Kasia the Expert

Do you plan all your meals in advance, go shopping once a week and have a really good idea what's on your dinner plate every night? According to What, When and Where America Eats "...just under half of consumers usually plan their meals in advance..." As much as planning dinners ahead sounds like a great way to assure a balanced meal, sometines, usually mid-week, I find myself with the other half of consumers, with no plan for dinner. At times like these, I open my pantry and try to use a one-two-three approach to making a balanced meal:

1. Make it "Whole" by picking whole grain version of pasta, rice or bread.

2. Make it "Lean" or "Extra Lean" by searching for cans of tuna packed in water, skinless chicken breast, lean ham or extra lean beef.

3. Make it "Colorful" by using a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Of course, the one-two-three rule works only if my pantry is stocked and below are some of my favorite foods I like to keep on hand at all times.

• Canned tomatoes and other canned or frozen vegetables such as peas, corn and carrots
• Canned, dried or frozen fruits such as peach cups, raisins and frozen strawberries
• Canned tuna or salmon packed in water
• Cooked frozen roasted chicken breast
• Deli meats: lean ham and turkey are my favorites
• Brown rice
• Whole grain bread
• Whole wheat pasta
• Whole wheat or regular macaroni & cheese
• Smart Pop popcorn

Here is one example of my family's favorite one-two-three meals:

Make whole wheat macaroni and cheese according to package directions. Add a cup of frozen peas and a cup of diced roasted chicken. Heat thoroughly. Serve.

For dessert, offer peach cups. To make this a truly well balanced meal take the whole family for a walk and enjoy time spend together!

     With a plethora of information floating around about fats, sodium, cholesterol, ect. it's no wonder consumers are confused and have many misconceptions of what's good for them--including myself, I must admit.  Good fats, better fats, this food is for my bones, this one's for my heart and brain--it's enough to keep your head spinning and according to a recent survey put out by IFIC Food Insights, it's doing just that!  In fact, 75 percent of consumers say they are limiting trans fat in their diet, however, they do not know that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are beneficial as part of a balanced diet!  As a result, a little less than half of consumers say they actually try to eat less polyunsaturated fats.

     While all fats are created equal with regard to calorie content, you may find it interesting to know that some fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) give you a benefit.  Mono and polyunsaturated fats actually reduce the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (otherwise known as the bad cholesterol) when they replace saturated fat in the diet.  To help drive this point home for consumers, the American Heart Association offers a Fats 101 crash course on their website (www.americanheartassociation.org/FaceTheFats).  Here are the basics you need to know about monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats:

   It's already 4:30 pm; I'm ready to go home but not till I have an answer to what might be the most common question around that time of day: what's for dinner tonight? In my head, I quickly scan our pantry at home and decide, instead of following our weekly meal plan, I'd like to stop by one of my favorite restaurants on the way home and just order out.

Interestingly, I'm not alone. According to the National Restaurant Association, on a typical day in America this year, 133 million individuals will be foodservice patrons and more than half of adults say restaurants are an essential part of their lifestyle. I recall Harry Balzer, food industry expert, saying "Americans now use restaurants like their parents traditionally used grocery stores...Restaurants have become places to get food to eat somewhere else."

How can our favorite take out meal be a part of healthful diet? We've all heard about the recommendation to split large restaurant portions to save caloires, but sometimes I just want my own entree. With the convenience takeout offers, there must be another way to fit occasional restaurant food into anyone's meal plan.

From my own experience, planning our family meals is one of the most important strategies to a healthful diet. I know, at 4:30 pm, there is not a lot of time to plan a family meal, but with access to the internet, sensible meal planning (including take-out) is possible and here is how:

• Before placing your order, check the on-line nutrition information of your favorite restaurant. Use that information to make an informed decision about what food to order.
• If your specific restaurant doesn't offer on-line nutrition information, find a comparable restaurant that does. At least you can use the nutrition content of similar food choices to guide your decision.
• Personally, to save calories, I order an entree and then, if I'm really hungry, I use the "pick-two" rule: appetizer, beverage, dessert - I pick any two.
• Then if I choose to get a dessert, I find someone to share it with me. Usually by the time I finish my entree, only the first two bites of my dessert taste the best!

With these simple tips you can enjoy the variety and convenience take-out offers and feel good about your choices, too!