Nutrition Pointers

Tips for Getting More Fruits and Veggies Into Your Diet:

• Add chopped carrots and zucchini to basic pasta sauce.
• Add carrots, squash, or corn to chili or burrito filling.
• Roast vegetables—it makes them sweeter and easier for small children to chew. Cut up any veggie, toss with oil, salt, and pepper, and roast 20‐40 minutes at 400 degrees .
• Try putting apple or banana slices or raisins in peanut butter sandwiches instead of jelly. In cream cheese sandwiches or bagels, try apple slices, raisins or berries.

Fruits and Veggies: Recipes

Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into 1 1/2‐inch‐wide florets
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Sprinkle of salt or pepper

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Toss cauliflower with oil and salt in a large bowl.
3. Spread in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and roast, stirring and turning over occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.

**Note: You can use this technique with other vegetables. Just modify the roasting time:

Brussels sprouts, carrots, or peeled, seeded butternut squash: 30 minutes

Sweet potatoes: 40 minutes

Broccoli: 20‐25 minutes

Red or green peppers: 25 minutes

Sliced kale leaves: 10 minutes

Beets (cover with foil, then peel after cooking): 1 hour

Fruit Dip

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• strawberries, cantaloupe (cubed), bananas (sliced), or any other fruit

Dip:

1. Place yogurt in a small bowl. Add honey and cinnamon; stir into yogurt.
2. Place cut‐up fruit on a plate and serve with yogurt dip.

Baked Apples or Pears

• 4 firm apples or pears
• 1/3 cup honey
• ½tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried fruit
• 3 tbs vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Cut out the core of the apples or pears, trying to keep the whole fruit in tact (if it breaks, it’s not a big deal).
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Divide the mixture into fourths and spoon each fourth into the hole in each apple or pear.
3. Place the apples or pears in a baking dish and bake until they are tender, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition Pointers: Dairy

Things to Know About Dairy:

• Dairy is a good source of calcium, protein, and certain vitamins. Milk is also a good alternative to juice drinks or soda.
• Go for low fat dairy. Buy 1% or skim milk and low fat cheese. Why? Because all dairy fat is saturated fat, which raises the risk of heart disease and diabetes. So if you keep the dairy fat low, you keep your saturated fat intake low.
• Stay away from added sugar or flavored milk—if your child doesn’t drink chocolate milk now, don’t start it with them. Most kids will like milk without any problem and there’s no reason to introduce the extra sugar in there to get them to drink it.

Nutrition Pointers: Fats

FatsThings to Know About Fats:

Fat isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s the type of fat that matters:

• Unsaturated fat, such as vegetable oil, olive oil, and oils found in avocadoes, nuts, and fish, are good for your body and can help keep you feeling full longer, so that you snack less.
• Saturated fat, found in cream, cheese, and other dairy products as well as beef, pork, and chicken, is what you want tolimit. This type of fat is necessary but too much can hurt your heart by raising your cholesterol.
• Trans fat, which is an unnatural fat engineered by food companies, should be avoided. This type of fat is bad for your heart and your overall health, too.

Check food labels for trans fats, but also check the ingredient list on the package for “partially hydrogenated”oils. This is actually a better clue to whether your food has trans fat.

Low fat food products may not be healthier than the regular version—they often have lots of added salt and sugar. Buy low fat if it’s an animal product, like cheese or lean cuts of meat.

Nutrition Pointers: Proteins

ProteinsThings to Know About Meats and Meat Alternatives:

• Protein is an essential part of any diet.
• Limit red and processed meats, such as beef, pork, bacon, salami, and ham. They’re higher in saturated fats, and raise the risk of cancer later in life.
• Try turkey sandwiches instead of salami or bologna. Substitute ground turkey meat for ground beef in burgers, meatloaf, chili, meatballs, or pasta sauce.
• Limit fried meat like chicken nuggets.
• Eat fish as much as possible—canned light tuna or canned salmon are low cost choices. They’re also lower in mercury.
• Keep eating beans if you are already. Beans are an excellent source of protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals.
• Incorporate beans not just into beans & rice, but also stews, soups, and chilis. You can even incorporate beans into meat dishes—mix some black beans and frozen corn into turkey burgers for some added nutrition and fiber.

Proteins: Recipes

Chickpeas and Couscous (serves 4)

• 1 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick half moons
• 1 tomato, diced (or 1 cup of canned diced tomatoes)
• 2 tbs vegetable or olive oil
• 1 cup couscous
• 2 cups water
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp vegetable or olive oil
• ¼cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tbs dried or 3 tbs fresh parsley

1. Heat up the 2 tbs of oil in a skillet. Add all of the vegetables except the chickpeas and tomatoes and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are softened. Stir in the chickpeas and tomatoes and cook 5 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Bring the water to a boil. Add the salt, couscous, and 1 tbs oil, stir once, and remove from the heat. Cover and let sit for five minutes, then fluff with a fork.
3. Stir chickpea mixture into couscous with cheese and herbs. Serve hot.

* You can mix up this recipe by serving different combinations of veggies. Or try substituting grilled chicken or fish for the chickpeas.

Tex‐Mex Turkey Burgers (serves 4)

• 1/3 cup low fat cheese, diced
• 12 oz. ground turkey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• ¾cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 2/3 cup salsa (plus more for topping)
• Lettuce, tomato, hamburger buns, condiments

1. In a large bowl, combine the cheese, turkey, salt, kidney beans, corn, onion, and salsa and mix thoroughly.
2. Divide the mixture and form into 4 patties. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the patties firm up.
3. Grill or broil the burgers, cooking 6‐7 minutes per side or until they are cooked through (the meat will no longer be pink).
4. Serve with lettuce, tomato, buns or other condiments.

*Tastes great with roasted sweet potatoes as a side dish!

Nutrition Pointers: Grains

Try to eat as many whole grain products as possible. Whole grains are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They help you feel full longer while adding nutrients to your diet. They include whole wheat bread, pasta, tortillas, brown rice, oatmeal….the possibilities are endless!

Refined grains, such as white bread, white pasta, and white rice, have had the fiber and nutrients mostly removed. They add less to your diet and may cause you to get hungrier faster.

Tips for Adding Whole Grains to Your Diet:

• Try to substitute whole grains for at least half of the bread, crackers, cereal, pasta, or rice you eat. Substituting even more is even better!
• If you have trouble getting used to brown rice or pasta, try making meals with half brown and half white rice or pasta.
• Experiment by substituting whole wheat or oat flour for up to half of the flour in pancake, waffle, muffin or other flour‐based recipes.
• Be careful of packaging. A lot of food companies will advertise that their products are “whole grain,”or “made from wheat flour,”but they actually are still mostly refined. Outsmart those deceptive foodlabels:
• Choose foods that list “whole wheat,”“whole oat,”or “whole rye”flour as the first ingredienton the package.
• Choose foods that say “100% Whole Wheat”instead of “Made with Whole Grain”

Whole Grains: Recipes

Brown Rice Stir Fry (serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 cup cooked shrimp or chicken
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked according to directions on package
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add all of the vegetables with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and stir fry for 5 minutes.
2. Add rice, shrimp or chicken, and soy sauce, and stir‐fry until heated through, about 2 minutes.

* Try switching in other vegetables, such as carrots, squash, or zucchini. Or try adding different types of fish. You can even make this dish with eggs: omit the shrimp or chicken and crack 2‐3 eggs into the pan with the rice. Stir to scramble the eggs with the rice and veggies until the eggs are cooked through.

Amazing Oatmeal (serves 1)

• ½cup old‐fashioned oats
• 1 cup skim or low fat milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, strawberries, or peaches OR 1 cup diced fresh apple or pear OR ½cup raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries
• ½teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• ½teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 1‐2 tbs honey or maple syrup

1. Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Be careful not to let it boil over!
2. Quickly reduce the heat to low and stir in the oats, salt, fruit, and vanilla if you’re using it. Stir in cinnamon if you want—this goes especially well with apples, raisins, pears, or peaches. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. If the oatmeal starts sticking to the pan, add a little water or lower the heat.
3. Swirl in a little honey or maple syrup. Let it sit for about two minutes, then serve in bowls. Add more milk if you like your oatmeal thinner, or let sit longer if you like it thicker.