It would be so nice if we just wished for healthy meal ideas to appear fully formed, on our plates and it was so. Unfortunately, this isn't the way the world operates. In order to have healthy meals we need to plan for them.

That planning begins even before we head to the supermarket, continues through food shopping and doesn't end until the cooking is done and the meal is on the plate.

That said, it is not all that hard to adjust your grocery list, your cooking style and your current meals to accommodate your desire for good food. Here are tips which can help you succeed, from start to finish.

The Grocery List

Take a look at one of your old shopping lists. Do you see things such as cookies, chips, bread, milk, cheese on it? You know that these things aren't ideal if your goal is good health.

Wheat products are notoriously bad for you, even whole wheat. Dairy products which have been processed by pasteurization have lost their digestive enzymes, making them hard to digest, and preprocessed snacks have little nutrition and plenty of fat.

Let's rewrite the list. Your goal is to purchase foods which are as close to their original state as possible, with a strong preference for organic growing practices. Whole grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, oats and brown rice are great. Organic fruits and vegetables are perfect.

Heart healthy wild caught fish, grass fed meats, organic whole eggs and poultry should provide your proteins. Raw nuts, particularly almonds, make ideal snacks and a bit of organic dark chocolate can come along for the occasional sweet indulgence.

If you must have cheese, get some made from raw milk, and use it as a condiment, not a source of protein.

Planning for Meals

Life is busy, so you have to plan for success when it comes to healthy meals. Does that mean you have to set aside time to cook every day? No. It does mean that you have to anticipate days when you won't have time to cook a meal. There is nothing particularly complicated about doing so.

When you come home from the market, wash, dry and tear up any salad greens. Grill up several portions of fish or chicken. Cut up vegetables and package some nuts in single serve containers so you can always grab a serving with a piece of fruit and head out the door. Next, plan some meals.

Skip the Twinkie Diet

One of the challenges people face when they want to eat well is the hype they see in the media about such things as the Twinkie Diet. While the individual who "created" this phenomena did in fact lose weight by restricting his caloric intake sufficiently, there is little question that nutritionally, eating a diet of junk food is not good for your health.