Kennst du das? Du hattest einen stressigen Tag in der Arbeit & warst dann noch im Fitnessstudio – und hast jetzt, zu vorgerückter Stunde, einen Bärenhunger. Der Körper verlangt nach Energie, gerne in Form von Pizza oder Pommes. Doch Moment mal. Da gibt’s doch diesen alten Spruch: „Iss morgens wie ein Kaiser, mittags wie ein König, abends wie ein Bettelmann.“
Lately, dinner has fallen somewhat out of favor. With dietary trends like "dinner cancelling" and "intermittent fasting," the last meal of the day is simply skipped. Many people swear by it and, for example, eat their last meal at 4 or 5 p.m. before going to bed. They expect health benefits such as more restful sleep and/or sustainable weight loss. Can this really work? Should you skip dinner?
Intermittent fasting, also known as interval fasting, involves abstaining from food for days or hours to boost metabolism. There are various forms, with dinner cancelling being particularly popular. In this diet concept, only calorie-free drinks such as water and tea are allowed in the evening, creating a break from eating of at least 14 hours until breakfast. This is intended to regulate insulin levels and slow down the aging process.
As popular as intermittent fasting currently is, the current state of research on it is just as sparse. There have been few clinical human studies to date that have investigated the effects of intermittent fasting. In particular, the long-term consequences have not yet been researched. Proponents of this dietary concept emphasize that regular food abstinence in animal experiments has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, critics complain that there are few or no recommendations for food choices in intermittent fasting.¹ So you could eat only chocolate during the day – as long as you then skip dinner, you would still be doing everything "right" in terms of alternating fasting. Whether this can actually be recommended with regard to your nutrient supply can at least be doubted.
We conclude: skipping dinner isn't necessarily healthy. So you don't have to deny yourself your evening meal and you don't have to go to bed hungry if you want to do something good for your body. On the contrary: if you don't eat in the evening, you run the risk of being woken up at night by agonizing cravings – and you might find yourself in front of the fridge at two in the morning, spooning chocolate spread.
Conversely, this does not mean that it doesn't matter what you eat in the evening. The food you choose influences your well-being – especially in the evening, when you are slowly winding down and your body is preparing for sleep. Which foods are recommended from a nutritional perspective? Here are our ideas for a light, healthy dinner.
A healthy dinner is made up of balanced ingredients and provides you and your family with optimal complex carbohydrates, protein, fat, as well as essential vitamins and minerals. Sounds complicated? It doesn't have to be! Even a quick dinner can provide you with valuable nutrients and promote your health – for example, whole-grain bread with avocado. A cold dinner is by no means universally unhealthier than a warm, freshly cooked meal. It's more about the composition than the type of preparation. However, some people find a warm meal in the evening easier to digest – feel into yourself and decide what does you good after a long, stressful day.
Good to know: Whether you eat vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or omnivorous doesn't matter initially. A healthy dinner is possible with all dietary forms.
Need some inspiration for what to eat after work? Looking for dinner ideas that fit your daily routine? Here are some tips for a healthy dinner – cold or warm, with or without meat. Pick what you like and enjoy your meal!
In many countries around the world, rice is a staple food – and Japan is no exception. The Asian island nation is said to have one of the healthiest, most diverse culinary traditions in the world and is known for having a particularly high number of people who live to be over 100 years old.¹⁰ How does this relate to rice consumption? And is it healthy to eat rice in the evening?
Rice is an important energy source for many people worldwide, as the grain is rich in carbohydrates. However, this characteristic has also earned the plant a reputation as a fattening food. The fact is: rice provides the body with important nutrients such as Vitamin B1, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Various varieties are available, of which the whole grain variant is particularly recommended from a nutritional point of view.¹¹
This question is not so easy to answer. After all, there are about eight billion people living on Earth and tastes are known to differ. A culinary platform called "Taste Atlas" offers a clue, where over 15,000 dishes from all over the world can be rated. A traditional Colombian dish currently takes first place there: Lechona, a kind of suckling pig that is filled with rice, peas, onions, and spices.⁹
Slow roasting makes the meat exceptionally tender and juicy. It is served with corn tortillas and fresh salad. Lechona is considered Colombia's national dish and is often served on special occasions – after all, a whole roasted pig can feed up to 100 people. In second place in the "Taste Atlas Awards" is the popular Pizza Napoletana, with its thin crust and airy edge, followed by Picanha, a Brazilian beef dish, in third place.
Brown rice is rich in fiber, keeps you full for a long time, and helps control blood sugar. So there's no reason not to eat rice in the evening. Especially in combination with fresh vegetables and lean poultry or tofu, it makes a wholesome dinner that provides you with important vitamins, minerals, and proteins. The only exception: if you want to lose weight using the "Slim While You Sleep" method and therefore avoid carbohydrates in the evening, then you should omit the rice due to its high carbohydrate content.
Incidentally, in Japan, white rice is traditionally eaten. Nevertheless, people there are rarely overweight and live to an above-average age. Why is that? The secret apparently lies in the combination of foods. Because the Japanese naturally don't just eat (white) rice, but also a lot of vegetables and fish. This is complemented by soy products like tofu and miso, as well as fiber-rich foods like sweet potatoes and buckwheat soba noodles. Meat is also occasionally on the menu – a varied diet that excludes no foods and could serve as a model for a healthy dinner.
As you can see, a healthy dinner doesn't have to consist of exotic ingredients or be elaborately prepared. Finally, we'll summarize the most important tips for you once again.
