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Nutrition & Cooking

Healthy Food Choices
A healthy diet is a way of eating healthier so that you reduce your risk for complications such as heart disease and stroke. Healthy eating includes eating a wide variety of foods including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, non-fat dairy products, beans, and lean meats, poultry and fish. There is no one perfect food so including a variety of different foods and watching portion sizes is key to a healthy diet. Also, make sure your choices from each food group provide the highest quality nutrients you can find. In other words, pick foods rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber over those that are processed.

Our Favorite Healthy Recipes
We've included a section of recipes. They're easy to prepare for busy families. We've included a section of appetizers, main dishes, salads/side dishes, desserts, breads, and soups.

GRAINS VEGETABLES FRUITS MILK MEAT & BEANS

Make 1/2 of your grains whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta every day.

1 oz. is about 1 slice of bread, about 1 cup of breakfast cereal, or 1/2 cup of cooked rice, cereal, or pasta.

Eat more dark green veggies like broccoli, spinach, and other dark leafy greens.

Eat more orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes.

Eat more dry beans and peas like pinto beans, kidney beans, and lentils.

Eat a variety of fruits.

Choose fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruit.

Go easy on fruit juices.

 Go low-fat or fat-free when you choose milk, yogurt, and other milk products. If you don't or can't consume milk, choose lactose-free products or other calcium sources such as fortified foods and beverages.

Choose low-fat or lean meats and poultry.

Bake it, broil it, or grill it.

Vary your protein routine - peas, nuts, and seeds.

Know the limits on fats, sugars, and salt (sodium)

  • Make most of your fat sources from fish, nuts, and healthy vegetable oils, like olive, canola, and peanut.
  • Limit solid fats like butter, stick margarine, shortening, and lard, as well as foods that contain these.
  • Check the Nutrition Facts label to keep saturated fats, sodium low, and trans fats "zero."
  • Choose food and beverages low in added sugars. Added sugars contribute calories with few, if any, nutrients.