How to Eat with the Food Pyramid

According to the Food Pyramid, we need foods from each of these main groups to fulfill our daily requirements to maintain a healthy body system, and to power us through each day! 

Grains= Orange

·      2-4 ounces a day of whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), oatmeal, whole cornmeal, brown rice, quinoa, popcorn, buckwheat

·      Avoid products with the ingredients containing “enriched wheat flour,” “white flour,” or “unbleached wheat flour”

Protein= Blue

·      3-6 ounces a day of any meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, and seeds

·      1 chicken breast, 2 oz tuna, 2 tbs peanut butter, 2 eggs, ½ cup chickpeas, ½ cup tofu, 3 slices of turkey , ½ cup black beans

Fruits= Yellow

·      1-2 cups a day of all fruits and 100% fruit juices

·      When consumed on an empty stomach, all nutrients and vitamins are

successfully absorbed by the body and digestive tract

Vegetables= Green

·      1-3 cups a day of dark green vegetables, orange vegetables, beans,

starchy vegetables, and other vegetables including tomatoes, eggplants, artichokes, etc

Milk, Dairy= Purple

·      2-3 cups a day of skim milk, low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, milk substitutes such as unsweetened soy, almond, or rice milk

Oils= Red

·      Limit to 1-2 tbs a day of either sunflower, canola, corn, cottonseed, olive,

safflower, soybean oil

·      Oils contain fatty acids such as monounsaturated fatty acids and

polyunsaturated fatty acids that help with nutrient absorption and digestion.

Breakfast: Approximately 350-450 calories

Opt to start your day off with warm lemon water or warm herbal tea.

 Yogurt Parfait

In a bowl, add yogurt, honey and layer on strawberries and then blueberries.

·      1 Cup Greek Yogurt (Fage)

·      Mix in 1 tbs honey

·               Add ½ cup of frozen or fresh strawberries

·               Add ½ cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Toast with spread

Put two slices of bread into a toaster, remove and add almond/peanut butter, top with sliced banana and sprinkle on top with cinnamon.

·      2 slices Ezekiel Toast

·      2 Tbs natural almond butter or peanut butter

·      1 small banana sliced

·      1 Tbs cinnamon

·      1 cup unsweetened green or black tea

Hot cereal

Mix cooked oatmeal with milk substitute and mix in other ingredients

·      1 Cup Oatmeal

·      ½ cup soy milk or almond milk

·      ¼  cup blueberries

·      1 cup orange juice

Breakfast burrito

Warm tortilla in a skillet or in an oven at 350 degrees for 3 minutes on each side. Add egg, beans and top with grated cheese and salsa. Fold into a burrito.

·      1 Ezekiel tortilla

·      1 scrambled egg

·      1/3 cup black beans

·      1 tbs low moisture mozzarella cheese

·      2 tbsp salsa

·      1 cup orange juice 

Cold cereal

In a bowl, combine cereal, milk or milk alternative, and top with fruit.

·     1 cup Kashi cereal, Puffins, or Nature’s Path cereal

·     1 cup fat-free milk, unsweetened almond milk, rice milk, or soy milk 

·     1 small banana

English Muffin Breakfast 

Toast English muffin and remove. Add Earth Balance butter and top with no sugar added preserves. Cut grapefruit in half and peel egg.

·     1 whole wheat English muffin

·     2 tsp Earth Balance Butter

·     1 tbsp jam or preserves, no sugar added

·     1/2 medium grapefruit

·     1 hard-cooked egg

·     1 unsweetened beverage- iced tea, coffee, tea

Fresh Fruit Plate

Scoop cottage cheese into a bowl and top with all fruit.

·      1 Cup low fat, organic cottage cheese

·      ¼ Cup blueberries

·      ¼ Cup cubed cantaloupe

·      2 sliced strawberries

·      1 kiwi peeled and sliced

 Fruit Smoothie

Combine ice banana, strawberries and mango in blender, add milk of choice and blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Add honey and blend again until smooth texture.

·      1 small banana

·      1 tbs honey

·      ½ cup frozen or fresh strawberries

·      ½ cup frozen or fresh mango

·      ½ cup unsweetened almond, soy, rice, or skim milk

·      1 cup ice (not needed if fruit is frozen)

Omelet

Mix eggs together with all vegetables and pour into a skillet on medium heat sprayed with non-stick spray. Let cook thoroughly for about 3-5 minutes, fold over into an omelette and cook again for another 3-5 minutes.  Place bread in the toaster and remove, spread Earth Balance on toast.

• 3 large egg whites
• ¼ cup chopped spinach fresh or frozen
• ¼ cup chopped tomatoes
• ¼ cup chopped peppers
• ¼ cup chopped onions
• ¼ cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 tbs low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 slice of Ezekiel toast
• 1 Tbs Earth Balance butter

Lunch and Dinner: Approximately 350-450 calories

Spinach Salad

Mix tuna in a bowl with mayo and lemon juice and onions. Add spinach to a large plate with cucumbers, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, tuna and balsamic.

·               1 cup of spinach leaves

·               ½ can of tuna fish

·               2 tbs light mayo

·               2 tbs lemon juice

·               ¼ cup of diced tomatoes

·               ¼ cup onions

·               ¼ cucumber

·               2 tbs sunflower seeds

·               2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Mexicali Salad

In a large bowl, add broken up tortilla chips on the bottom. Top with romaine, beans, tomatoes, onions, and sliced avocado and salsa as the dressing.

·               1 cup romaine hearts

·               ½ cup black beans

·               ½ cup diced tomatoes

·               ½ cup diced onions

·               ¼ cup salsa

·               ½ avocado in slices

·               1 handful of blue corn tortilla chips

Chicken Salad

In a small bowl combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, water, and lemon juice and stir mixture for salad dressing. On a plate, add mixed baby greens and top with sliced grilled chicken breast surrounded by sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, cranberries and sunflower seeds. Drizzle dressing over salad.

• 1 cup mixed baby greens
• 1 grilled chicken breast
• 1 medium tomato sliced
• ½ cup chopped cucumber
• 1tbs olive oil
• 1tbs red wine vinegar
• 1tbs water
• 1tbs lemon juice
• 1 tbs dried cranberries
• 1 tbs sunflower seeds. 

Vegetarian Salad

Mix baby greens, chickpeas, all vegetables, feta cheese, and balsamic    dressing in a large bowl and toss.

• ½ cup chickpeas
• 1 cup mixed baby greens
• 1 cup diced peppers
• ½ cup sliced button mushrooms
• ½ cup diced cucumber
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbs feta cheese
• 2 tbs pistachios
• 2 tbs balsamic dressing

Middle East Wrap

Warm wrap in oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or in a skillet on medium heat.  Place on plate and spread hummus on wrap, top with avocado, tomatoes, romaine, sunflower seeds, and fold into a wrap. Cup in half. Cube 1/4 a cantaloupe for about 1 cup.

• 1 whole grain wrap- Ezekiel
• 2 tbs hummus
• 1 half avocado sliced
• 1 tbs sunflower seeds
• ½ cup romaine
• ¼ cup chopped tomatoes
• For a side dish, 1 cup cut up cantaloupe

 Turkey Sandwich

Toast both pieces of bread. Spread mustard on one slice. Top with turkey slices, tomato slices, cucumber and romaine. Place other slice of bread and cut in half. Scoop 1 tbs hummus into a bowl and enjoy with two stalks of cut up celery and a handful of baby carrots.

·      2 slices whole grain bread Ezekiel bread

·      2 slices of turkey

·      1 romaine heart

·      2 tomato slices

·      4 cucumber slices

·      1 tbs mustard

·      For a side dish, 1 cup of carrots and celery

·      with 1 tbs hummus

Veggie burger

Heat veggie burger in a medium heat skillet or in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes a side . On the bun, spread the mustard and ketchup on the top slice. On the bottom slice, place the veggie burger with all vegetables on top and cover with top slice of bun.  Cut half a sweet potato into wedges, place in oven with 1 tbs sprinkled olive oil on them at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

• 1 veggie burger- Morning Star, Dr. Praggers, etc
• Whole wheat bun
• 1 tbs dijon mustard
• 1 tbs ketchup
• ¼ cup baby spinach
• ¼ cup sprouts
• 2 tomato slices
• 2 avocado slices.
• Side: baked sweet potato fries
• 1 tbs olive oil

White Bean Soup

Typically high in sodium, and the cream based soups are very high in fat. Unless noted low sodium or low fat, limit soups. Minestrone or vegetable soup is the best option. Spread hummus on bread and top with cucumber and tomato slices.

·      1 cup of low sodium vegetable or chicken broth based soup (minestrone, vegetable

·      ½ cup white beans

·      1 slice of whole wheat bread- Ezekiel

·      1 tbs hummus

·      5 cucumber slices

·      2 tomato slices

Pasta Marinara

Combine pasta in a bowl with mixed vegetables and protein option, top with marinara sauce and stir.

• 1 cup of whole wheat or brown rice pasta
• ¼  cup mixed steamed vegetables- carrots, broccoli, zucchini
• 1 cup of grilled shrimp or cubed tofu 
• ½ cup of tomato marinara sauce

Chicken Brown Rice

Slice asparagus stalks into quarters. Combine olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside. In a bowl, add rice, chicken and asparagus and top with dressing and stir.

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 cup grilled chicken
• 1 cup grilled asparagus
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs red wine vinegar plus
• 1tbs lemon juice for the dressing

Seafood

In a skillet, heat on medium extra virgin olive oil and add spinach, mushrooms and onions with basil. Let cook for about 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add to a plate- quinoa and top with salmon. Add vegetable mixture on top of salmon.

• 1 piece of grilled salmon without skin
• ¼ cup spinach
• ¼ cup sliced mushrooms
• ¼ cup sliced red onion
• ¼ cup basil
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup of quinoa

Healthy Quesadilla

In a skillet, on medium heat, add olive oil and add onions and peppers and beans to heat for 5-7 minutes or until soft. Top with cilantro. In another skillet, heat tortilla for 1 minute on each side. Add cheese to tortilla on one side and once melted, add vegetables and beans to tortilla on top of cheese. Top with cilantro and avocado slices.

·      1/4 cup sliced bell peppers

·      1/4 cup chopped onion

·      1 tablespoon olive oil

·      1/2 cup whole pinto beans

·      1 whole wheat tortilla- Ezekiel

·      1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

·      2 tbs low moisture mozzarella cheese

·      ½ avocado sliced

Chinese stir-fry

In a large bowl, add noodles. In a medium heat skillet, add peanut oil and teriyaki sauce and mix with broccoli and chicken. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until broccoli is soft and chicken is cooked thoroughly (unless pre-cooked chicken). Add all ingredients to bowl of soba noodles and mix.

• 1 cup soba or buckwheat noodles
• 1 cup broccoli
• 1 tbs peanut oil
• 2 tbs  lite teriyaki sauce
• 1 cup diced chicken.