What is the Balanced Diet? (September 2011)

Clients come to my office asking me what is a balanced diet? We hear this phrase so often and I believe before I explain what this means, it is important for me to define what is balanced eating. Balanced eating is eating when you are hungry in combination of what your body needs. It is eating two, three, four, or five meals per day and actually listening to the amount of food that your body needs. It is not feeling obligated to count our servings of fruit, vegetables, grains, proteins, fat and “play food” in our diet. A balanced diet truly has some of everything in it. Do not worry if you miss something in your diet one day, as you will not develop scurvy or anemia for not eating a specific food a day or two. In this article I will list various foods that would be great to work into one’s overall regimen, however the key piece to take away from this is to make it a lifestyle!

Whole Grains

In previous months, I have shared with you some cutting edge grains that contain tremendous amounts of fiber, B vitamins and magnesium as well as iron. Whole grains do not have to be boring, and there is life beyond brown rice. Have you ever tried kasha? What about amaranth? quinoa? Or barley? The key to substituting white carbohydrates or refined starches is to perhaps mix whole grains with white rice to introduce a new taste to your palate.

Milk

Some of us do not consume milk or other dairy products such as yogurt or cheese and if that is the case there are non-dairy alternatives. The reason dairy products are recommended are due to the amounts of calcium and Vitamin D that are provided. We then hear that we should reduce our dairy intake due to the saturated fat. We can certainly consume low fat or nonfat milk/yogurt, cheeses which all still have the same nutritional benefits.

Fish

Seafood has been recommended due to the omega-3 fatty acids. It has healthy fat which protects the heart and is a great protein source. The key factor here is to vary the fish that is consumed.

Of course the obvious is to work in plenty of fruits, and vegetables. These foods are important as our potassium intake will be increased especially when we eat asparagus, potatoes and tomatoes and all the great fall fruit such as apricots, mango and pineapple. Potassium is important to consume as our culture consumes almost double the amount of sodium we need in a given day. A nice benefit about potassium is that it can blunt the effects of sodium and lower blood pressure.

It is important to honor those emotional cravings too. When your tongue says I am craving something sweet such as chocolate, have it. The same thing goes for when you are aware that you would like something salty (and chips sound good), be conscious and have them. This will help in the legalization of working in everything into our diet.

Here is an example of a balanced diet:

Breakfast:

• 5.5oz. low fat Greek Yogurt
• Small banana
• ½ c Grape Nuts
• 4 Strips Turkey Bacon
• 6 oz. low sodium V-8 Juice
• 1 cup Green Tea with 1% milk

Lunch:

• 1 cup split pea soup
• ½ turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with 3 oz. turkey with 1 tbsp. humus
• Side salad with vinaigrette
• Small apple with 1 tbsp. almond butter

Dinner:

• 1 cup soba noodles tossed with 3oz. turkey
• 1 cup roasted broccoli with 1 tbsp. peanut oil
• Side salad with 2 tbsp. Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing
• ½ cup Frozen yogurt