Healthy Eating Guidelines

Simple Healthy Eating Tips to Guide Your Recipe Creation

Eating healthy starts with a few healthy eating guidelines. I'm not talking diet here... I'm talking about making healthy food choices using these healthy eating tips.

However, let me preface this discussion with a bit of a disclaimer. As a nurse and someone dedicated to having a healthy body for decades to go, I believe in eating healthy. But as a person who believes that life is to be lived and enjoyed and as a food lover, I also believe that not every food choice will be a healthy one.

I Need to Fess Up...

There are a few un-healthy foods I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, like...

• Ice cream
• Bacon
• Cheese
• Italian sausage

There are others I like too, but those are my faves. I'm sure you have foods too that wouldn't really be included in most healthy eating guidelines. Now, I know that there may be "healthier" alternatives to those foods above, low fat or low sugar versions, or turkey bacon and turkey sausage, but to be perfectly honest, I don't like those versions as much.

And you know what? Technically, that's OK. Because this website isn't just about healthy eating... it's about throwing together meals with what you have on hand in a short amount of time. Because making your own meals as opposed to making a packaged meal or buying fast food is generally still going to be the healthier choice. BUT...

I really DO believe in eating healthy. So, I work to stock my kitchen with mostly healthy foods and I mostly create recipes that are good for you too. Now, if you have to follow a specific diet restriction or are fanatical about sticking with a heart-healthy diet from start to finish, then my recipes might not be right for you.

But if you want to eat healthy most of the time, while still enjoying what you eat and sneaking in some of those "not so healthy" foods now and then, then we're on the same wavelength! (Remember, my mentor is Rachael Ray, lover of fresh foods and seasonings, not Paula Dean, lover of butter!)

And, because thrown together meals are all about creating your own versions of recipes, then you can also feel free to make healthier substitutions of some of my ingredients, if that makes you feel better. It's all perfectly OK... and up to you.

Basic Healthy Eating Guidelines

Eating mostly healthy isn't that hard to do, not when you follow some basic healthy eating guidelines. According to MyPyramid.gov, a website by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, healthy eating consists of a diet that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars

And these tips are important too:

• Make smart choices from every food group
• Find your balance between food and physical activity
• Get the most nutrition out of your calories
• Stay within your daily calorie needs, keeping portion size small to moderate

If you do nothing more than follow these healthy eating tips, you'll be on the right track. But here are a few more specific guidelines about the various food groups...

Specific Healthy Eating Guidelines

• Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. The current USDA guidelines recommend that adults get 2 to 3 cups of vegetables and 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit every day. Eeks! That's a lot, but it can be done. For veggies, go with dark green and orange ones as much as you can. Dried veggies and dried beans are good too. In fruits, canned, fresh and frozen are all good, but limit the amount of juice, because it often has added sugars.


• Focus on whole, unprocessed grains when possible. If you can, shoot for eating at least 3 ounces of whole grain bread, cereal, crackers, rice or pasta every day. Make sure the word "whole" is listed on the grain products you use.


• Be sure to include calcium-rich foods. I'm talking about dairy foods here. Go fat free if you can, but if that's too much for you, at least go low fat. (This includes milk, cheeses, sour cream, and ice cream.) If lactose intolerance inhibits your ability to have milk, cheese, or yogurt, then look for lactose-free dairy products. Calcium-enriched products, such as orange juice, are one answer, but they don't supply all of the nutrients found in dairy products.


• Include protein, but don't go overboard. Both meat and beans can fulfill the protein requirement, but whichever way you go, shoot for lean and low fat.


• Use fats, but sparingly & know which types are healthiest. All fats are NOT created equal. As a general rule, liquid fats are healthier than solid ones. So, oils are better than butter, shortening or margarine. But you can also get healthy fat from fish and nuts. When it comes to oils, olive oil is probably best, but you can also use oils with polyunsaturated fats.

Another key strategy that is part of healthy eating guidelines is to instill variety into your food choices. Don't always eat broccoli and apples. Mix it up a bit. Likewise, don't stick only to chicken as a protein source or bread as your grain. Not only will you enjoy eating healthy more if you have variety in your meals, it's also better for you.

Many people find that eating 5 or 6 small meals a day is a better way to go too, than the traditional 3 large meals. Smaller, more frequent meals keep hunger at bay and actually result in you eating less calories at the end of the day. But the food still has to be healthy! Don't eat chips or cookies for your between meal snacks. Stick with carrots, some crackers and low-fat cheese or a piece of fruit.

A Few More Healthy Eating Tips

I think the best advice I can give you is to keep healthy foods on hand at all times. If your choices for ingredients as you're developing a new thrown together meal are healthy ones, then your final product is more likely to be healthy too!

Learn to read labels too. All "health" or "light" or "free" foods are not created equal. Get in the habit of knowing what's in the foods you are buying and eating. Labels will also tell you what a standard serving size is for a particular food, and the answer to that may surprise you.

Now as I said at the beginning of this page, I DO sometimes use less healthy ingredients, such as bacon and pork sausage and cheese. But I try to use them in moderation. And I realize that as long as I balance the occasional "transgression," with generally healthy fare, I should be OK.

So do your best to follow healthy eating guidelines, but don't freak out if you don't always hit the mark.

If you want to continue your learning about healthy eating beyond what I've got here, visit these pages:

• Healthy Cooking Tips
• MyPyramid.gov
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Or, you can download this 8-page report on Healthy Eating Tips (PDF)