Summertime often means longer days filled with activities from cookouts to vacations to swimming and more – so many opportunities for things to do! With all those activities keeping you busy, healthy eating can easily fall by the wayside. Here’s a simple tip to continue eating healthy while enjoying all that the season has to offer: planning!
Eating a nutritious, affordable, delicious diet is definitely easier with a little forethought. Planning will help ensure that you and your family can enjoy a diet filled with lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole-grains, lean proteins, low-fat and fat-free dairy, and healthy fats.
MyPlate (www.choosemyplate.gov/) is a great guide for planning healthy meals and snacks ahead of time for an entire week. For example, one day choose oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, whole-wheat veggie and turkey wraps for lunch, a fruit and dairy snack for the afternoon, and a veggie and protein stir-fry for dinner. Then fill in with what’s available in your fridge, freezer, and pantry; or use what’s in season, on sale at the grocery store, or what you prefer to eat that day. Having a framework makes planning much easier!
With MyPlate, half of your plate or bowl should be made up of fruits and vegetables – nutrient-dense foods with relatively few calories; one quarter should consist of whole-grains – brown rice, whole-wheat bread, or whole-wheat pasta; and the other quarter lean protein – grilled chicken breast, pork tenderloin, lean ground beef or turkey, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, seeds, or tofu. Also, aim for three calcium-rich servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy each day.
Planning with MyPlate as your guide will help you eat healthy during the busiest (or laziest!) days of summer!
Operation Food Search is helping children living in low-resource, high-need areas have a healthier, more carefree summer by providing free meals while school is out. Meals are served weekdays through mid-August at various locations throughout St. Louis. Any child under age 18 may come to eat. A listing of locations is available by texting FOOD to 877-877. Meal sites will be updated throughout the summer. For more information, visit www.WeFeedKidsSTL.org.
