Wellness, Information & Nutrition
Eat Right
National Nutrition Month, March 2009
Get Up on the Right Side of Food.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day since it improves your performance, revs up your metabolism for high gear all day long, and makes it easier to manage your weight over a lifetime. Breakfast can be as easy as 1, 2, 3 when you follow these guidelines.
- Choose a high-energy carbohydrate from the bread group.
- Include a juicy or refreshing fruit or vegetable item.
- Add a protein source from the meat or milk group.
Got only 2 minutes to run into the dining hall and grab breakfast to go? Try these nutritious breakfast ideas:
- Peanut butter on half a bagel with a fresh orange and reduced fat milk either in a refillable mug or drunk on the spot
- ¼ cup cottage cheese, some raisins and a dash of cinnamon on toast
- 1 cup of low-fat yogurt, ½ cup of your favorite cereal & a sliced banana mixed into a refillable mug
- 1 cup Grape Nuts or ½ cup of dry oatmeal, ½ cup reduced fat milk, some diced apple or raisins all microwaved in a refillable mug till the milk bubbles
- cottage cheese & cut up fruit stuffed inside pocket bread
- a glass of reduced-fat milk in the dining hall and an unbuttered muffin or bagel & piece of fruit to go.
Include 5 a Day.
Eating more fruits and vegetables may be the most important lifestyle change you can make. Produce is packed with important vitamins, minerals, fiber, and compounds that may help prevent cancer and lower blood pressure. Explore the world of produce to benefit from variety.
- Go beyond lettuce & tomatoes -- add julienne peppers, sliced zucchini or cucumbers, sprouts, chopped apple, pineapple slices, sliced olives, spinach or romaine leaves to your sandwich.
- Put canned, frozen or fresh fruit on top of your yogurt, ice cream, pudding, French toast/ waffle/pancake.
- Make fresh fruit the sweet ending to your meal or smart snack choice.
- Accentuate the fresh veggies part of your "salad" so it's more than greens and dressing.
- Regularly choose juice as your beverage.
- Mix the hot vegetable du jour into your plate of pasta & plain sauce.
- When you grocery shop for snacks, stock up on raisins, carrot sticks, fresh fruit, juice boxes, pepper strips, etc. for healthier snacking.
Learn to balance higher-fat food choices with lower-fat options.
One of the ways you can still enjoy some of your favorite foods is to make trade-offs in the same or another meal to offset the high-fat, high calorie selections made. Try the following trade-offs:
- Have lettuce, tomato & other fresh veggies on your cheeseburger and skip the fries.
- If you want fries, don't put mayo, guacamole or bacon on your plain burger or chicken breast sandwich.
- Love fried chicken? Skip the gravy on your mashed potatoes and the creamy coleslaw side dish.
- On days you eat creamy soup, skip the cheese slice in your cold sandwich. Save the cheese slice for days it's a broth-based soup.
- Accompany pasta and meat sauce or meatballs with plain crusty bread. Save the garlic bread for times you eat pasta and plain tomato sauce.
- If you like pepperoni pizza, eat only one slice of that and make the second slice either just cheese or cheese with veggies.
- For every meal you enjoy a baked dessert, go 2 meals without any baked dessert.
- Squirt lemon juice or use cocktail sauce on your fried seafood.
- Spread jam on your toast instead of butter or margarine if you're having home fries with your eggs.
- Gotta have the whole combination? Balance higher-fat meals with lower-fat meals later in the week. Use the Nutrient Analysis info found on our web menus to make an informed choice.
Snack sensibly to treat your taste buds and add nutrients at the same time.
- The key is moderation.
- Eat reasonable portions (not the whole bag at once!).
- Eat smart snacks whenever you can -- baked chips, pretzels, graham crackers, juicy fruits (fresh or canned in juice), flavored rice cakes, crunchy veggies and low-fat dip, tortillas & salsa, cereal and reduced-fat milk, low-fat granola bars.
- Learn to distinguish hunger from a lack of sleep. Take a walk to revive yourself.
