs. As a bonus, many of these have zero fat!
These greens will be a wonderful addition to any dinner:
- Spinach
- Chard (swiss, green, red, rainbow)
- Dandelion Greens
- Kale (Tuscan or curly)
- Turnip greens
- Mustard greens
Bring on the veggies
These delicious vegetables are packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and inflammation-fighting properties. They’ll provide your meal with beautiful color and interesting textures, too. Choose as many as you like:
- Aromatics such as onions, garlic, fennel, carrots and celery
- Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts)
- Colorful peppers (sweet or spicy)
- Tomatoes
- Squash (spaghetti, summer, zucchini, acorn, butternut)
Infuse flavor, not fat
These tips will help you build the perfect skinny dinner with the most flavor-packed ingredients. They all have little or no added fat:
- Use a non-stick pan or skillet to eliminate the need for cooking oil or added fat.
- Roasted garlic adds a richness and velvety “buttery” flavor without butter.
- Should the pan become dry, add vegetable, chicken or beef broth instead of oil.
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper make a world of difference.
- Add dried and fresh herbs and spices to infuse even more flavor.
There you have it: The foolproof formula for the perfect skinny dinner. All that’s missing is your imagination and creativity!
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