If you look at all of the recommendations that are out there for healthy eating, it can sometimes seem like a lot to keep track of.
Each year National Nutrition Month is observed in March. This year, the American Dietetic Association is taking the theme “Eat Right With Color” as a way to encourage a return to the basics of healthy eating by including a colorful variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy on plates.
“Essentially, the ADA is focusing on foods to increase in your diet,” said Cheryl Shimmin, director of Nutrition Services at Kettering Medical Center.
Shimmin says adding a splash of colorful seasonal foods makes for more than just a festive meal. A rainbow of foods also creates a vast palette of nutrients.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spells it out quite simply: Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals and fiber that may help protect us from chronic diseases, including stroke, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.
National Nutrition Month comes on the heels of the recently released 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans that recommends reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity.
With more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States overweight or obese, the need to make changes is a growing concern.
Pamela Nisevich Bede, a clinical dietitian who works at The Children’s Hospital of Dayton and owns a nutrition consulting company, says one of the easiest changes to make is to simply fill one-third to half of every plate with fruits and vegetables.
“Even if you think you are getting enough fruits and vegetables in your diet, you probably aren’t,” said Bede.
The colors of health
Amy Jamieson-Petonic, registered dietitian, ADA spokeswoman and director of Wellness Coaching at the Cleveland Clinic, offers some simple ways to incorporate more color into everyday meals:
Reinvent the morning omelet. Turn any omelet into a hearty meal with broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, tomatoes or onions with low-fat sharp cheddar cheese. It’s the antioxidants, including lypocene, beta-carotene and vitamins A and C, in these foods that have potential health-promoting properties.
Go for variety when using vegetables as pizza toppings. Try broccoli, spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini.
Cut up fruits and veggies and serve them with low-fat yogurt or hummus.
Add grated, shredded or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce and rice dishes.
Add pizzazz to sandwiches and wraps by adding sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumbers and tomato.
Involve kids in the shopping and meal-planning process. “Take the kids to the grocery store and engage them and involve them in food selections,” Jamieson-Petonic said. “There is a much greater chance that they will try new things.”
Go green with smoothies. Jamieson-Petonic said green smoothies — made with apple, spinach, grapes, banana, pineapple and mango — are a hit with kids. “Kids love it because it’s a cool color.”
Puree fruits like prunes, dates and figs and put them in baked goods.
Add color to salads with baby carrots, grape tomatoes, spinach leaves, berries or mandarin oranges.
Make homemade salsa, using tomatoes, garlic, onion, cilantro and jalapeno peppers.
Create what Jamieson-Petonic calls a Rainbow Night and “have a contest to see how many colorful things you can add to your plate.”
The dietitians also recommend doing a quick makeover of popular meals and adding seasonal fruits and vegetables. Instead of grilled chicken and mashed potatoes, for instance, consider painting a more colorful plate, such as grilled chicken topped with salsa, mashed sweet potato, asparagus and spinach salad with orange slices. A colorful meal is not only visually appealing, but it also contains myriad nutrients and naturally packs a mighty punch of flavor.
See salt for what it is
And on the subject of flavor, the dietary guidelines’ latest recommendation for sodium remains the same — no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium — for most people. However, a reduction to 1,500 milligrams per day is recommended for people over age 51, blacks and those with a history of high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and diabetes.
“Optimally, everyone should decrease their sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams per day,” said Kim Oswalt, a registered dietitian at Miami Valley Hospital.
“I think currently the average American is consuming 3,000 to 5,000 milligrams per day, so they need to cut that number in half. Sodium is an acquired taste, and I encourage people to slowly decrease their salt intake. My patients will often say to me, ‘Oh, but I don’t salt my food,’ but they don’t realize that only 10 percent of their sodium intake is coming from table salt. More than 77 percent of what we take in comes from processed foods and eating out, across the board.”
Cooking meals is one of the best ways to slash salt.
“If we can eat at home and start making meals from scratch, then we can control the sodium content and save money,” said Oswalt.
“Sodium adds a lot of flavor to food, so I usually tell my patients to use other spices, such as garlic powder or onion powder, and fresh herbs when they prepare meals,” said Oswalt. “A lot of times, just using more fresh foods, there is naturally more flavor.”
Put portions into perspective
The 2010 dietary guidelines adamantly stress Americans reduce their calorie consumption, and that can seem like a daunting task when super-sizing almost any meal these days is possible. But there are tricks we can use to eat less and still enjoy our foods.
Jamieson-Petonic says one of the most important things to do is not to multitask while eating, which causes us to eat faster and eat more.
“Slow down your dining experience, and go for color on your plate,” she said. “You will feel fuller faster.”
Attractive portion-control plates are another way to help curb overeating and develop healthier long-term eating habits, according to Oswalt. Slimware, for instance, offers a collection of plates with designated food placement areas that correspond to recommended food portions and serve as a gentle visual reminder not to overindulge.
She also recommends the Portion Plate that visually shows diners where and how to fill half their plates with fruits and vegetables, a fourth with whole-grain products, and the other half with such protein sources as lean meats, tofu, nuts (preferably unsalted) and dried beans, including kidney and lima.
Oswalt suggests logging on to www.mypyramid.gov to quickly learn — based on age, sex, height, weight and activity level — how many calories we should consume each day.
Shimmin also recommends “The Full Plate Diet” ($19.95, Bard Press) for extra help in meeting the new guidelines.
“It’s a good book, it’s easy reading and it’s very balanced. It makes you want to eat the right things.”
Dining out without deprivation
One of the greatest challenges eaters face is adhering to a balanced diet when dining out — starting with the temptation of the bread basket that seems to be endlessly filled.
“I recommend to my patients to research the restaurant online before they go out to eat, and try to find healthier choices. If you are waiting for a table, ask the hostess to provide nutritional information,” said Oswalt. “A lot of times, the restaurants will post their nutritional information online because more people are demanding it.”
The dietitians also recommended splitting meals at restaurants.
“Splitting a meal is one of the best ways to reduce portion size, and also ask the restaurant staff if they have lunch-size versions or smaller plates,” suggested Oswalt.
“When you order a meal, right away ask them to half it and put one half in a to-go container. Or divide food before you start eating, and then move the rest to the side of your plate.”
Jamieson-Petonic also said to look at the dollar or extra-value menus when ordering at fast-food restaurants. Not only are these items typically less expensive than the combo meals, but they are smaller as well and reflect what a standard portion size would have been 20 years ago.
The long haul
It will take more than a dedicated nutrition month once a year to change Americans’ eating habits. As Shimmin pointed out, it will take a village.
“It is a challenge,” she added. “It’s going to take everybody to work on this. And it’s not just up to the schools” to enforce healthy eating patterns.
At her work, Shimmin is committed to making sure healthy offerings appear on the menus at the hospital’s Kettering and Sycamore cafeterias. Recent menu items have included Asparagus Stuffed Sole Fillet with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto, served with whole-wheat linguini.
“The ultimate destination is we are increasing all the good things and lowering the sodium and a lot of the simple carbohydrates,” she said. “It’s basically going back to the basic four food groups, and it’s time to balance our diets.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-0671 or rmcmacken@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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