Healthy Dinner—5 Best Ideas and Recipes!

A healthy dinner is extremely important because it helps us maintain a healthy lifestyle, improve sleep quality, regulate body weight, prevent disease, and maintain high energy levels.

Dinner, or the last meal of the day, should “keep” you full until breakfast (especially if you are trying to lose weight), so it is advisable to eat foods rich in nutrients such as protein and fiber.

Avoid late dinners, and it is recommended that your last meal be at least four hours before bedtime. Eating too close to bedtime can reduce sleep quality and stimulate inflammatory processes.

There is nothing wrong with snacking before going to bed, but you should make sure that this meal is light, balanced, nutritious, and healthy.

Meat, dairy products, and grains are not desirable foods for dinner, nor are foods containing acid.

Be sure to include vegetables and foods rich in protein and fiber, such as quinoa, tofu, tempeh, lentils, and nuts, in your dinner.

What foods should a healthy dinner contain?

The key to a healthy diet and health outcomes is food diversity! It has been scientifically proven that our metabolic health improves:

• Continuous consumption of foods rich in fiber
• Regular consumption of fermented foods
• Consumption of foods rich in micronutrients and polyphenols

As a bonus, a complex and diverse microbiome flourishes.

If you do not practice any severe nutritional restriction but regularly consume a variety of vegetables and plant foods, have an adequate amount of protein in each meal, and avoid ultra-processed foods, and, in parallel with the above, aim to keep your gut microbes happy—you are on the right track.

Protein-rich foods:

• meat
• fish
• eggs
• cheese
• Vegan options: tofu, seitan, tempeh, edamame…

If needed, protein powders such as whey and vegan proteins can be included.

Protein intake has proven to be a key factor for humans in maintaining muscle mass and as an excellent tool for appetite control, because it has the highest satiety index of all macronutrients.

Vegetables and fruits

Vegetables rank first among unprocessed plant foods, followed by fruits.

Experts say that the optimal balance and ratio of consumed vegetables and fruits is approximately 4:1, due to the composition of these foods, the fiber content, and the composition of sugar.

Fiber

Fiber is also present in the aforementioned fruits and vegetables. They are vital because they nourish our good microbes and make us feel full.

Fiber is difficult to digest at the beginning of the digestive tract, so its nutrients mostly reach the large intestine before being absorbed. Foods rich in fiber include:

• legumes (beans, lentils, peas, etc.)
• lots of green vegetables (spinach, artichokes, leeks, etc.)
• fruit (e.g. apples and berries)
• unrefined whole grains

Fermented foods

Scientists and nutritionists are increasingly, due to the results of the latest research, suggesting regular, daily consumption of fermented foods such as:

• kefir and yogurt (you can make homemade with a Yogurt Maker container and starter cultures for yogurt or starter cultures for kefir.)
• kimchi
• sauerkraut
• kombucha
• miso paste

Japanese fermented soybeans, and even fermented chocolate
Such foods usually also contain polyphenol compounds, an excellent source of food for our microbes (for this reason, they belong to the group of foods we call prebiotics).

Polyphenols are not only present in fermented foods; they can also be found in foods such as:

• blueberries
• raspberries
• blackberries
• olive oil
• dark chocolate
• seeds
• coffee and green tea

Eat foods with carbohydrates, but also those that are rich in fiber.

Such foods ensure a longer feeling of satiety and give you energy.

When it comes to carbohydrates, the quantity of food is important, so with a generous number of vegetables and protein foods, you can serve 80 g of brown rice or quinoa.

Don’t be afraid of carbohydrates because they can satisfy later cravings for sweet and fatty foods, but don’t overdo it with portions either.

Now that we’ve briefly gone over the nutritional aspect of a healthy dinner, it’s time to share healthy recipes with you.

Healthy Dinner—Recipes and Ideas for the Whole Week

The most important thing is to avoid unhealthy meals and foods that contain a lot of sugar, refined carbohydrates, and additives.

Below, we provide you with 7 examples of meals for every day of the week to make planning a healthy and delicious dinner easier!

And don’t forget that you can find all the necessary premium quality and organic ingredients for these delicious recipes in one place—in our Healthy Food Factory!

1. Tofu Bowl with Quinoa—Healthy and Light Dinner

The concept of a bowl, or poke bowl, a traditional Hawaiian dish, has become globally popular, and there are good reasons for this—it is a healthy meal that is bursting with flavors and will not leave anyone hungry.

The traditional poke bowl consists of white rice over which raw fish marinated in a mixture of sesame oil, soy sauce, green onions, and other spices is sliced.

Of course, we decided to go for a slightly different version…

The dish will include sesame seeds, tahini, smoked tofu, and many other healthy ingredients.

The combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fiber in a poke bowl is the ideal solution for a light and nutritious meal.

The recipe is here, and the dish can be made with fish or tofu, as in our vegan version.

⇒ Note: Tofu bowl with quinoa—light, diet, healthy

2. Colorful vegetable tortillas for a dinner full of flavor

The dish features an abundance of vegetables, a unique spread, and crispy tortillas. That’s, in short, the recipe we’ve prepared for you!

Yes, it couldn’t be simpler…and oh my, it couldn’t be healthier! Lettuce, cucumbers, radicchio, carrots, and purple cabbage are the healthiest part of these little bundles of happiness.

These vegetables have always gone well with salads and woks, but also with tortillas. But one special spread will make them even better together—pumpkin hummus.

The recipe for colorful vegetable tortillas is waiting for you here.

⇒ Note: I would eat these colorful vegetable tortillas every day!

3. A simple chickpea and leek soup for a healthy dinner

We’ve put an intriguing twist on the classic French cuisine—leek and potato soup.

We’ve now added chickpeas to the potatoes and leeks, which will help keep you feeling full for a long time and will also contribute to the fine texture of this dish, which we highly recommend for a nutritious and delicious dinner during the workweek.

The recipe for this delicious leek and chickpea soup is waiting for you here.

⇒ Note: Today on the menu—chickpea and leek soup

4. Enjoy a Beluga Lentil Salad for a Healthy Dinner!

Beluga black lentils are rich in dietary fiber and folate. And today they are ready for a perfect salad.

Salads are a great dinner option, especially with seasonal ingredients.

Unlike other types, black lentils contain anthocyanins—the same powerful antioxidant found in dark berries like blueberries and blackberries.

When preparing black lentils, the excellent thing is that you don’t need to soak them beforehand; just rinse them thoroughly under running water and cook for about twenty minutes.

When cooked, they retain a more compact shape than other lentils. And now that they are ready, feel free to keep them in the refrigerator and in the coming days prepare a delicious salad.

This dish will sustain you during the most challenging times. The recipe is waiting for you here.

⇒ Note: Everyone enjoys the summer salad prepared with beluga lentils.

5. Buckwheat with pumpkin for a delicious and healthy dinner

If a rice dish is risotto, then a buckwheat dish is buckwheat, of course! A simple dish that is prepared just like a risotto, it is thick, rich, and creamy and will win you over at the first bite.

Particularly, it incorporates pumpkin, the year-round adornment of orange beauty.

Buckwheat does not contain gluten, which is why it is widely accepted among people with celiac disease.

A delicious buckwheat recipe that you can prepare for a healthy dinner is waiting for you here.

⇒ Note: Buckwheat porridge with pumpkin for a delicious and healthy dinner