What's Missing From Your Dinner Plate?
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Is there something missing from your dinner plate? It’s likely that the answer is yes. Even when you grow your own food, and you’re always sure about what goes into a meal, it can still be easy to miss a few crucial ingredients. After all, we’ve got our own tastes and likes, and sometimes that means we miss our 5 a day a few nights in a row!
However, it can be easy to fix these potential nutrient gaps, and with the points below, you can start to make better decisions about what you eat and how often. Let’s make your diet work for you!
A Certain Food Group
How do you construct a meal? What do you base it on, and what do you add as sides? Because meals are constructed in a very similar way all across the globe. Usually, the meal starts with a carb, such as pasta or potatoes, and then various vegetables are added on top, with a dash of dairy on the side, and then a protein to finish. Once this has all been cooked and plated, you’ve got a good meal that includes as many complex nutrients from all over the food pyramid!
A Balanced Flavor Profile
Some say it’s a science, others say it comes naturally to you, but when you’re putting a meal together and thinking about the way the flavors work with each other, you’ve got to be sure you’re offering a balanced flavor profile. Taste ingredients as they go into the pot, and see how they fit together before you serve up.
Indeed, the oft forgotten fifth flavor element comes in the form of umami foods. Umami is a flavour we all enjoy, thanks to the many taste receptors we have for it, and it’s a deep flavor that perfectly offsets the bitter, sweet, sour, and salty tastes we’re used to. Protein-rich foods are packed with Umami, and even just the bottle of ketchup in your cupboard is a great source!
Think About the Colors
The colors on your plate typically inform you as to the nutrient profile the meal you’ve made has to offer. After all, these colors are made from pigments generated by the chemical makeup of the fruit or vegetable in the first place —you can find a full breakdown of how these colors come about, and what they mean for you, right here.
But speaking in simple terms, if there’s too much red or white on your plate, add a bit of green and yellow, and vice versa. Try to balance your plate in a similar way to a color wheel, and you might find it incredibly easy to ensure you’re consuming full, balanced meals on a regular basis.
Your dinner plate might be missing a few nutrients here and there, but this is easy to change. Try to experiment with foods a little more, and always go for a flavor balance for best results.
