Healthy meal ideas for 2016 on the Morning News

WINNIPEG – With a new year starting, many of us are looking for healthy meal suggestions that are simple to put together.

Global’s Shannon Cuciz sat down with Chef Eraj Jayawickreme to discuss simple and light breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas to try for 2016.

For breakfast, Jayawickreme suggests a whole wheat tofu wrap, with mushrooms, avocado and spinach or a quinoa sweet potato kale mix with poached eggs and grapefruit.

4:02 Healthy breakfast ideas for 2016 on the Morning News

Chef Jayawickreme discusses why a protein packed breakfast and whole grains will keep you full all morning with Global’s Shannon Cuciz.

“Breakfast is the most important golden meal of the day,” Jayawickreme said. “These things can be made ahead of time.”

He suggests adding foods like quinoa to the early morning meals because of their low glycemic index, which means the food takes a long time to digest and break down.

“It’s a very gradual release of energy for you,” Jayawickreme said. “It will keep you fuller longer so you don’t crash around 1:00 and eat a chocolate bar or something like that.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a very gradual release of energy for you," Jayawickreme said. "It will keep you fuller longer so you don't crash around 1:00 and eat a chocolate bar or something like that."

For lunch he suggests a light salad with added protein such as chicken or hard boiled eggs.

2:52 Light lunch idea for 2016 on the Morning News

Chef Jayawickreme explains why a light cobb salad with chicken will keep you full until dinner while trying to stay healthy in the new year.

“Get some large jars and then put in all your salad ingredients,” Jayawickreme said. “It satiates you and keeps you full until dinner time so you don’t feel like you need to take a nap in the middle of the day.”

For dinner Jayawickreme took a traditional spaghetti dinner and turned it into lighter dish by swapping out the red meat.

“This lightens up the sauce… so you go to bed not feeling very heavy,” Jayawickreme said. “You can use chicken or turkey and it tastes just as delicious.”

3:15 Healthy dinner idea for 2016 with Global’s Shannon Cuciz

Swapping out red meat for chicken can provide a lighter pasta for dinner according to Chef Eraj Jayawickreme, who shared healthy meal ideas on the Morning News.