Meals Made Easy

Natasha Harrietha, P.DtSobeys Glace Bay, Sobeys Prince Street

Outline

• Healthy Eating Basics– Balance Your Meals– Be Size Wise– Practice Mindful Eating

• Meals Made Easy

• Stock your Cart

• Have at least 3 foods groups per meal

• Aim for 1-2 food groups per snack • Use the healthy plate as a guide

Balance Your Meals

• Carbohydrate raises blood sugars

• Insulin brings blood sugars back down

• Lows = hunger, low energy, dizziness

• Fibre and fat slow the rise

• Protein helps with satiety

Balance Your Meals

Portion Distortion

Fruits and Vegetables •6 spears of asparagus, 1 pineapple ring, 1 celery stalk, 20 grapes

Grain Products •30 grams of cold cereal, 10 saltines, ½ cup cooked pasta or rice

Milk and Alternatives•1 cup milk, 50 grams cheese, 200 mls yogurt drink

Meat and Alternatives•¾ cup legumes, ¾ cup hummus, 2.5 oz lean meat

One cup (250 ml) of fruit juice is equal to how many servings of fruit?

1. ½

2. 1

3. 2

4. 3

5. 10

Be Size Wise

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Did you know?A bottle (473 ml) of 100% fruit juice = 13 teaspoons of sugar

One cup of juice = 2 servings of Vegetables and Fruit

A restaurant serving of pasta is equal to approximately how many slices of bread?

1. 2.5

2. 4

3. 6

4. 8

5. 15

How Many Servings?

=

One restaurant serving of pasta equals approximately 6 servings of bread (6 Grain Servings)

What does a serving size of cheese look like?

1. A deck of cards

2. Two thumbs

3. A palm

4. A toonie

5. One finger

How Many Servings?

=

One serving of cheese is equal to 50 g (1½ oz) which looks like 2 thumbs

A 12 oz steak is equal to how many servings?

1. 22. 33. 44. 55. 6

How Many Servings?

=

A 12 oz steak is equal to approximately 5 servings of Meat and Alternatives.

Watch the Extras

• Cookies, homemade 2 125 Calories

• Sports drink 1 bottle (710 ml) 180 Calories

• Chocolate bar 1 (40 g) 200 Calories

• Caramel cake 1 220 Calories

• Donut 1 245 Calories

• Pop 1 bottle (591 ml) 250 Calories

• Potato chips 1 bag (75 g) 400 Calories

Watch the Extras

• You eat one piece of pie everyday (1/6)= 300 calories x 7 x 52 = 109,200 calories/year (30lbs)

• You replace your piece of pie with a fruit= 60 calories x 7 x 52 = 21,840 calories/year (6lbs)

A difference of 87,360 calories or approximately 24 pounds a year

• Think before you drink

Satisfy Your Thirst with Water

• You drink one large double double each day.

=135 calories x 7 x 52 = 49,140 Cal/year

• You switch to milk and eliminate the sugar

=34 calories x 7 x 52 = 12,376 Cal/year

A difference of 36,764 calories per year

(approximately 10 ½ pounds per year!)

• How many teaspoons of sugar in a bottle of pop?

-a 591 ml of cola has 17 tsp sugar.

• 591 ml cola = 250 cal

• You drink one 591 ml pop each day

=250 calories x 7 = 1750 Cal/week

• That’s 26 pounds gained in one year.

Being Mindful

Moral of the story: practice mindful eating!•Eat foods from all groups 80% of the time with specialty items only 20% of the time.

•Enjoy all foods in moderation and always consider each meal as a new chance to eat healthfully

Meals Made Easy

• Plan, Plan Plan!!– Meal Plan – Grocery List

• Stock up

• Cook once, eat twice

• Use your slow cooker

• Buy some time saving items:– Deli Roasted chicken - Pizza– Bagged or packaged salads - Pre-cut veggies and fruit– Stir-fry strips (meat) - Frozen vegetables

Meal Plan

Healthy Eating in a Hurry

• Building a Better Breakfast– Freeze homemade muffins, pancakes and waffles– Take a smoothie with you if you’re on the run

• Breakfast Ideas– Whole wheat tortilla, peanut butter and banana – Microwaved egg, whole wheat English muffin and milk– Yogurt sundae (yogurt, fruit, nuts or crushed cereal)– High fibre cereal, milk and almonds

Healthy Eating in a Hurry

• Lively Lunches– Pack lunches the night before– Plan for leftovers– Build on a frozen entrée– Prepare and cook foods ahead of time (veggies, cheese

cubes, boiled eggs, etc.)

• Lunch Ideas– Pita, hummus and veggies– Egg burrito (whole wheat tortilla, boiled egg, salsa,

veggies and cheese)

Healthy Eating in a Hurry

• Snappy Suppers– Wash/cut vegetables when you return from grocery store– Plan to have leftovers on busy days– Cook extra when you have time and freeze for later

• Supper Ideas– Whole wheat chicken fajitas (tortilla, chicken, vegetables

and salsa)– Veggie and cheese omelet with whole grain toast

Salad

What can we add to make it balanced?

Build a Better Meal

Vegetable Sandwich

What can we add to make it balanced?

Build a Better Meal

Soup

What can we add to make it balanced?

Build a Better Meal

Build a Better Cart

Some grocery cart staples…•Local, seasonal vegetables and fruit (on sale..)•Canned fruit packed in water, no added salt canned vegetables•Spaghetti mix, stir fry mix, omelet mix for a quick vegetable addition to your favorite meals•Whole wheat/whole grain breads, English muffins, and small wraps

Continued…

• Fresh meats (on sale), quick fry chicken and beef strips, turkey pepperoni, salmon

• Low fat milk, yogurt, and low fat cheeses• Non hydrogenated margarines and unsaturated cooking

oils like olive, canola, and flax• Whole grain breakfast cereals with little added sugars• Whole grain pastas and quick cooking whole grain brown

rice• Nut butters like peanut and almond

Continued…

• Canned beans, lentils, chickpeas with no added salt• Canned tuna and flavored tunas• Low sodium chicken and beef stocks• Frozen fruits and vegetables• Frozen thin crust pizzas • Low sodium frozen entrees• No salt added trail mix

Looking to Get Cooking?

• Sometimes, even the simplest recipes can go wrong

• If you are interested in learning more about how to cook- Sobeys Prince Street has an in-store Chef.

• If you would like to learn more about label reading, shopping, and get more recipes; please sign up for my email list!

Questions?