Eating
– It’s A Balancing Act
When you
look at a plate of food, it is a good idea to mentally section the plate
into thirds. A healthy balance would look like this: one third of the
plate being a protein source, two thirds being complex carbohydrates.
Fats can generally be thought of in terms of tablespoons (over or in
the food).
Other
ways of gauging foods are the use of visuals for portion control, as
follows: a fist (equals approximately one cup), the palm of your hand
(women = 4 oz solid protein, men = 5-6 oz), a tennis ball = 1 serving
of fresh fruit, a deck of cards = 3 oz meat, 3 medium dice = 1oz solid
food.
But what
about things like Chili, soup or casseroles? I like to visualize those
foods in pieces. For example, looking at a bowl of chili, if you estimated
the amount of beef that is in an average bowl, you would probably figure
it to be about 1/4th cup or about the size of a deck of cards. An average
bowl, filled all the way to the brim holds 2 cups of fluid. Most people
have approximately 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cup of food in a bowl. So,
the beans generally would be about ½ cup and the veggies and
tomatoes would take up the rest of the bowl. In essence it is a cup
of veggies, a half a cup of beans and a 3 oz hamburger patty –
which is rather balanced. Adding a bunch of crackers to that is not
necessary. Cheese only adds more fat and the meat already contains some
fat (even lean meat).
Lasagna
on the other hand has little meat (less than ¼ cup per square),
a lot of pasta and a lot of cheese. If you placed all that on a plate
separately it would be easy to see that this is an out of balance meal
with mostly fat and carbohydrates. In that case, you would only take
a very small serving and have a chicken breast on the side. This would
balance it all out. However, because of the high fat and carbohydrate
content of the lasagna, the portion would be so small, it would possibly
seem unsatisfying. You could add some steamed green vegetable to fill
in the gap.
If you
look at a bowl of chicken soup and there are only 2 pieces of chicken
in the bowl, you could estimate how much of a chicken breast you are
actually getting. If it is such a small amount, you are probably lacking
protein in that meal. Add more chicken, not more bread!
Understanding
categories of nutrients and how foods compare becomes easier as you
work with them. Once you have the knowledge, you don’t have to
keep doing the same investigation over and over. Most people find that
they actually eat the same or similar foods rather regularly. Therefore,
finding out the macronutrient content for your usual foods is much easier
than most people think.
Remember,
balance is the key to healthy eating. Next time we will explore the
concept of shopping at the grocery store. In the meantime, give me a
call if you want to learn more about your favorite foods and how they
stack up on the wellness scale.
