Using the Healthy Food Pyramid: A Guide

There are lots of ways to use the Healthy Food Pyramid to help your own clients on their journeys to health!

• Include a fruit or vegetable (or both) at all meals or snacks.
• Keep meatless options on hand such as beans, lentils, edamame, or soy crumbles.
• Stock your freezer with a variety of vegetables.
• Use measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale to control portions.
• Use herbs and spices in place of heavy sauces to add flavor while limiting calories.
• Swap processed carbs like pretzels or cookies for healthy snacks such as olives, nuts or seeds.
• Include low-fat dairy at meals or for snacks such as Greek yogurt or light string cheese.
• Cook batches of whole grains and freeze them. This makes meal planning easier.

Remember, portion control and quality over quantity is the name of the game for disease prevention.By Lisa Andrews, MEd, RD, LDPS: For more information, don't miss the post What is the Healthy Food Pyramid?