What should I Eat Tonight Wheel? There are too many options when it comes to food. It’s exhausting, isn’t it? I mean, how do you choose from Chick-Fil-A, Olive Garden, Chipotle and so many other options not to even mention at fast food joints like McDonalds or Burger King. It can be tedious and I’ll be honest when I say that the hardest part is making that decision.
Importance of Eating Light and Early Dinner.
Apart from what you eat, the amount and timing of your meal also have an impact on your overall wellbeing.
Modern lifestyle with hectic work schedules and long commute time has forced many people into irregular eating habits including late-night dinners. But these habits can cause chaos in your health causing weight gain,heart problems, and other troubles.
For your wellbeing, try to have dinner early, roughly 3-4hours before you sleep. And having a light dinner can also help you to fight many problems.
Benefits of eating early and light dinner included lower blood pressure, better sleep, improve digestion, better metabolism to reduce obesity risk, and more.
Restricting your meal intake in the time between 6 to 7 pm can reduce your overall calorie intake drastically. Also, a longer duration ofthe over night fast helps with increasing fat loss. This is because your body gets plenty time to reach a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a natural state for your body, when it is almost completely fuelled by fat. In other words, you are using stored fat for energy. And it will help in losing weight.
When you sleep, your blood pressure drops by nearly 10 percent. This allows your body to rest. And in the morning before you wake up, it begins to increase again. This pattern repeats daily. When you eat dinner just before bed time, this pattern gets disturbed and impacts your blood pressure. Since your blood pressure remains at a high level, there is a chance of a heart attack. Eating dinner early and light, will decrease the risk significantly. Early dinner gives extra time for your food for digestion.
Slow digestion causes you to feel bloated, and uncomfortable. Heartburn caused by dining late and heavy can interfere with restful sleep. Dinning early also can lower the risk of cancer. Early and light dinner reduces the obesity risk. Early dinner helps you to reduce acid reflux. The discomfort will be increased if you have a heavy dinner at night. Light and early dinner can stabilize your blood sugar and maintain your hormone cycle healthy. If you have your dinner late and heavy or after having dinner you sleep early then the calories you took with dinner would not use and deposited in your body as fat. And you will face problems like overweight, acid reflux, gas, and bloating, etc. for example if your bedtime is between 10:30 to11:30 then you should have your dinner from 6:30 to 7:30. If due to some reason you can’t have your dinner early thenyou can follow these steps like use ginger in your dinner. If you want to lose weight then replace regular salt from your dinner to rock salt or Himalayan salt. If you are eating late then do 10 minutes of vajrasana and have 10 to 15 minutes of thes low walk so that your dinner gets digested. And if you feel that dining early makes you feel Hungary in the late night then you can have milk before sleeping. And sleep on your left side as it will protect you from any stomach problems.
What Should I Eat Tonight? Quick and Healthy Dinner Recipes
Here are some quick and healthy dinner recipes you can enjoy without breaking a sweat.
1. Easy, Healthy Meat Sauce
When you get both nutrition and gastronomic indulgence, you know it’s something you need to try. This easy marinara recipe uses fresh vegetables, ground sirloin, and jarred marinara sauce–no need to do the sauce from scratch! If you’re preparing a week-long meal plan, this recipe is recommended as it has a shelf life of five days and can be kept in mason jars.
- Total prep and cook time: 30-35 minutes
- Health factor: Ground sirloin is the leanest cut of meat–that’s fatless protein for you!
2. White Bean and Tuna Quesadillas with Cherry Tomato Pico
White beans have a mellow, blunt taste to them, which means you can mix them in whatever sauce or broth you have. This tuna quesadilla recipe takes its taste from fresh cherry tomato pico, making it a savory meal you can have any time of the day.
- Total prep and cook time: 25 minutes
- Health factor: Beans are among the top quick dinner recipes that score low on the glycemic index. This helps reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
3. Green Salad With Lemon Dressing
Good healthy dinners don’t need to be extravagant to be enjoyable. In the case of this dish, the lemon’s tangy taste cuts through the fresh, earthy texture of vegetables, ultimately providing you with a satisfying multi-sensory experience.
There are many other benefits to lemon, such as helping improve brain functions, boost the immune system, and help your body’s internal pH.
- Total prep and cook time: 20 minutes
- Health factor: Keeping a high-fiber diet can help lower cholesterol levels and improve digestion.
4. Smoky Citrus Shrimp With Parsley
This easy-to-prepare meal comes with oodles of flavors that burst in your mouth, sending you straight to a unique and satisfying gastronomic adventure.
- Total prep and cook time: 40 minutes
- Health factor: Shrimps are known to be low in calories and high in protein.
5. Salmon Avocado Poke Bowls
This simple Hawaiian dish offers a nice balance between the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of fresh salmon and the creamy, smooth taste of avocado. Add to this the filling quality of rice, and you’ll surely have some great dinner ideas for tonight.
- Total prep and cook time: 20 minutes
- Health factor: Avocados are very nutritious and contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.
6. Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken and Roast Broccoli
A healthy and deliciously satisfying meal in a single sheet pan. This improved and simplified version of everyone’s favorite chicken recipe cuts down on prep and cook time while keeping the good healthy dinners you love. Leftovers also make for a tasty and filling lunch the next day.
- Total prep and cook time: 40 minutes
- Health factor: Did you know that chicken meat is a natural antidepressant? Keep your happy hormones afloat even after a challenging day at the office with this easy-to-prepare meal that’s both hearty and healthy.
7. Green Eggs and Ham Frittata
This version of the popular egg dish offers a generous load of spinach, leeks, and dill. The meal also highlights the sweet taste of ham and the piquant texture of cheese. This is one of the best healthy dinner recipes since it can even pass for breakfast if you have leftovers.
- Total prep and cook time: 30 minutes
- Health factor: This pantry staple is packed with vitamins and minerals and is rich in protein, amino acids, and healthy fats.
8. Baked Chicken Fingers With Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
This delicious chicken meal, which doubles as a snack, is an ideal recipe for people on the go. Pop the breaded chicken in the oven, prepare your dipping sauce, and add some greens! This is also a healthy alternative to greasy chicken fingers that kids love so much.
- Total prep and cook time: 25 minutes
- Health factor: Baking the chicken instead of frying it gives you all the flavors without the guilt.
9. Easy Salmon and Potato Foil Packets
No need to have advanced cooking skills to put this delicious meal together. This dish has the zesty, refreshing flavors of orange and lemon and infuses them into the tender and flaky meat of salmon.
- Total prep and cook time: 25-30 minutes
- Health factor: The combination of salmon and potato in this meal makes it great for the bones and heart.
10. Asian Prawn and Quinoa Salad
Fresh salad recipes always do the trick for good healthy dinners. If you’re looking for a meal packed with flavours without compromising on nutritional value, this delightful concoction is perfect for you. This also makes for a great gluten alternative.
- Total prep and cook time: 30 minutes
- Health factor: Quinoa, often called the “wonder grain,” is loaded with protein, fiber, and antioxidants. It is also popularly known to be a healthier alternative to carbohydrates.
11. Chicken Curry in a Hurry
This simpler take on everyone’s favorite Indian meal uses rotisserie chicken, cutting your cooking time in half. It also contains Greek yogurt, which adds an interesting dimension to its already flavorful taste profile.
- Total prep and cook time: 45 minutes
- Health factor: Yogurt is known to help address certain gastrointestinal conditions such as lactose intolerance, constipation, and diarrhea.
12. Tomato Chickpea Salad
This hearty and easy-to-prepare meal marries the sublime taste of chickpeas and the invigorating quality of tomatoes. It also offers a generous serving of fresh ingredients such as parsley, cucumber, and green onions—a sure burst of flavors in the mouth!
- Total prep and cook time: 10 minutes
- Health factor: Tomatoes help maintain a healthy blood pressure level.
13. Roasted Cucumbers With Cream and Horseradish
Partner your favorite meat recipes with this dolled-up cucumber meal. Cooked with butter and cream and accompanied with horseradish, lemon zest, and dill, this sumptuous side dish also makes a great, filling meal all on its own.
- Total prep and cook time: 35 minutes
- Health factor: Cucumbers help fight body inflammation with their cooling properties and are packed with vitamin A, B, and C.
Surprising Benefits of Eating at Night
There are several benefits to eating at night.
For years you’ve probably heard that it’s bad to eat before bed. And that may be true if you’re on a fasting diet. But eating at night isn’t a weight gain trigger, so you’re OK if you’re snacking on a pomegranate or eating dates at night. In fact, there are a lot of surprising benefits to a nighttime snack.
1. Improves Overnight Muscle Synthesis
One of the common reasons you’ve heard that you shouldn’t eat before bed is that it will cause you to gain weight. And sure, binging on snacks in bed isn’t great for your waistline. But it turns out that nighttime meals can actually help you improve your body’s appearance.
A study in Nutrients in January 2015 found that a bedtime snack helped men synthesize muscle in their sleep. The researchers of the study recommended limiting the meal to 150 calories for the best effects. A study published in December 2017 in the Journal of Nutrition suggests 40 grams of protein for your nightly meals. That’s a little more than 150 calories, but sticking to proteins is still a good idea.
However you fill your 150 calories, the good news is you’re not gaining weight from it. And if you are, it’s muscle weight. Now that’s the kind of weight you want to gain, right? The type of weight that makes your body look toned and fit, not soft.
2. Improves Your Morning Metabolism
If you’re concerned about gaining weight, then you don’t want to neglect your metabolism. It’s the process that your body uses to convert food into energy. When it’s not functioning at its fullest, your body will store more fat. So if you want to lose weight, you want to ensure that your metabolism is functioning at its best.
Recent studies show eating before has a bed positive impact on the metabolism in the morning. Both healthy men and women who had obesity, according to the Nutrients study, had improved metabolisms from bedtime meals. The study showed that eating a small snack before bed causes the metabolism to kick into gear by morning. So when you eat breakfast, your body will have an easier time turning your food to energy.
A British Journal of Nutrition January 2014 study had similar results. The participants — active men — showed increased metabolic activity in the morning. This study noted improved metabolic impacts of eating different proteins and carbs, which means that you don’t have to limit your snack to a protein bar to get this benefit.
3. Improves Your Morning Appetite
It might sound counterintuitive, but eating before bed can make you less hungry for breakfast in the morning. If your goal is to lose weight, then reducing your appetite is a good start. So while a pre-bed snack sounds like more food, it may not be as long as you listen to your reduced appetite come breakfast.
The Nutrients study examined the capacity for late night meals to reduce morning hunger. The researchers focused on populations of men who were healthy and athletic and women who had obesity. There was evidence of glycemic blowbacks in the females studied, but regular workouts combated this effect. Still, additional studies need to be done on other populations, such as healthy women, before claims can be made.
A study in the August 14 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition also focused on women who had obesity. They observed the same side effects as the Nutrients study. The article noted the reduction of morning appetite following consumption of a bedtime snack. Research continues to provide evidence that eating at night may reduce your morning appetite.
4. Some Foods Help You Sleep
One of the benefits of eating before bed that isn’t all about weight is its ability to help you sleep. You may not realize this, but some foods contain nutrients that improve sleep function. So if you eat a snack packed with melatonin, for example, you’ll likely have an easier time falling asleep. In some cases, it’ll even help you stay asleep.
A Nutrients article from April 2017 looked at the melatonin levels of certain foods and found that snacks with additions such as nuts and wheat supply a good amount of melatonin. A study in the March 2015 issue of Neuron points out the vital role melatonin plays in falling and staying asleep — something particularly helpful for those with insomnia.
Melatonin is a hormone made in your body that regulates your sleep cycle, with levels going up at night and coming down in the morning. Many people supplement with melatonin to improve sleep, but adding foods that contain the natural hormone may work just as well.
If you don’t have insomnia, there are still reasons to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. A study in the June 2016 issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutritional and Physical Activity found that sleep deprivation causes weight gain. So you might want to start working harder on getting better sleep. Melatonin has a lot of other benefits as well; for example, it improves your immune system, reduces signs of aging and is anti-inflammatory.