Eat More Greens

There is an easy way to plan to get your greens.

1. Visualize a plate for each meal.
2. Draw a line down the middle.
3. Make half the plate vegetables.

Done and done. It is really that easy. This method helps make sure you get 4-6 servings of vegetables a day. You may want to make all or part of the breakfast count toward your fruit intake, which will get you two servings.

Here's some ideas for how this might pan out in a typical day. This is not one size fits all. People with higher calorie needs will eat larger portions and of course our whole grain breads will be in there too.

Breakfast

• 1 cup plain yogurt mixed with a cup of berries (pick a berry any berry - strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are my faves, get frozen if you can't find fresh just look for no added sugars)
• whole grain cereal topped with 1 sliced banana

Lunch

• salad made with 2 cups lettuce, additional non-starchy veggies to your liking, bean, lean meat or fish, or tofu (palm sized), 1-2 tablespoons salad dressing. I make my own with greek yogurt, splash of olive oil, garlic salt and dried herbs.
• veggie soup (homemade is better - the cheat way is to buy canned veggie soup and add a bag of frozen mixed veggies, water, and low salt broth) with a homemade sandwich like whole grain bread with lettuce, tomato, sprouts, and hummus or tuna

Dinner

• pasta primavera: whole wheat pasta (1 cup) with a cup of mixed veggies, and 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• Asian veggie (1 cup) stir fry with tofu (1 cup)

A Word About Fruit Sugar
Now if you want to go above and beyond the minimum requirements take note: Non-starchy veggies are unlimited, but watch those fruits. I hate saying it because fruits are so healthy for you... (fiber, vitamins, minerals... yum!) But a little is good and more is not necessarily better. Why? The sugar in fruit contributes significantly to calories. You need to limit fruits to stay within calorie, sugar and total carbohydrate guidelines. Two to four is the general guide. I say it is more like two to three and lower calorie intake people should shoot for two to keep total sugars and carbs in check.