Begin your perfect breakfast with a skinny latte, add a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and end with a small glass of low-sodium tomato juice. Or start with the same no-fat latte accompanied by a one-egg omelet with spinach and mushrooms, one slice of whole-grain bread and a few chunks of cantaloupe. Those meals and others like them contain nutrient-dense foods and avoid excess calories, the two key recommendations in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
A Perfect Dinner
For dinner, follow the simple graphic called My Plate, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For protein and vegetables, poach salmon and top it with a sauce made from no-fat sour cream and chopped cucumbers or roasted red peppers. For more vegetables, add a green salad with dark-colored lettuce or spinach with a shredded carrot and thinly sliced red cabbage. Dress the salad with olive oil and vinegar. Alongside the salmon, add grains, in the form of a brown rice pilaf with chopped parsley. Meet your dairy and fruit requirements with yogurt topped with fresh or frozen strawberries.
Calories
To keep calories in line with the dietary guidelines, limit your salmon portion to a 3- or 4-oz. piece, and poach it to avoid adding extra fat. Save grilling as a rare treat, as grilled fish and meats contain cancer-causing compounds. Choose plain, no-fat yogurt for fewer calories with just as much calcium and lots of potassium. Limit alcohol to one, 5-oz. glass of wine or 12-oz. of beer for women and two glasses or two beers for men.
Fiber
The Dietary Guidelines recommend increasing the amount of whole grains that you eat. Whole grains not only provide healthy vitamins and minerals, but healthy fiber as well that can reduce your levels of blood sugar, help prevent constipation and may prevent some forms of cancer. One cup of brown rice pilaf gives you a healthy serving of 4 g of fiber and is listed by the American Institute of Cancer Research along with strawberries in their examples of high-fiber, low-calorie foods.
Nutrient-dense Foods
Nutrient-dense foods contain a large number of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients compared to their calories. In your perfect meal, salmon, brown rice, bell peppers, strawberries and yogurt all count as nutrient-dense. Fruits and vegetables also provide phytochemicals that protects cells against damage and may protect again cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. And salmon contains heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. If possible, choose wild salmon instead of farmed salmon to avoid contaminant called PCBs.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 -- Appendices
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; Choose My Plate.gov; May 2011
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; The Five Worst Foods to Grill; August 2005
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 -- Foods and Food Components to Reduce
- American Institute for Cancer Research; The Facts about Fiber; 2001
- Harvard Health Publications: Getting your Vitamins and Minerals through Diet
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