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6 ways to healthy up your dinner

Keep an eye out for large dinner plates and excessive amounts of oil.

Updated on March 15, 2022

Couple eating health salads
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You eat healthfully and conscientiously throughout the day, but when dinner rolls around it's understandable to want to indulge a bit. The trick is, if you overdo it at your evening meal, you could be taking on more calories than you bargained for.

The good news is that there are ways to splurge at dinnertime while still reining in your intake of calories, salt, andShow More

Group eating Italian food
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Rethink the Size of Your Dinner

Consuming too few calories during the day may lead to overeating at night. Instead of gearing up for a dinner of epic proportion, opt for a larger breakfast or lunch. This should keep you from overdoing it at the dinner table.

When you do sit down for supper, it's important to practice portionShow More

Person pouring vegetable oil into cooking pan
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Go Easy on Cooking Oil

Vegetables are vital to any healthy diet, but adding too much oil can quickly ramp up your caloric intake. Monounsaturated fats, like olive oil, can help lower blood cholesterol and protect your heart from disease, but they also add calories to your meal. Per tablespoon, olive oil contains 120Show More

Man opening fridge for late night snack
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Eat Earlier in the Evening

The timing of your snacks and meals may not cause weight gain in and of itself, but what you choose to eat might. When nighttime hunger strikes, we often reach for what's convenient. That means we often grab options that can be high in calories and low in nutrients. 

To help makeShow More

Tv dinner
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Keep Frozen Dinners on Ice

Don’t let the small package fool you, frozen dinners are often loaded with more fat, sugar, and sodium than home-cooked meals. And when your tiny TV dinner fails to fill you up, you'll likely go searching for something else to nosh, adding more calories to your day.

Beware the “diet-friendly”Show More

Soda with ice
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Choose Your Drinks Wisely

Sometimes a glass of wine or sugary soft drink sounds like the best way to unwind after a stressful day, but you might want to reconsider your drink of choice. A 5-ounce glass of wine contains about 100 calories, a 12-ounce glass of fruit juice contains about 170 calories, and a 20-ounce bottle ofShow More

White plates on wooden table
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Downsize Your Plates

The way you plate your food may help determine how many calories you consume. When we eat from a large dinner plate, we may serve ourselves more. You may also think you’re eating less than you actually are and go back for a second helping that you don't really need. One chicken breast and a halfShow More

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