What Is A Meal?
To create gourmet meals, the best place to begin is with an understanding of what a meal is.At The Gourmet-O-Matic tm we deal principally with lunch and dinner. If you are interested in recipes and strategies for other meals, e.g., breakfast, dessert, soups and stews, recipes and strategies for them can be found in The FitnessMed tm Guide To Healthy Eating.
For the purposes of The Gourmet-O-Matic tm, a meal comprises an entree and side dishes.
The entree is a protein. The side dish is primarily a carbohydrate.
The entree can be from a 4-legged animal, a bird, aquatic source or soy. There are other non-animal protein sources, however, soy and soy products (e.g., tofu, textured vegetable protein) are the only complete proteins from a plant source. Click here for a list of protein sources that can be used to make Gourmet-O-Matic tm meals.
The carbohydrates eaten as side dishes include grains and grain derivatives (e.g., breads, pastas), legumes, fruits and vegetables.
The FitnessMed tm Guide To Healthy Eating explains standard serving sizes for entrees and side dishes and how to calculate your caloric needs based on your current and desired weights.
The strategies used by The Gourmet-O-Matic tm can be found in Dr. Applebaum's meal strategy guide, The FitnessMed tm Guide To Healthy Eating. That book contains recipes for over 1 trillion (yes, with a "T") meal combinations.
All of Dr. Applebaum's books can be found here.