Planning for Health { Leslie Edmunds MPH, RDN, CDE, CLT
Diabetic and Weight Loss Plate
Let s ask a few questions... What is your schedule for the week? When do you get home from work? Kid s activities? Visiting parents? Social? Workout classes? Other engagements? Realistically how much time do you have to prepare dinner? Breakfast? Lunch at your desk or away? Will your spouse, children, parents help with meal prep, cooking?
More questions Will you eat leftovers? How many meals? Do you cook with a crockpot? Instapot? Do you like salads? Frozen vegetables? Canned vegetables? Kids or spouse a picky eater? Do you like to cook?
Meal Planning Do you have a plan? What does your week look like? Grocery shopping on what day? Meal prep? Choose recipes? Slow cooker, pressure cooker? Leftovers? When do you pack your lunch?
Lean meat Seafood, Nuts & seeds Beans, Lentils Soy Eggs Dairy-yogurt, cow s milk, cottage cheese, cheese High protein grains How much protein do I need? 15-20 grams per meal would be great! Protein
Make ½ of your plate produce Frozen, canned, fresh =ALL great! Produce
Whole grains versus refined Portion sizes How are they prepared? Grains and Starchy Vegetables
Breakfast There is ALWAYS time for breakfast Protein+Produce Fiber Healthy Fat Research drive-thru menus before you go Coffee drinks Plan ahead
Eating out at lunch Processed foodspreservatives and sodium Healthy? Loaded with cream, butter, oil Portion Control, upsizing meal for 25 cents more? Lunch should provide 1/3 of your calories for the day
Wrap up your leftovers. Try a slight modification to make last night s dinner a fresh experience. Microwave a frozen meal. There s a frozen lunch entrée to meet every diet and every budget. Pack a soup. Soup is filling and generally low in calories. In fact, if you eat soup before digging into your main lunch course, studies show you re likely to eat 20 percent fewer calories. Buy items in bulk (e.g. fruits, vegetables, cheese, trail mix) and package them yourself in snack-sized selfsealing bags. Pack enough for the entire week and store. Commercially-packaged single servings of these items can be expensive. Packing Lunch
Stock your pantry with lunch-friendly ideas (e.g. unsweetened canned fruits, dried fruits, canned meats, nut bars ) Set aside a drawer or cabinet for storing lunch supplies (e.g. assorted plastic containers with tight fitting lids, sandwich bags, disposable forks and spoons, plastic wrap and aluminum foil). Make several individual grab and go containers or plastic bags of cut up vegetables at the beginning of the week. Make your lunch the night before. It can be refrigerated or frozen. To keep it from getting soggy, keep moist foods in a separate container. Packing Lunch
Snacks Lean protein Fiber included Portion out nuts Dairy Non-refrigerated snacks Produce Olives Popcorn Vending machine
Nut bars + produce Pack a dinner Drive thru menu-healthy choices? Don t wait until you are starving Dinner-on-the-run
Barriers Time Factor Expecting perfection Wacky schedules Culture Picky Eaters
Picky Eating eeeeeek! Ellyn Satter-Division of Responsibility: The parent is responsible for what, when, where. The child is responsible for how much and whether. Fundamental to parents jobs is trusting children to determine how much and whether to eat from what parents provide. When parents do their jobs with feeding, children do their jobs with eating. Parents MUST be good role models. It starts early. No short cooking at an early age it s tougher to move backwards.
Picky Kids and Spouses Assess what they DO like Build a meal and it s components around it Keep easy frozen, canned vegetables on hand to add nutrients to the meal
Dinner! No short order cooking Let each family member have a say Stock up when you can Kids cook Wednesdays (etc) Double the recipe and freeze! Make Your Own Nights Meal Planning Services Always have GO-TO ingredients on hand Freezer meals with friends Serve meals family style Try a pot-luck dinner Food pre-prep before Theme Nights- Tuesdays are fish, etc. Salads Seasoned meat/boiled eggs Breakfast for dinner Crockpot Meals Convenience Freezer Meals Soup
Mondays: Mexican Tuesdays: Italian Wednesdays: Kids Choice. It has to be something easy as it provides me with a break from the usual dinner routine. Thursdays: Square Meals (protein, veggie, etc.), an ethnic dish or grill night in the summer Fridays: Something easy. Slow cooker, or I choose something that needs little in the way of preparation. Weekend: We eat out Saturday and go to my mother-inlaw s Sunday. I plan a meal just in case that falls through. Theme Days!
Weekends Research menus Read food labels Investigate new recipes Get excited to try new foods Pack the night before Pre-portion snacks Plan Ahead
As a beverage choice, ask for water or order fat-free or low-fat milk, unsweetened tea, or other drinks without added sugars. Ask for salad dressing to be served on the side. Then use only as much as you want. Order an item from the menu instead heading for the "all-you-caneat" buffet. Choose main dishes that include vegetables, such as stir fries, and kebobs. Order steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautéed. Choose a small" or "medium" portion. This includes main dishes, side dishes, and beverages. When your food is delivered, set aside or pack half of it to go immediately. Resign from the "clean your plate club" - when you've eaten enough, leave the rest. Eating out tips!
Let s plan!
Questions?