Alkaline Dinner Ideas: 8 Warm and Cold Meals with PRAL
Basentracker Team
The German Abendbrot, a cold supper of bread, cheese and cold cuts, is usually the most acid-forming meal of the day, often +15 to +20. Not because of the bread, but because of the toppings: one slice of Gouda adds +5, 30 g of salami +4. What makes dinner alkaline is the topping (avocado, tomato, hummus, cream cheese, vegetable sticks) or a warm dish built on potatoes or roasted vegetables. Eight options below, and none takes more than 25 minutes.
Why the bread supper weighs the most
Bread is mildly acid-forming (+2.5 to +5 per 100 g), which is manageable. The toppings are the problem: hard cheese +17 to +30, cold cuts +6 to +15, egg +10.6 per 100 g. Two slices of bread with butter, two slices of Gouda and two slices of salami come to about +18. That is more than a steak with potatoes.
The answer is not to give up the bread supper. It is to change the toppings. The table shows what a normal amount of topping on one slice adds up to:
| Topping for one slice | Amount | PRAL |
|---|---|---|
| Avocado | 50 g | −4.9 |
| Tomato, sliced | 60 g | −2.5 |
| Cucumber, sliced | 60 g | −2.0 |
| Radishes | 40 g | −1.8 |
| Hummus | 30 g | +0.7 |
| Butter | 10 g | +0.1 |
| Cream cheese | 30 g | +0.9 |
| Jam | 20 g | −0.3 |
| Egg, boiled | 60 g | +6.4 |
| Cooked ham | 30 g | +4.1 |
| Salami | 30 g | +4.3 |
| Gouda | 30 g | +5.3 |
| Camembert | 30 g | +4.6 |
Two slices of wholemeal bread (+2.6) with avocado and tomato come to −4.9. The same slices with Gouda and salami come to +12.2. The bread is the same.
Eight alkaline dinners
Values from the Basentracker database, amounts for one person.
Cold supperWholemeal bread with avocado, tomato and radishes
- Wholemeal bread · 100 g +2.6
- Avocado · 80 g −7.9
- Tomato · 100 g −4.2
- Radish · 50 g −2.2
- Cream cheese · 30 g +0.9
Cold supperHummus plate with vegetable sticks and flatbread
- Hummus · 100 g +2.2
- Carrot · 100 g −6.3
- Red bell pepper · 100 g −3.5
- Cucumber · 100 g −3.3
- Flatbread · 60 g +2.3
- Olive oil · 5 ml 0.0
Warm, 20 minRoasted vegetables with potatoes and herb quark
- Potato · 200 g −13.1
- Pumpkin (Hokkaido) · 150 g −5.1
- Red bell pepper · 100 g −3.5
- Onion · 50 g −1.2
- Olive oil · 10 ml 0.0
- Curd cheese · 80 g +5.1
- Chives · 10 g −0.4
Warm, 15 minOmelet with spinach and tomatoes
- Egg · 120 g +12.8
- Spinach · 150 g −18.2
- Tomato · 100 g −4.2
- Olive oil · 10 ml 0.0
- Parmesan cheese · 5 g +1.5
SoupPotato leek soup with bread
- Potato soup · 400 ml −12.8
- Wholemeal bread · 50 g +1.3
- Parsley · 5 g −0.3
SaladBig salad with chickpeas and feta
- Romaine lettuce · 80 g −3.5
- Tomato · 150 g −6.3
- Cucumber · 100 g −3.3
- Chickpeas · 100 g +1.7
- Feta cheese · 30 g +3.3
- Olive oil · 10 ml 0.0
- Lemon juice · 10 ml −0.2
SkilletFried potatoes with mushrooms and a fried egg
- Potato · 250 g −16.3
- Mushroom, button · 150 g −0.8
- Onion · 50 g −1.2
- Egg · 60 g +6.4
- Olive oil · 10 ml 0.0
- Parsley · 5 g −0.3
FishTrout with boiled potatoes and cucumber salad
- Trout · 150 g +15.2
- Potato · 200 g −13.1
- Cucumber · 150 g −4.9
- Dill · 5 g −0.7
- Yogurt, plain (3.5%) · 40 g +0.2
The bread supper compared
Classic bread supper
- Wholemeal bread · 100 g +2.6
- Butter · 15 g +0.1
- Gouda (young) · 60 g +10.5
- Salami · 30 g +4.3
Alkaline bread supper
- Wholemeal bread · 100 g +2.6
- Butter · 10 g +0.1
- Avocado · 60 g −5.9
- Tomato · 100 g −4.2
- Cucumber · 80 g −2.6
- Cream cheese · 30 g +0.9
For nights without cooking
A handful of things always work and together make an alkaline dinner, no stove needed:
- Guacamole (−8.7 per 100 g) from the refrigerated section, with vegetable sticks
- Hummus (+2.2) with carrots, bell pepper and cucumber
- Olives (−0.9), tomatoes, cucumber and a piece of bread
- Potato salad with vinegar and oil (−4.6), store-bought or left over from the day before
- Fruit plate with nuts, when the day has already been heavy
- Vegetable soup from a jar (−1.4 per 100 ml), heated up
What tips the balance in the evening: a cheese board, a cold cuts platter, chips with dip, pizza with extra cheese. Two beers with it, by the way, are not a problem by PRAL (−0.4), though they are for other reasons.
Topping questions in detail: Is cheese alkaline?, Is bread alkaline?, Is avocado alkaline?, Are eggs alkaline?. Check everything yourself: PRAL calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Should dinner be more alkaline than your other meals? Not necessarily, but it is usually the meal with the most room to change, because that is where cheese and cold cuts end up. If you balance things out in the evening, you often save the day.
Is bread at dinner a problem? No. Two slices add +2.5 to +5. The problem is what goes on top.
What about cheese if I love it? Then use it as a seasoning: 10 g of Parmesan over roasted vegetables (+3.0), a little feta in a salad (+3.3 for 30 g). Not three slices on your bread.
Eating late and still alkaline? For your acid-base balance, the time of day doesn’t matter. For sleep, a light warm meal (soup, roasted vegetables) is more comfortable than a cheese board, but that has to do with digestion, not acid.
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Conclusion
The bread supper is where you can gain the most points, and the lever is the topping, not the bread. Avocado, tomato, hummus and cream cheese instead of Gouda and salami turn two slices of bread from +12 to −5. If you prefer a warm meal: potatoes or roasted vegetables as the base, protein as the side, done.