Health and Nutrition Letter

Pyramid Power

June 2005

Once you’ve created your customized pyramid plan at www.mypyramid.gov, here are 36 tips from the USDA to help you put it into action on your table:

6 ways to make half your grains whole:

  1. Substitute a whole-grain product for a refined product—such as whole-wheat bread instead of white bread or brown rice instead of white rice. It’s important to substitute the whole-grain product for the refined one, rather than adding the whole-grain product.
  2. Experiment by substituting whole wheat or oat flour for up to half of the flour in pancake, waffle, muffin or other recipes. (They may need a bit more leavening.)
  3. Popcorn, a whole grain, can be a healthy snack with little or no added salt and butter.
  4. Choose foods that name one of the following whole-grain ingredients first on the label’s ingredient list: “brown rice,” “bulgur,” “graham flour,” “oatmeal,” “whole-grain corn,” “whole oats,” “whole rye,” “whole wheat,” “wild rice.” Foods labeled with the words “multi-grain,” “stone-ground,” “100% wheat,” “cracked wheat,” “seven-grain,” or “bran” are usually whole-grain products.
  5. Color is not an indication of a whole grain. Bread can be brown because of molasses or other added ingredients.
  6. Use the Nutrition Facts label and choose products with a higher % Daily Value (%DV) for fiber.

7 tips to vary your veggies:

  1. Buy fresh vegetables in season. They cost less and are likely to be at peak flavor.
  2. Select vegetables with more potassium, such as sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products (paste, sauce and juice), beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, winter squash, spinach, lentils, kidney beans and split peas.
  3. Prepare more foods from fresh ingredients to lower your sodium intake. Buy canned vegetables labeled “no salt added.”
  4. Include a green salad with your dinner every night. Go light on the dressing.
  5. Shred carrots or zucchini into meatloaf, casseroles, quick breads and muffins.
  6. Include chopped vegetables in pasta sauce or lasagna.
  7. Add color to salads with baby carrots, shredded red cabbage or spinach leaves.

8 ideas to focus on fruit:

  1. Buy fresh fruits in season when they may be less expensive and at their peak flavor.
  2. Often choose whole or cut-up fruit rather than juice, for dietary fiber.
  3. Select fruits with more potassium, such as bananas, prunes and prune juice, dried peaches and apricots, cantaloupe and honeydew melon.
  4. At breakfast, top cereal with fruit or mix fruit with low-fat or fat-free yogurt.
  5. For dessert, have baked apples, pears or a fruit salad.
  6. As a snack, spread peanut butter on apple slices or top frozen yogurt with berries or slices of kiwi fruit.
  7. Make a fruit smoothie by blending fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit such as bananas, peaches or berries.
  8. Try applesauce as a fat-free substitute for some of the oil when baking cakes.

5 ways to get calcium-rich foods:

  1. Include fat-free or low-fat milk as a beverage at meals.
  2. If you drink cappuccinos or lattés, order with fat-free (skim) milk.
  3. Add fat-free or low-fat milk instead of water when preparing oatmeal and hot cereals.
  4. Have fat-free or low-fat yogurt as a snack.
  5. Top a baked potato with fat-free or low-fat yogurt.

10 ways to go lean with protein:

  1. The leanest beef cuts include round steaks and roasts (round eye, top round, bottom round, round tip), top loin, top sirloin and chuck shoulder and arm roasts.
  2. Choose extra-lean ground beef. The label should say at least “90% lean.”
  3. The leanest pork choices include pork loin, tenderloin, center loin and ham.
  4. Buy skinless chicken parts, or take off the skin before cooking. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts and turkey cutlets are the leanest poultry choices.
  5. Choose lean turkey, roast beef, ham or low-fat luncheon meats for sandwiches instead of those with more fat.
  6. Trim away all the visible fat from meats and poultry before cooking.
  7. Broil, grill, roast, poach or boil instead of frying.
  8. Choose fish more often. Look for fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout and herring.
  9. Choose dry beans or peas as a main dish or part of a meal often.
  10. Choose nuts as a snack, on salads or in main dishes. Use nuts to replace meat or poultry, not in addition.

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