Many Americans eat foods that are high in fat, sugar, cholesterol and sodium. High ratios of these nutrients displace important vitamins and minerals and upset your dietary balance. To eat more healthfully, choose a wider variety of foods that bring greater balance to your daily nutrition. Reading package labels will help you build your intake of dietary fiber, minerals, protein and vitamins within reasonable fat and calorie amounts.
Low-fat Fish and Meats
You can make your greatest fat and calorie savings by choosing low-fat versions of animal-protein foods. This means opting for pork loin over spareribs, beef round or sirloin over hamburger, and roasted turkey breast over fried chicken. The American Heart Association, or AHA, notes that eating fish twice per week and baking, broiling, grilling, poaching, stir-frying or sauteing fish and meats will decrease your saturated fat intake while maintaining high protein levels.
Reduced-Fat Dairy Products
Balance your intake of calcium, protein and fat by choosing reduced-fat dairy products for everyday meals. Fat-free, 1-percent or 2-percent milk, yogurt, sour cream and cheese can help you get your daily values of calcium and protein, and still leave room in your diet calorie-wise for other essential nutrients. Fortified milk also provides essential vitamins A and D without additional calories.
Vegetables
The majority of your vitamin A, however, will probably come from vegetables. Dark green and orange vegetables, as a rule, have high vitamin A content. Veggies, such as cooked spinach, kale, carrots and sweet potatoes, offer as much as 40 percent of daily values of vitamin A per 1 cup, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. Other choices include winter squash, pumpkin, bok choy and collard greens.
Grain Products
Like fatty meats, refined grains threaten a balanced diet by delivering less nutrition in greater calorie amounts. Therefore, the AHA suggests choosing whole-grain foods at least half the time, for their fiber, protein and B vitamin content. Examples include whole-wheat pasta and tortillas, whole-rye bread and crackers, brown rice, popcorn, oatmeal and bran cereals.
Fruits
Fruits, such as cantaloupes and oranges, bring balance to your diet by providing large amounts of fiber and vitamins A and C. Dried fruits, such as raisins and dried apricots, also have high concentrations of iron and potassium. Pears and berries of all kinds are known for their superior fiber content. Papayas and bananas are popular choices for potassium.
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