Absolutely Everyone Needs a Plan. John Schlife,
Planning
Everyone Needs a Plan
Around the Kitchen Table
It is not a place; rather it is a mentality that says all those in the living unit will give some deliberate thought each week to designing a plan that will help them improve their personal nutrition. As breakfast and lunch are easily managed, the meal planner is a tool designed to help ensure success at dinnertime (38 percent of Americans give their first thought to dinner standing in front of an open refrigerator!)
Breakfast
Follow guidelines on pages 8 and 9. Do not record breakfast on the daily plan.
Lunch
Follow guidelines for the “2-Item Lunch” on pages 6 and 7. Do not record lunch on the daily plan.
Use the Meal Planner for Evening Meal
Follow the samples on pages 18 and 19, and use these guidelines:
1 Get input from everyone in the living unit. This includes all children.
2 Be specific. The plan should not read “meat” but rather specifically “baked chicken.” It should not say “vegetables” but rather “corn” or “green beans.”
3 Write down the plan for the entire week.
4 Shopping list. Develop your grocery list from your plan. This will eliminate the willpower issue when you get to the store and are tempted to buy what looks good at the moment. (Note: Grocery costs decrease dramatically when one purchases only what is needed!)
5 Post the meal plan in a conspicuous place such as on the refrigerator door.
6 Circle successes with a colored marker. This will provide immediate positive feedback (a great task for young children).
Breakfast
The importance of eating breakfast each morning has been known for many years, and researchers can show that both children and adults function better when they begin the day with breakfast.
The traditional American breakfast, which many were raised on, is too high in fat and salt. Although bacon, ham, and sausage provide energy, they are very high in fat and cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and intestinal irritation. These animal products contain no fiber.
A healthy breakfast should consist of clean-burning, highenergy foods that keep the blood sugar level steady, stimulate the digestive system, and are naturally low in sodium and high in potassium. Two categories of food are important for breakfast:
Grains (ideally with minimal processing)cerealswhole-grain breadetc.
Fruits (ideally fresh or frozen and whole)
Select 1 item from each category.
(Grains and fruits details on page 5.)
Grains
1 Cereal—hot or cold with nonfat milk. Read the label and select those which are*whole-grain*high in fiber*low in fat, sugar, salt*high in starch (complex carbohydrates)
2 Bread—whole-grain
3 Pancakes and waffles—made with whole-grain flour
4 French toast—made with whole-grain breads, nonfat milk, egg whites
5 Muffins, rolls, bagels—Made with whole-grain flour
Use the nonfat margarine/butter-tasting spreads. Use minimal amounts of “Lite” jellies and syrups.
Fruits
Fresh fruits are low in calories and sodium and are high in vitamins and potassium.
Fruit canned in syrup should be avoided or washed in cold water.
Fruits packed in water are acceptable in terms of calories but are lower in fiber because they are peeled.
Fruit juice does not contain fiber; thus it causes a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) response. Caution: Fruit juice is a high-calorie food item.
The 2-Item Lunch
Because lunch is usually consumed in a short time period (15–30 minutes), most people do not overeat in terms of amount of food consumed. However, processed “fast food,” which is extremely high in fat, salt, and sugar and low in complex carbohydrates and fiber, has been the answer to the short time allotted for lunch.
Fast lunches, which are nutritious and also include a great deal of variety, can be planned.
The 2-item lunch can be packed in a brown bag, ordered to eat in a restaurant or to be carried out, or purchased quickly in a grocery store.
Item 1: Fresh fruit
Item 2: If weight loss is a goal, select 1 of the following examples in addition to fresh fruit. If you are extremely active or maintaining your weight, more than 1 may be necessary.
Tuna salad on whole-grain bread (use water-packed tuna and small amount of fatfree mayonnaise)
Bagel with fat-free cream cheese or nothing
Chicken or turkey on whole-grain bread
Bowl of soup (homemade or no-salt)
Bowl of rice (ideally not minute rice)
Bowl of pasta
Additional suggestions for item number 2 on the next page.
The 2-Item Lunch Continued
Salad (mostly vegetables) with fat-free dressing
Bean burrito (homemade to assure less sodium and no lard)
Cup of nonfat yogurt (fruit or other flavors, but no sugar added)
Peanut butter (no added fat and no added salt) and jelly (light) on whole-grain bread
Baked potato with black pepper, plain nonfat yogurt, nonfat sour cream, and light or nonfat margarine-/buttertasting spreads
Baked yam or sweet potato with pepper and light or nonfat margarine-/butter-tasting spreads
Keep lunch dinky!
High-Performance Behaviors
1 Always eat breakfast.
2 Eat a breakfast consisting of low-fat, high-fiber foods in the complex-carbohydrate category (grain and fresh fruit).
3 Use whole-grain bread and rolls.
4 Use soft vegetable oils, or even better, nonfat spreads, rather than butter.
5 Remove the saltshaker, and do not add salt when cooking.
6 For meats, emphasize fish, chicken, and turkey with the skin removed, and game.
7 Group calories into 3 meals (rarely snacks).
8 Bake and broil food rather than fry.
9 Eat 1 or 2 vegetable servings every day. (Get all the colors each week.)
10 Use fat-free products whenever possible.
11 Buy no-salt foods whenever possible.
12 Eat 3–4 servings of fresh fruit every day.
13 Eat on Saturday and Sunday the same way you eat on Monday through Friday.
14 Amounts—go for 1.
15 Keep lunch “light” (2 items). Have 1 fruit and only 1 other item.
How to Use This Meal Planner
The remainder of the Meal Planner is divided into monthly sections. Each section