Building Better Meals – Part 2

Healthy Choices

Part of building better meals is making healthier choices without sacrificing flavor.  You don’t have to give up on eating your favorite foods to eat nutritiously.  Often, all that is needed is a tweak to your favorite recipe to make it more healthful.  To promote lifelong health, be sure to include foods from these groups each day:

Fruits and Veggies—Aim for at least 2 fruits and 3 veggies every day and choose a variety of colors.

Protein Sources—Choose lean meats, poultry, and fish, beans, nuts and nut butters, and seeds.

Grains—Breads, pasta, oatmeal, quinoa and other grains provide important nutrients.  Try to make at least half of your grain servings from whole grain sources.

Calcium Sources—Choose low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt and cheese, soymilk, tofu and almonds.

Fats and Oils—Pick vegetable oils such as olive oil and canola oil over solid fats such as lard, butter, margarine and shortening.

Follow these tips for creating nutritious, delicious meals:

• Spice it up—use herbs and spices such as oregano, cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder or Mrs. Dash to season foods instead of adding salt.
• Dress it up—add leftover veggies, meats, or scrambled eggs to ramen noodles for a quick meal.
• Eat a rainbow—Colorful dishes are more appealing and contain health-promoting compounds. Choose fruits and veggies from every color of the rainbow.
• Try new things—You won’t know if you’ll like something unless you try it. Take your family on an adventure to the grocery store and pick out one new healthy item each month to try together.
• Make it fun—Kids like to help in the kitchen. By involving kids in the preparation of meals, they become invested in the process, and more interested in eating healthy foods.