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Health Tips
Nutrition
Action Guide for Healthy Eating
NIH - National Cancer Institute
Action List for Fat
Did you know there are at least four great reasons to eat less fat?
- It can assist in weight loss or weight maintenance because you'll be eating fewer calories.
- It can help reduce your risk of heart disease by reducing saturated fat, which will help lower blood cholesterol levels.
- It may help reduce your risk of cancer.
- Eating fewer high-fat foods means more room for fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans.
Here are some actions to get you started and keep you going. Try two or three actions now and try more later.
- Use reduced-fat or nonfat salad dressings.
- Use nonfat or lower fat spreads, such as jelly or jam, fruit spread, apple butter, nonfat or reduced-calorie mayonnaise, nonfat margarine, or mustard.
- Use high-fat foods only sometimes; choose more low-fat and nonfat foods.
- To top baked potatoes, use plain nonfat or low-fat yogurt, nonfat or reduced-fat sour cream, nonfat or low-fat cottage cheese, nonfat margarine, nonfat hard cheese, salsa or vinegar.
- Use a little lemon juice, dried herbs, thinly sliced green onions, or a little salsa as a nonfat topping for vegetables or salads.
- Use small amounts of high-fat toppings. For example, use only 1 tsp butter or mayonnaise; 1 tbsp sour cream; 1 tbsp regular salad dressing.
- Switch to 1 percent or skim milk and other nonfat or lower fat dairy products (low-fat or nonfat yogurt, nonfat or reduced-fat sour cream).
- Cut back on cheese by using small (1 oz) amounts on sandwiches and in cooking or use lower fat and fat-free cheeses (part-skim mozzarella, 1 percent cottage cheese, or nonfat hard cheese).
- Try small amounts of these low-fat treats: fig bars, vanilla wafers, ginger snaps, angel food cake, jelly beans,, gum drops, hard candy, puddings made with low-fat (1 percent) skim milk, nonfat frozen yogurt with a fruit topping, or fruit popsicles. Try pretzels or popcorn without butter or oil for an unsweetened treat
- Save french fries and other fried foods for special occasions; have a small serving; share with a friend.
- Save high-fat desserts (ice cream, pastries) for special occasions; have small amounts; share a serving with a friend.
- Choose small portions of lean meat, fish, and poultry; use low-fat cooking methods (baking, poaching, broiling); trim off all fat from meat and remove skin from poultry
- Choose lower fat luncheon meats, such as sliced turkey or chicken breast, lean ham, lean sliced beef.
What's a recommended serving size for meat?
Experts suggest 3 oz of cooked meat which is the size of: a deck of cards; a hamburger bun
Action List for Fruits and Vegetables
Did you know there are at least four great reasons to eat more fruits and vegetables?
- It is easy to do.
- Almost all are low in calories and fat.
- They are a good source of vitamins and minerals and provide fiber.
- They may help reduce cancer risk.
Here are some actions to get you started and keep you going. Try two or three actions now and try more later.
- Buy many kinds of fruits and vegetables when you shop, so you have plenty of choices, and you don't run out. Buy frozen, dried, and canned as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
- First, use the fruits and vegetables that go bad easily (peaches, asparagus). Save hardier varieties (apples, acorn squash) or frozen and canned types for later in the week.
- Use the salad bar to buy cut-up fruits/vegetables if you're in a hurry.
- Keep a fruit bowl, small packs of applesauce, raisins or other dried fruit on the kitchen counter, table, or in the office.
- Pack a piece of fruit or some cut-up vegetables in your briefcase or backpack; carry moist towlettes for easy cleanup.
- Keep a bowl of cut-up vegetables on the top shelf of the refrigerator.
- Add fruit to breakfast by drinking 6 oz of 100 percent fruit juice or by having fruit on cereal.
- Add fruits and vegetables to lunch by having them in soup, salad, or cut-up raw.
- Add fruits and vegetables to dinner by microwaving or steaming vegetables and having a special fruit desert.
- Increase portions when you serve vegetables and fruits. Season them the low-fat way with herbs, spices, and lemon juice. If sauce is used, choose a nonfat or low-fat sauce.
- Choose fruit for dessert. For a special dessert, try a fruit parfait with low-fat yogurt or sherbet topped with berries.
- Add extra varieties of vegetables when you prepare soups, sauces, and casseroles (for example, grate carrot and zucchini into spaghetti sauce.
Action List for Whole Grains
Did you know that there are some great reasons to eat more whole grain breads and cereals?
- They are low in fat.
- They are good sources of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein.
- They can be fixed and eaten in may ways.
What's a whole grain? It's a grain that still has its outer covering, which contains the grain's fiber and many of its vitamins and minerals.
- Choose a whole grain (oatmeal, wheatena) variety when you have hot cereal, or a cold breakfast cereal that provides at least 4 grams of fiber for serving.
- Have whole wheat varieties of pancakes or waffles.
- In recipes that call for flour, use at least half whole wheat flour.
- For dinner at least twice a week, serve whole wheat noodles, brown rice or bugler (cracked wheat).
- Try higher fiber cracker varieties, such as whole rye crackers, whole grain flatbread, or some of the new multigrain crackers. Check the label to make sure you're choosing a low-fat variety.
- Once a week or more, try a low-fat meatless meal or main dish that features whole grains (spinach lasagna, red beans over brown rice and vegetable stir-fry).
8 Steps to Fitting in Fiber
Mayo Clinic
You need between 20 and 35 grams of fiber each day. To make sure you get the fiber you need:
- Start your day with a high-fiber breakfast cereal - 5 or more grams of fiber per serving. Opt for cereals with the word bran or fiber in the name. Or add a few tablespoons of unprocessed wheat bran to your favorite cereal.
- Switch to whole-grain breads. These list whole wheat, whole-wheat flour or another whole grain as the first ingredient on the label.
- Eat more whole grains and whole-grain products. Experiment with brown rice, barley and whole-wheat pasta.
- Take advantage of today's ready-to-use vegetables. Mix frozen broccoli into prepared spaghetti sauce. Snack on baby carrots.
- Eat more beans, peas and lentils. Add kidney beans to canned soup or a green salad. Or make nachos with black bean dip, baked tortilla chips and salsa.
- Make snacks count. Fresh and dried fruit, raw vegetables, popcorn and whole-grain crackers are all good sources of fiber.
- Eat fruit at every meal. Apples, bananas, oranges, pears and berries are good sources of fiber.
- Substitute whole-grain flour for white flour when baking bread. Whole-grain flour is heavier than white flour. In yeast breads, use a bit more yeast or let the dough rise longer. When using baking powder, increase it by 1 teaspoon for every 3 cups of whole-grain flour.
To avoid bloating and gas problems, increase your fiber intake gradually. And drink plenty of water as you increase your fiber to promote regularity.
Guide to Eating Out
American Diabetes Association
Table Tips
When you eat out, order only what you need and want. Know how to make changes in your meal plan in case the restaurant doesn't have just what you want. Here's what to order:
- If you don't know what's in a dish or know the serving size, ask.
- Try to eat the same portion as you would at home. If the serving size is larger, put the extra food in a doggie bag before you start eating, or share some with your dining partner.
- Eat slowly.
- Ask for fish or meat broiled with no extra butter.
- Order your baked potato plain, then top it with a teaspoon of diet margarine or vegetables from the salad bar.
- If you are on a reduced-sodium diet, ask that no salt be added to your food.
- Ask for sauces, gravy, and dressings "on the side."
- Order foods that are not breaded or fried. This adds fat. If the food comes breaded, peel off the outer coating.
- Read the menu creatively. Order fruit cup for an appetizer or the breakfast melon for dessert. Instead of a dinner entree, combine a salad with a low-fat appetizer.
- Ask for substitutions. Instead of french fries, request a double order of a vegetable. If you can't get a substitute, just ask that the high-fat food be left off your plate.
- Ask for low-calorie items, such as salad dressings, even if they're not on the menu. Vinegar and a dash of oil or a squeeze of lemon are a better choice than high-fat dressings.
- Limit alcohol, which adds calories but no nutrition to your meal. Instead choose low-calorie or calorie-free drinks.
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