Making healthy meals can feel intimidating but it doesn't have to be. I'm going to give you the building blocks to use to build a healthy meal to fit any cuisine that fits your craving.  

1. FAT Every meal must have a healthy source of fat. Fat is important to increase your levels of satiety hormones in your body. Healthy fats play an important role in regulating your cholesterol, helping you digest fat soluble vitamins and is used for your body's hormone production. 
2. FIBER This is another portion of your meal that helps your body feel satisfied, evens out your blood sugar, prevents high cholesterol, can help prevent certain types of cancer and aids in the elimination of "waste" from your body. You should aim to get about 25 grams a day from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, seeds and legumes. 
3. PROTEIN The building block for muscle, antibodies to help your immune system, the transporter of oxygen and nutrients and the macronutrient that helps regulate your body's pH is protein! Make it your goal to get about 20g of protein per meal but if you are still hungry, you can increase this amount.

Sounds simple but yet difficult? Come follow me on IG and click on my stories when I make meals for my family and I'll walk you through how the recipes fit The FFP Method for meal building (fat, fiber, protein). Also, come back to the blog over the next few weeks to get some recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner that will help you follow The FFP Method!

Building your meal the proper way is an important strategy to use to optimize your health, including obtaining or maintaining a healthy weight. What you eat gives you energy but it also impacts your hormones, cravings and general health. This is why I use a simple formula when I'm deciding what to eat!

The first building block is protein. I usually choose this option first because sometimes the protein option will also include my fat for the meal and it will also dictate the co-stars (aka side dishes). 

Second I choose what fiber I would like to eat. Raw vegetables are a great source of fiber and have powerful phytonutrients as well.  I will also sometimes choose a high fiber whole grain bread like Daves Killer Bread which comes with a good amount of fiber, some fat and protein too. 

Next is your source of fat. This could be an oil based salad dressing (preferably avocado or olive oil) to go on your raw vegetables, nuts or nut butter, avocado, eggs, seeds, certain non-dairy milks, unsweetened dark chocolate, etc. 

Last but certainly not least you need to make sure you have some sort of plant in your meal, This is often already there but sometimes you can choose your protein, fat and fiber without using a plant. You're supposed to get at least 7 servings of fruits and vegetables in a day- the only way this happens is if you're constantly eating plants.  

Now you've built your meal in such a way to promote satiety, nourish your body and prevent overeating by controlling your cravings.