Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Disassemble to Resemble: A Well Balanced Plate

Written by Abby Forman
Part of National Nutrition Month 2012




Since MyPlate replaced MyPyramid, one of the biggest complaints against it has been that some popular foods don’t fit into the sections. What section would you put pizza in or even a burger? Protein? Grains? Don’t scratch these food favorites off your dinner menu just because they don’t seem to fit. The answer is easier to see if we take it apart. Piece by piece, even a burger can fit into your family’s healthy choices.

So let's build a burger!


Our protein section is obviously going to contain the patty part of our burger. Look for lean ground beef, ground turkey or chicken breast, or even bison.

Any low-fat cheese will go in our dairy section.

The bun is our grains. Choosing a whole wheat bun is a great option and fits nicely into the MyPlate suggestion “make half of your grains whole”.

The rest of our plate gets filled by our veggies: lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, avocado, whatever your favorite topping are. I love adding crunch to my burger. Broccoli slaw in homemade honey mustard dressing adds a certain pizzazz, not to mention vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants.

Now that we’ve laid out all our sections it’s time to stack’er-up!




References


United States Department of Agriculture (Artist). (2011). Choose MyPlate [Artwork]. Retrieved from www.myPlate.gov



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