COCONUT CHICKEN AND THE GOVERNMENT'S NEW "PLATE"

What do you think of the USDA's new icon for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines? More importantly, what do you think about the 2010 Dietary Guidelines?  I think this is a nice departure from the traditional pyramid --- and I never agreed with the USDA's food pyramid, which I felt was heavily influenced by various lobbies. The plate icon is much easier to grasp, and I think it's on the right track, though still problematic. For one thing, although you do get a sort of "big picture" of what your meal should look like, you still have some reading to do to get portion sizes. That's not an issue for me, but for a lot of people, if they look at all, all they are going to look at is the icon. So I think it could perhaps give the ounces in a serving size: 1 ounce for grains, 8 ounces for dairy, 1 piece of fruit, 1 cup of veggies, 4 ounces of protein. Still very general guidelines, but more informative than the graphic alone.

At a glance, I get that fruit and veggies should make up half your daily diet and grains and proteins the other half. It's hard to tell how dairy fits in, proportion-wise, from the graphic. It looks like an "extra". Veggies are slightly bigger than fruit and protein, but about the same size as grain. Fruits and proteins look to be about the same size. I think that to get the message acros, they should have exaggerated the portions more --- veggies should be predominant, and grains much smaller.

If you visit the MyPlate.gov website, you'll see at a glance that they are offering some very good general tips for balancing your meals. They suggest eating what you like, but a little less. They encourage you to switch to lowfat milk and make sure at least half your grains are whole grains (we all know it should be 100% whole grain, but that probably isn't realistic for the average American who doesn't know much about nutrition to begin with and normally eats nothing but processed food). And once you go into detail with their suggestions, they are good. It's a much more balanced view of nutrition than what's been taught in the past, although I still think it's too heavy on carbs. But, after all, this is a guideline for a normal, healthy person who is only trying to maintain their current weight.  All in all, I think it's an improvement over the old food pyramid.

A while back, a friend gave me a subscription to Eating Well Magazine, and while I always enjoy perusing the recipes, this month's is chock-full of great ways to use kale. Kale is delicious and chock-full of health benefits, so  I can't wait to try these recipes out. Incidentally, there are lots of kale fans out there --- my Sweet Summer Kale Salad post gets regular hits and even a link back from this blog (which features even more recipes).

As long as we're on about recipes, I made something so easy and SO GOOD today! Wilted Spinach  Salad with Coconut "Chicken".  I had some leftover light coconut milk and a couple of soy protein patties (the ones I use to make Mock Chicken Salad). I marinated them in the coconut milk with some garam masala, cooked it up in a frying pan, where it forms a nice little crust, and tossed them on top of as pile of fresh spinach with a handful of wasabi edamame, my latest passion. MMMM! Pour any extra coconut milk over the spinach to wilt it slightly and give you an amazing "salad".  And if you're not into soy, some chicken breast or chicken-style seitan will work just as well.

Today, I am proud of myself for sticking to my food plan, especially in the face of temptation and hunger. I stopped off at Whole Foods to pick up a couple of things, right around lunch time, but I was able to pass up the free cheese samples and instead munched on a bag of baby carrots until I could get home and eat my planned lunch. Later, out running errands in the stifling heat, I managed NOT to stop for frozen yogurt. And while today was a day off P90X, I did get in my "extra" workout, half an hour on the bike. Sleazy TV helps so much with that. ;)

I feel pretty good about Week One of ReBoot Camp; but I know I can do better. I can stick to my food plan better overall, and now that my Beck books are back home, I plan to start revisting the program in earnest. So stay tuned!

 

Comments

[Cindy]

Jennifer ... one day at a time! Look at it this way: you did really well most of the day. Why did you eat too many sweets? Is it because you tried to be too strict with your food plan? If so, maybe you should plan a treat in earlier in the day, or at the time of day you usually crave it. Then just try to limit the portion. Tell yourself you're going to have two cookies OR a cup of frozen yogurt, and once you've served yourself, put the rest out of sight and LEAVE THE AREA where they're stored. Enjoy your treat someplace else, then IMMEDIATELY brush your teeth and get involved in another activity. Sometimes you have to be tricky to circumvent temptation!

Dalila, it would defeat the purpose of the plate to have too much information on it --- it's intended as a quick reference (but I do think they could list portion sizes). There is some reading that goes with it which DOES specify what constitutes protein, and they wisely emphasize lean cuts of meat, seafood, and non-meat protein sources. There's an extensive list of soy products, types of beans, seeds and nuts. They don't list alternatives like seitan, wheat roast, and tempeh. Here's the link to the Food Groups section of the site:

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/index.html

My personal daily philosophy is "no added fat" and limited carbs from natural sources. In other words, on a day-to-day basis, I do not use butter, and cook only with very limited amounts of olive oil or spray canola; and I usually don't put dressing on my salads. However, I don't worry about fat as much as carbs, as long as my fat is coming from natural sources, like a couple of olives on my salad, or a couple of slices of avocado. Those are good fats, anyway. So are the ones from nuts. You have to be careful not to go overboard, but a very little fat adds a whole lot of flavor.

Where carbs are concerned, I don't normally eat bread or even cooked grains. I eat fresh fruit; and there are plenty of carbs in beans and dairy products. Also, since I have a sweet tooth and have some sort of dessert pretty much every day, I reserve my carbs for that. I like a glass of wine at the end of a hard day, though I don't have one every day; but there are carbs there, too. So I just try not to eat extra carbs on a day-to-day basis. I'll have processed carbs two or three of times a week --- at least, that's the goal. That is what it takes for me to lose weight.

Also, on a daily basis, I use unsweetened almond milk for my coffee. When I buy coffee out, which I try to limit, I do allow myself half-and-half. That's the deal I made with myself, and for the most part it works!

[Dalila Valentine]

One thing I don't like about the "plate" is it doesn't specify what they mean by "protein". I don't eat meat but do eat fish however there are people who don't eat either.

I'm also curious as to your thoughts on "low fat vs low carb", particularly because you're a singer and an athelete (I should probably remove the "and" there because a singer is an athelete.)

I find if I eat too many carbs in proportion to protein, I get tired more easily and it's harder for me to sing. And refined carbs are the worst! I avoid them like the plaque, unless I want to walk around all day in a sluggish fog. Some people say "of course" and others say that this is hooey.

And I hate low fat milk!! My greatest pleasure is having a strong cup of coffee with something that whitens it without weakening it so I use vanilla soy milk.

P.S. Your continued postings on your progress have been a huge inspiration to me.

[Jennifer]

I did backwards of you today. I ate really well, and though I did vary from my lunch plan, I did so responsibly. And then I ate cookies. Too many cookies. AND frozen yogurt. Grumble.