Healthful Tip from Shirley Powell, MS, RD, CDE, PA-C

Healthy Eating

(Healthful tip from Shirley Powell, MS, RD, CDE, PA-C)

To prevent disease and have a healthy happy life, everyone should try to eat healthy.

o  Start with your Plate (9 inch)

o  Divide you plate in 3 sections

o  Cut your plate in half, fill this largest section of the plate with non-starchy vegetables:

§  Spinach, carrots, lettuce, greens, cabbage, or bok Choy

§  Green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, or tomatoes

§  Vegetable juice, salsa, onion, cucumber, beets, or okra

§  Mushrooms, peppers, or turnips

§  QUICK HAND TRICK: For vegetables, choose as much as you can hold in both of your hands (about 2 cups).

o  Cut one half again in half and fill the small parts of the plate with:

o  Protein: Fill 1 of the small sections with your meat or meat substitutes, such as

§  Chicken or turkey without the skin

§  Fish such as tuna (albacore), salmon, cod, or catfish

§  Other seafood such as shrimp, clams, oysters, crab, or mussels

§  Lean cuts of beef and pork such as sirloin or pork loin or ham or Canadian bacon.

§  Tofu, eggs, or low-fat cheese

§  QUICK HAND TRICK: For protein (meats or alternatives), choose an amount the size of your palm and the thickness of your little finger (about 3 oz).

o  Starches: Fill the other small section with starchy foods, such as:

§  Whole grain breads made with barley, rye, oat, soy or cracked wheat such as pumpernickel or stone-ground whole wheat breads. Examples California Black Bread, Healthy Nine Grain, Ezekiel bread.

§  Whole grain waffles and pancakes such as Fiber One Complete Pancake Mix.

§  Whole-grain, high-fiber cereal such as Muesli, Kellogg’s All Bran, Natural Muesli

§  Cooked cereal such as oatmeal (Steel cut or old fashion)

§  Rice (brown), pasta (whole grain), or tortillas (corn or whole grain high fiber flour)

§  Cooked beans and peas such as pinto beans or black-eyed peas

§  Potatoes (red), green peas, corn, lima beans, yams or sweet potatoes, or winter squash

§  Low-fat whole grain crackers such as Triscuits, Kashi crackers, Cruchmaster.

§  Popcorn, low fat, air popped or popped with olive oil.

§  QUICK HAND TRICK: For carbohydrates (starches), choose an amount equivalent to the size of a cupped hand (about ½ cup).

o  To finish planning your meal:

o  Add an 8-oz (250-mL) glass of low-fat milk.

§  If you do not drink milk you can add yogurt (Greek style) or if you don’t drink milk, you can drink water, tea, coffee or seltzer.

§  If you drink whole milk limit to 2 – 8 oz cups or less

§  If you drink alcohol, red wine is best but limit to not more that 1 (for women) to 2 (for men) 4-6 ounce portions

o  Add a piece of fresh fruit or a half cup of fresh fruit salad.

§  Examples are fresh: berries, apples, oranges, banana, melons, grapes, peaches, nectarine, pears,

§  Avoid dried and fruit and fruit juice

§  QUICK HAND TRICK: Choose an amount equivalent to 1 fist or the size of a baseball (about 1 cup or 1 piece of fruit)

o  Limit but add some good fats.

§  Examples are almonds, walnuts, peacans cashews, peanuts, natural peanut butter (Laura Scudder’s Old Fashion, Adams Organic Peanut Butter, Trader Joe’s Oragic Cruncy Peanut Butter, etc.) olive oil (extra virgin or virgin) olive oil salad dressing, avacodo

§  Vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice are good flavor enhancers to use with the fats

§  QUICK HAND TRICK: Choose an amount no bigger than half or one tip of your thumb (about 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon).

o  Condiments and spreads use with caution:

§  Syrups: light or half the sugar brands

§  Jam and Jelly: Reduced sugar or half the sugar brands

§  Margarines: No trans fats (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated) such as Olivio, Canola Harvest Non Hydrogenated Margarine, Benecol Light Margarine, or Take Control Light Margarine.

§  Butter: Limit, but if use, use organic.

§  Mustard are good

§  Ketchup: use the brand with sugar not high fructose corn syrup but limit quantity

§  Mayonnaise: watch portions or use a light mayonnaise.

o  Desserts limit:

§  Fresh fruit

§  Frozen fruit (bananas, strawberries, blue berries)

§  Low fat yogurt with nuts.

§  Dark chocolate or dark chocolate cover nuts but limit to 1 ounce 2 times per week.

o  Special occasions, events and holidays:

§  Enjoy the activity with family and friends:

·  Make new traditions not centered around foods

·  Holiday hike, holiday gift making

·  Encourage family and friends not to give food as gifts

·  Try to encourage healthy event, special occasion or holiday food at work and events.

§  Choose events you want to participate in.

·  You are not required to attend all the events, choose the ones important to you.

§  Choose foods you want to eat.

·  Sugar free foods not always the best, many very high in carbohydrates and calories

·  Eat the regular foods, count carbohydrates, and watch portions.

·  Calories from the event or special occasion or holiday meal can be trimmed with portion control, fat servings on the side or modest recipe changes

§  Remember special events (retirement party, graduation), special occasions (Weddings, Birthdays), and holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) are one day or one meal of a month, not everyday or every meal of the year.