Culinary Nutritionist (RD), Certified Health Coach (ACE), heart attack survivor, late-blooming home-cook, and your biggest cheerleader, confidence builder, and forever reminder-er to stop making things so darn complicated. DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is the opinion of the author(s) and is not medical advice, in fact, it may not be appropriate for you at all. Consult with your medical professional before making any changes. If you follow information on this site without consulting your healthcare provider, you are doing so at your own risk.
View all posts by Alexia Lewis RD, LD/N, CHC, CPT →
The one best thing you can do to make healthier, nutrition-rich meals, save time and money, and make life easier is to plan your meals ahead of time. You need a strategy to plan healthy meals. If you wait until you are hungry and tired at the end of the day, figuring out what to make for dinner is not easy and you’re more likely to choose something fast, easy, and unhealthy. However, this is one of the things that my clients find the hardest to do.
I’m here to help you “make nutrition easy,” so here is my strategy for you.
Grab some paper, a pen, and ASPIRE to plan your meals. Remembering this acronym will guide you through a simple way to plan meals that are healthy, yummy, and reduce your grocery expenses! I designed my free Weekly Menu Planner just for this! You can use any format as long as you have one column for each day of the week.
A = Agenda
The first thing to do is check your agenda for any commitments, meetings, and changes to your usual schedule. Also check the calendars of the others in your household. This is important so you know which nights you have time to make a meal and which nights you don’t and should plan for leftovers. It also lets you know which nights you need quick and easy meals and which nights you can spend more time on your meal creations. You can also note the days that you have to be out of the house early and may benefit from packing your a lunch the night before. Write down everyone’s commitments that have an impact on meals on the weekly menu planner.
S = Stock
What do you already have on stock, on par, or in your pantry and fridge? Flip your weekly menu planner over and make a list of all the foods in your fridge and pantry (your “stock foods”) on the left side of the back of the paper.
P = Promotions
Check the store promotions. What is on sale this week? What do you have coupons for? We all want to stretch our food dollars and this is one way to do it. If you don’t clip coupons, go to the grocery store’s web site as many are now allowing their customers to electronically collect coupons on reward cards or by their phone number. You can also check one of my favorite coupon sites, Southern Savers, for printable coupons. On the right side of the back of your weekly menu planner, write down the “promotions foods” you plan to buy based on sales, coupons, and promotions.
I = Invent
Put on your creative chef’s hat, and invent meals you can put together using only foods on your list of “stock foods.” If you can’t make anything with what you have in stock, then figure out what you can add from the list of “promotion foods” to make a meal with your “stock foods”. The idea is to use as few foods from the “promotion foods” list so you make as many meals as you can without spending money on new foods! Once you have invented a few meal ideas, flip your weekly meal planner over and put the meals where they fit best based on your schedule.
A Weekly Meal Planner
Tips
Google is your friend. I made this delicious Puff Pastry Tart just by putting “puff pastry,” “spinach,” “sweet potato,” and “healthy easy recipe” into Google!
Cook more than you need so you have leftovers from every time you cook! A few tweaks and one night’s baked chicken, sauteed mushrooms and zucchini, and brown rice transform into the second night’s chicken quesadillas.
Make the first meal on your weekly planner one that you have all the ingredients for… just in case you don’t make it to the store right away.
This is the hard part and it takes time – so save every weekly meal planner you create to re-use for those weeks you don’t want to spend the time and effort doing all this work.
Use the food group tallies on the bottom of my weekly meal planner to make sure you are including food from all food groups in your meal plans. Don’t know how many of each food group to include? Here’s a guideline based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
R = Run
Get out and run those errands! Use your list of “promotions foods” to make a shopping list. Clip your coupons. Go to the grocery store and do your shopping.
E = Execute
You spent all that time and effort making a plan, now execute your plan.
Post the weekly meal planner in the kitchen where you can see it. If you have helpers at home, let them know they can start prepping foods for dinners before you get home.
Most importantly, be flexible. This plan is an outline and life happens. You may have forgotten you need fish for one dinner… just push that meal back to another day. You may decide that you are way too tired to cook one night… just pick up your plan the next night.
Always have a Plan B Meal in mind. In my home, it is either flatbread pizza or turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. We always have the ingredients in stock and, on those nights we aren’t feeling our meal plan, we have a yummy 20-minute, low-effort dinner.
Let me know if you like my strategy. I hope you ASPIRE to give meal planning a try this week!
Imagine this. You are in the grocery store and you need to buy some beans. In one hand, you hold a can of beans. In the other hand, you hold a bag of dried beans. Which one do you buy?
You probably consider a few things before you decide.
The first consideration may be convenience. The canned beans are ready to go. You can throw those in the microwave and have hot, cooked beans in just a couple of minutes. The dried beans will take much more time because you have to soak them for many hours and then cook them for another couple of hours. Do you have time for this? Do you know how to cook dried beans? Will you forget and then have to come up with a Plan B dinner?
The second consideration may be nutrition. Beans are a nutrition-packed food! If you cook dried beans, then in 1/2 cup of black beans you get 7 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 14 grams of fiber, and 10% daily value of iron with only 115 calories, 1/2 gram of fat, and no cholesterol or sodium! If you choose the canned beans, much of this stays the same; but you get more sodium. If you choose regular black beans, that 1/2 cup can have 500 milligrams of sodium and reduced sodium black beans can have 240 milligrams of sodium. Some canned products are also packaged in cans that have BPA.
Many people don’t consider cost because those other two things are more important. A 15 ounce can of beans gives you approximately 1 3/4 cups of beans for $1.00 to $3.00. A 16 ounce bag of dried beans contains 3 1/4 cups of dried beans which gives you about 9 cups of cooked beans for about $1.00 to $2.00. If you do the work of cooking dried beans, you get about five times a much for your money!
I used dried beans most of the time and save canned beans for when I don’t want to rely on myself to remember to cook dried beans the day before I need them or I decided on having beans for dinner on the day I grocery shop. I went in search of dried bean recipes that eliminated the need to cook the beans the day before. After reviewing a few recipes for cooking times and methods and a few trial runs, here is what I ended up with.
1/2 teaspoon each: Hot Shot (red/black pepper blend) and red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon of each ground spice: turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, and chipotle chile pepper
Ingredients – Yes, those are pinto beans from Hatch, New Mexico courtesy of a great neighbor!
Directions
1. Layer all ingredients except spices in crockpot in order listed above.
2. Cook on high heat for one hour and then reduce to low heat for five hours. If home, stir occasionally making sure beans and quinoa stay covered by liquid.
Serving suggestion: Stir in plain Greek yogurt (not vegan!) to cool it down or top with chopped chipotle peppers and hot sauce to kick it up a notch! I added homemade cornbread muffins on the side (also not vegan) following this recipe and sliced tomatoes.
Delicious, Easy, and Healthy Vegan CrockPot Quinoa Chili
One thing you didn’t know about me until now is that my second job was in a Japanese Steak House where I worked as a hostess. I was young and what I remember most about that job is how difficult it is to dress in a kimono. Below is an old polaroid and the only picture I have from that time… long ago… Alexia in Kimono 1986
The other things I came away from that job with were a love of sushi and the knowledge that cooked rice should be refrigerated before it is turned into fried rice. With this knowledge, I scoffed at the feedback on the Pineapple Fried Rice recipe, knowing that my fried rice would not be mushy since I knew this trick!
I didn’t measure for this recipe and I used mushrooms instead of the red pepper. The sauce (pineapple, soy sauce, red pepper flakes) is absolutely delicious and I will use this for other recipes. The rice was also really tasty; but unfortunately, it was mushy! Pineapple Fried Rice
I figured next time, I would also rinse off the rice before putting it in the fridge to wash some of the sticky starch off the rice… however, next time (yes, I already made it again and added diced chicken and broccoli), I used steamed white rice picked up from the local Chinese restaurant. I find that a worthwhile expense because it made a much less sticky rice dish.
For the Baked Panko Shrimp, I simply combined panko and cayenne pepper, then dipped raw shrimp into egg whites and then the panko mixture. I laid them out on a baking sheet covered with tin foil. I suggest spraying this with cooking spray, a step I did not do and I lost half the panko breading on the foil! These were baked at 475 for about 20 minutes. Baked Panko Shrimp
I served these with sauteed spinach and mushrooms with sliced almonds. YUM! Dinner is served!
This is the first in a new recurring post. My plan is to do my personal meal planning for the week and then share the recipes and tips from the week with you. My hope is that you will try something new and be inspired with your own weekly meal planning.
One of my recipes this week was based on the foods I had that needed to be used, specifically a big bag of spinach and thawed puff pastry. I found a recipe for a Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Caramelized Onion Tart with Balsamic Reduction that sounded delicious and I had every single ingredient on hand. I reduced the amount of oil from 3 Tbsp to 1/2 Tbsp only used when caramelizing the onions; but that can even be swapped out for starting the onions with cooking spray. If you are trying to improve your cholesterol numbers, use the olive oil and if you are trying to reduce calories, use the cooking spray. I also replaced the honey with agave syrup (what I had) and used about 1/2 Tbsp for the balsamic reduction, which thickened up beautifully!
Prepping for the Tart
I found this to be scrumptious… but… the toppings were too thick. If you make this, I’d recommend using half the spinach and onions (or make two tarts). I piled it up anyway and I think this contributed to the pastry being a bit doughy in the middle (or it could have been that I should have cooked it a little bit longer). I also recommend you serve this on a day that you’ve had enough protein (meat, dairy foods, eggs, beans, nuts, etc.) since it is low in protein. I served this with grape tomatoes that I halved and roasted with mozzarella cheese on top. One tart serves 2-4 people depending on their appetites and what else you serve it with.
Tart Ready for the Oven
My other new recipe this week was enchiladas. I’ve been playing with using cottage cheese in cooking. While I love cottage cheese on its own; I’m kind of enthralled with cooking with it right now. Last week, I made lasagna rolls and they were delicious. I’ll be tweaking that recipe and posting it here in the future. I found myself with 1-cup of cottage cheese and I found a Cottage Cheese Enchiladas recipe. I’m not a huge fan of corn tortillas so I had to purchase those and I need your advice on these (see below).
Of course, I modified this recipe as well. We were out of cheddar cheese so I used shredded mozzarella as the only cheese, I omitted the chives and lime wedge, and I made the enchilada sauce. The sauce was simple, I used diced tomatoes (what I had) and pureed those in the food processor, then added chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and a touch of Splenda. Perfection! To the filling, I added some boiled chicken I had since my dog is currently not feeling well and is on a chicken and rice diet. Omit the chicken to keep this vegetarian.
Enchilada Filling
These were INCREDIBLE in terms of flavor; but they completely fell apart. So, readers, if you know how to handle corn tortillas so they don’t fall apart, please comment on this post – I need your help since I will be making this dish again. I served this with chips and salsa and a side salad of halved grape tomatoes, diced avocado, and lime juice. As you can see, it makes a hefty portion!
A Whole Lotta Enchilada
I do apologize for the quality of the photographs. My wonderful husband got me a Galaxy Tablet for the holiday and I am still learning how to best use the camera… and to be honest, hunger was a factor in not having the patience to get that perfect picture!
I’m a water drinker. In fact, I drink my cup of coffee in the morning, drink water all day, and occasionally enjoy a cup of tea in the afternoon or glass of wine or a beer in the evenings. That’s it. No soda, no juice, no fancy energy drinks for me. However, there are still days where I don’t drink that much water. So, I was excited to be able to review the AquaTally cup. The cup is a double-walled, hard plastic, sealed cup with a straw that has a moveable band that allows you to keep track of the number of cups of water consumed during the day. I wondered if AquaTally would help me to drink more water…
First, the basics of water and hyrdation:
Water is an essential nutrient, which means that we must drink water or enjoy other foods/drinks that provide our body with fluids. As I tell my clients, drinking enough water is important for many reasons. For more information, click here.
Interestingly, while researching how much water a healthy person should drink for optimal health, I learned that there is wide discrepancy on the amount. The eight 8-ounce glasses of water rule is a “rule of thumb,” an easy way to estimate and ensure people are getting enough to stay hydrated. The real goal is to drink enough water to replace what your body uses up every day. Your personal needs will vary based on activity level, temperature and humidity, altitude, health conditions, medications, and the water content of the foods you eat.
The two extremes with water are dehydration and intoxication. Dehydration happens when there is not enough fluid in the body. By the time you are thirsty, you have already lost approximately 2 cups of fluids! People who are chronically dehydrated may have a higher risk for heart problems, bladder or colon cancer, gallstones or kidney stones, and urinary tract infections. Water intoxication is when there is too much water in the body. This is very rare; but it is very dangerous.
Now back to the AquaTally cup.
The AquaTally Cup (Image from MyAquaTally.com)
I’m a fan of water cups with a straw since they are easy to drink from, there’s no reverse suction that you get with some squeeze bottles, and I tend not to dribble water all over myself using them like I do with wide-mouthed bottles. When AquaTally approached me to review their cup, of course I was interested since it’s the type of cup I prefer… and I’d recently dropped my current cup a few times and it was looking pretty scratched up and sad.
As soon as I got it, I took a good look at it and here’s what I found:
First thing I checked was the bottom of the cup and yes, it is BPA free!
It is exactly 2 measured cups when filled up
The ring used for tracking cups of water slides very easily; but doesn’t move around on its own
The cup seals easily– many of these type of design get off track and are difficult to twist on
The cup seals well – I filled it and tilted it and there was no leaking from the lid, of course, if tilted enough so the water hits the opening for the straw, it will leak from that hole
It keeps my water cold when I fill it with a few ice cubes and cold water
It accidentally got dropped on pavement and it didn’t break and barely got scratched at all – an important consideration for others like me who tend to be a bit clumsy
It’s a bit smaller than other cups of this design that I’ve had which means I can carry it more easily in my small hands and it fits in all the cup-holder-pockets on my bags without having to force it
I think this cup would be helpful for those trying to increase how much water they drink. My personal experience is that I did drink more water using this cup on some days. I found that if I was close to getting in 8 cups, the AquaTally cup helped me get to the goal because it brought my awareness to the fact that I was so close. I also think this cup would be useful for those who, for medical reasons, may be trying to limit the amount of fluids they drink or have others/caretakers monitoring their fluid intake. The cup comes in blue, green, or red and it currently sells for $11.95. For more information, check out their Web site at http://myaquatally.com
Overall, I give it a resoundingly positive review. The only negative thing I found about the cup was my disappointment that more people didn’t ask me about it!
Disclosure:
In exchange for reviewing an AquaTally cup, I received a cup from the company at no cost.
Sources:
Krause’s Food and Nutrition Therapy, 12th edition. L. Kathleen Mahan and Sylvia Escott-Stump.
Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies 11th edition. Frances Sizer and Ellie Whitney. 2008
Yes, shrimp scampi can be heart healthy! With a few adjustments, this dish becomes low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and yet is still chock full of flavor.
I believe a traditional scampi would include lemon and butter; but I used what I had on hand from the wonderful UNF Ogier Gardens. I ended up with a scampi that has okra and kale. Since these are traditional southern ingredients, I named this southern scampi.
This recipe is one the came together as I cooked it and so the ingredients are estimations. I did not measure ahead of time and I ended up with 3 servings (an odd number for a recipe, I know!) and leftover spaghetti. If you want more or less of an ingredient or don’t think the consistency is right (too watery or too dry), please make adjustments to the amounts listed.
Yummy Southern Shrimp Scampi
Southern Shrimp Scampi
(Makes 3 servings)
Ingredients
1/2 package of spaghetti (I used Dreamfields but recommend whole wheat)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons minced garlic
6 okra pods, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
1/2 cup white wine, divided
3 large Dino (lacinato) kale leaves, stems removed, cut into 1-inch square pieces
3 button mushrooms, sliced
15 medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, each one cut into 3 pieces
Garlic powder, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste
Pecorino-Romano cheese, grated, to taste
Directions:
Begin spaghetti by boiling water. Add spaghetti and cook to desired tenderness. Drain and set aside until sauce is prepared.
While pasta water is coming to a boil, begin sauce by heating oil in saucepan. When heated, add garlic and sauté 1 minute – do not let it brown.
Add okra and cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Add half of vegetable broth and white wine and simmer, stirring frequently until okra begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add kale and mushrooms and cook until kale begins to wilt.
Add shrimp and the remaining vegetable broth and white wine. Simmer and stir frequently until shrimp is pink and cooked through.
Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and stir to combine.
To serve: top 3/4 cup of spaghetti with 1/3 of southern shrimp scampi sauce, sprinkle with a small amount of pecorino-romano cheese. Serve hot.
Per Serving: 310 calories, 7 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 4 milligrams cholesterol, 290 milligrams sodium, 38 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 14 grams protein
Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear about any adjustments you make!
Updated 01/30/2025 to included reducing added sugars and ultra-processed foods to “the basics of heart-healthy eating.”
The Basics of Heart-Healthy Eating.
You may hear about magical foods or failproof techniques that are touted as the way to improve heart health. Yah… no. If they existed, then heart disease would not have remained the number one killer of Americans for over 100 years. WHAT? Yes, heart disease first topped the charts back in 1921 (1).
If you know me (Hi, I’m Alexia, a dietitian and heart attack survivor!), then you know I like to simplify nutrition. While nutrition can become incredibly complex and nuanced, most people benefit from big-picture, easier-to-implement steps. To that end, here is my take on the basics of heart-healthy eating.
Of note: I do mention weight in this article. I am a strong believer that people can be healthy at many body sizes – and confident and beautiful (2). I promote and respect every individual’s choice regarding their weight. I believe we should continue to work towards doing better with providing non-biased health care. More on the weight and heart disease below.
Increase Fiber.
Dietary fiber plays many roles to help with heart disease. It helps with managing cholesterol, blood sugar, and with satisfying appetite, which can lead to reducing weight, which can lead to reducing blood pressure.
Many people would benefit from increasing dietary fiber intake. Unless, of course, you have health conditions or other concerns that limit your fiber intake. If you need to limit fiber, talk to a qualified nutritionist and skip on down to the next basic of heart-healthy eating.
Since we eat foods, not fiber: dietary fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes (beans and peas).
Okay, true. There is also fiber in nuts, however, you would need to eat a lot of them to significantly contribute to your fiber intake, and they are the most calorie dense of the choices. In other words, one measured cup of dry roasted mixed nuts comes in at 9 grams of fiber and a whopping 595 calories (4). Absolutely include nuts in your diet for heart health… just not because of the fiber content!
Bottom line:
Eat at least one of type of food with fiber with every meal and snack.
Choose non-starchy vegetables for most of those food choices to load up on fiber without loading up on calories.
Which type of foods you choose depends on your preferences, health, and goals.
You have lots of choices for foods to include, so… no excuses! And I say this because according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a distressingly low 10% of women and 3% of men are eating enough the recommended amount of fiber (5).
You don’t eat grains, fine! Eat a starchy veggie.
You don’t eat vegetables, fine! Eat some beans. (Well, kinda “fine” on the veggies, I mean, eat some, yeah?).
You don’t eat beans, fine! Eat some fruit.
Need help including more foods with fiber or navigating all the confusing information on food packaging?
Change Up Your Fats.
The type of dietary fat you eat can have an impact on heart health. This happens because the type of fats you eat helps to reduce LDL (bad) and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. This has a positive impact on heart health.
Notice I didn’t say reduce your fat intake? (Unless, of course, you have a condition that requires eating a low-fat diet, then reducing dietary fat intake is also important.)
That’s because fats are delicious (#noshame), needed for some types of cooking, and needed for your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients. Eating a fat-free salad? You are missing out on absorbing some of that salad’s nutrition!
Reducing saturated fat, on its own, has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol.
Increasing unsaturated fat, on its own, has been shown to decrease LDL and increase HDL cholesterol.In incredibly simplified terms, HDL’s job is to help get rid of LDL (6). Boom.
Doubling down by replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats can reduce LDL and increase HDL all with one dietary swap. It’s as easy as replacing butter with avocado oil for sautéing.
In addition, specific unsaturated fats, omega-3’s can reduce triglycerides and blood pressure. Your body cannot put together omega-3 fats (or omega-6s), so getting foods with these types of fats in your diet is important.
Eat more meatless/plant-based meals and use lower fat dairy foods to reduce saturated fats.
Enjoy nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados often including cooking with oils made from these foods to boost unsaturated fats. Just be mindful of portion sizes due to being high in calories and/or sodium – I’m looking at you delicious salty olives.
Add a meal with a food high in omega-3′ fats once or twice a week.
I didn’t mention trans fats because they were banned from our food supply in 2018 and food manufacturers were given until 2021 to get them out of their foods (9). So, you likely won’t see trans fats in most foods you buy now.
But it’s worth checking the back of your pantry to make sure older foods you may have do not have trans fats on the label (or partially hydrogenated oils listed in the ingredients). And, um, it’s 2025 as I write this, so yeah, check those use by and expiration dates too.
Need help with a virtual pantry and kitchen cleanout?
Do you remember from your early biology classes that water follows salt. I remember really struggling with osmosis. Who knew it would actually be relevant when I grew up?
So, water follows salt. If your salt intake is high, your body holds water to keep all things in balance. More water in your blood vessels makes your blood pressure go up, and that is a risk factor for heart disease.
Most of the salt in the Standard American Diet (yes, the acronym is SAD, which fits) comes from packaged foods, including canned foods. We know salt enhances flavors. It is also a preservative and a binder in foods, and it keeps the foods holding water too, which keeps them *insert the m-word here* so this tracks.
Check food labels to choose brands with less sodium.
Rinse canned foods when you can.
Choose more whole/unpackaged foods.
And salt really does wonders to improve foods flavor, so use it. Just stop shaking the shaker after a few shakes, whether used at the table or while cooking.
One very interesting piece of info is that not everyone is salt-sensitive. That means reducing salt in the diet will not impact blood pressure for those who are salt-resistant. Even so, reducing sodium is a positive food choice for many (10).
Of note, there are instances and conditions that may require limiting or consuming a specific amount of salt. In those cases, this info does not appy.
Need help making sure your meals are still delicious without salt?
Decrease Added Sugars.
Just like salt, most of the added sugar in our food isn’t added by us. It’s added by food manufacturers. And just like salt, sugar makes foods delicious. That’s likely why we are also eating too much added sugar in our foods.
Well, that and its “hiding” in many foods that aren’t especially sweet.
The recommendation from the American Heart Association recommends 6% of intake of added sugars, or 6 teaspoons a day for women and 9 teaspoons a day for men (13). The Dietary Guidelines allow for 12 teaspoons (if you eat 2,000 calories a day) (5). One study based on 100,000 people over 9 years found the highest risk of heart disease hits around 24 teaspoons of added sugar (14).
And, of course, as always, people managing specific health conditions or others may need to have different recommendations.
So, drumroll please… We eat 17 teaspoons of added sugars on average (15).
Sugar contributes to heart disease as it can increase blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, and make it more difficult to manage diabetes/prediabetes.
Bottom line:
Do your best to reduce added sugars down to the recommendations.
Continue to enjoy foods with natural sugars.
Yes, you can eat fruit (and unsweetened dairy foods). Foods with natural sugars have other nutrients (fiber, protein, fat) which slows digestion, and the research doesn’t show that these increase heart disease risk.
Need help on finding the added sugars in your foods?
Reduce Ultra-Processed Foods.
In the hurry up, stay busy, no time to relax kind of culture that many of Americans live in, processed foods make it easier to get food on the table. #noshame. They are also generally less expensive. With a store-brand dozen of eggs now costing over $4.00, we all could use a little help with our food budgets.
While processed foods have been around for 1.5 million years. After all, cooking with fire is a form of processing. The 1800s saw the inventions of the tin can for foods and pasteurization (17). Then the 1900s saw a big boost in demand for processed foods, with Swanson’s frozen meals hitting the market in the 1920s and fast food starting to hit its stride in the 1950s (18).
Fast forward and we have gone from minimally processing foods (cooking, canning, salting, smoking, freezing, etc.) to the ultra-processed powdered meal replacement drinks of today.
Did I mention there is no food shaming allowed here?
So, yes. Ultra-processed foods can have a place in an otherwise generally healthy dietary approach. And yes, it’s going to be in moderation. Nutrition is not so unforgiving (for most of us!) that eating a small amount of these foods will wreck health. What matters is what we do most of the time.
That being said food exists on a spectrum of processing, and while processing can improve nutrition with fortification, they have been starting to get linked to many negative health outcomes. For example, increasing inflammation and reducing gut health. In terms of heart health, these foods can raise triglycerides, blood pressure, and body weight (20).
Bottom line:
Work to reduce ultra-processed foods that are of low nutrition quality as your time and budget allow. For heart health, assessing foods for the nutrients mentioned in this article may be a good start.
Look for processed foods that positively impact nutrition. For example, adding vitamins or fiber.
Eat whole and minimally processed foods when you can.
On the flip side, it’s also entirely possible to eat a diet of whole/minimally processed foods that have a negative impact on heart health. Food choices matter. And a healthy diet can include ultra-processed foods. After all, store-bought bread and flavored yogurt are both ultra-processed food under the NOVA classification system (21).
PS – Research is ongoing to learn more about if it is the quality of ultra-processed foods (high sugar, salt, fat, etc.) or the actual processing of the foods that matter most for health.
Need help with meal planning and/or prepping to reduce ultra-processed foods?
Bonus Basics of Heart-Healthy Eating.
For some extra steps to add to your basics of heart-healthy eating, you may also add more berries, nuts, avocado, and plant sterols and stanols (22) to your food choices.
Credible information is important. And putting that information into action is where the magic happens.
Small changes done consistently over time add up to big results. So just pick one or two changes to make right now. When you’ve got that down, add another 1-2 changes.
Work with Alexia on your heart health.
She can work with people in multiple states in the USA and accepts some health insurance plans through her partnership with Nourish. Learn more and start the scheduling process to see if your insurance is accepted and get an estimate of your out-of-pocket costs. (Note that Nourish handles the health insurance stuff, not Alexia!)
If she can’t work with you, you can choose another dietitian who can, or reach out for help getting connected with the right RD for you.
Planning a heart-healthy balanced meal can be a challenge. To help with the concept of balance, I bring you a Five Food Group (FFG) Friday meal.
I’ve based these FFG meals on the Choose My Plate model, which is the US Government’s initiative to promote healthy eating habits. MyPlate is an easy-to-understand visual of a healthy plate of food incorporating the five food groups: protein, grains, fruit, vegetables, and dairy.
Add balance to your meals with Choose My Plate
The rationale behind including all five food groups on the plate is that each food group provides different nutrients, all of which our body needs in order for us to be at our best. This is a very heart-healthy way of eating since it includes a nice amount of fiber by incorporating three food groups with fiber (fruits, vegetables, and grains). Making heart-smart choices for protein and dairy by choosing lean or reduced fat foods and including heart-healthy unsaturated fats kick the heart-healthiness of MyPlate up a notch.
It is not, however, always easy to get all five of those food groups on every plate. I counsel my clients to eat the food groups they miss at their main meals as their snacks. For example, if they have cereal with a banana for breakfast (grains, dairy, fruit), then to include a protein and vegetable snack (celery with peanut butter). That way, over the course of the day, all food groups end up in balance.
I am bringing you FFG Fridays to help with the difficult challenge of building a plate with all the food groups.
Introducing the FFG Omelet Sandwich – Huevos Delicioso!
Huevos Delicioso – A Five Food Group Friday Meal
This hearty breakfast is made from egg whites (protein), mushrooms, onions, salsa (vegetables), reduced fat cheddar cheese (dairy), a Flat Out fold-it (grain), and avocado (fruit).
Using egg whites and reduced fat cheddar make the dish more heart healthy by reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol, while the avocado adds a nice amount of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.
To make this yummy dish, use a non-stick pan to sauté 2-3 medium mushrooms and a thin slice of onion (both chopped) in a spritz of canola oil until soft then remove from pan. Add another spritz of canola oil and slowly pour in 1/2 cup of egg whites – if you pour down the side of the pan, you will reduce the places were the egg sticks. Once the egg starts to cook and set, add the cooked mushrooms and onions and sprinkle 1/8 cup shredded cheddar on one half of the egg only. I also add some ground pepper and garlic powder at this point. Use a spatula to loosen one edge and flip one half of the egg on top of the other to make the omelet. Slide out of the pan onto your Flat Out and top with 2 Tbsp salsa and 1/4 sliced avocado.
Per serving: 320 calories, 12 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 835 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 26 g protein.
Suggestion: This dish may be a little high in sodium for some people due to the salsa. To reduce the sodium, use sliced tomatoes instead of salsa.
Today, I had my standards challenged and this was a good thing.
Fish is on the menu for this week – filets tonight and homemade fish sticks later in the week. I only buy fish or meats at one of the nicer grocery stores, so it was the last thing I needed to pick up to be completely food-ready for the week ahead. I decided to do something different. I decided to check out the little hole-in-the-wall, local-only seafood market.
As a registered dietitian, I consider myself fairly food savvy in terms of how food is grown, raised, processed, and packaged. Fish, however, is one item that always remains fuzzy in my mind. I know to do my part for fish happiness and to reduce disease, wild is preferable to farm raised. I know which fish are more healthful because they are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon or mackerel. I know which fish are better in limited amounts because of potential higher mercury levels, such as swordfish or shark. This, however, is all that my brain chooses to remember. Here’s a great link from the Food and Drug Administration about selecting, storing, preparing fish and some health concerns.
Today, I walked into a local fish market and asked for tilapia. I was happy to learn some more about fish from a friendly fish monger.
This may or may not be my local fishmonger
According to my local fishmonger, tilapia is not a fish that is local to my area (Florida) and since he only carries fish caught up the road in Mayport, he doesn’t have any. He added that most of the tilapia comes from out of the country (which equals a lot of food miles) and is farm raised, not wild caught. He definitely was not a fan of tilapia; but I had a meal plan to stick to so I asked for his recommendation and engaged in an educational conversation about fish.
According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch 2012 report on tilapia, 95% of the tilapia eaten by Americans is imported from other countries. The fish that is raised in the US is mostly farmed in the West and Northeast regions of the country. Tilapia is the fourth most consumed fish in the USA after shrimp, tuna, and salmon. Most of the US-raised tilapia (75%) is farmed using closed recirculating systems. On the negative side, these fish are separated from other wildlife, ponds are typically overly full, it requires more to be put into the system than comes out (1.4 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of fish) and many farms use drugs to treat/prevent disease or to change the fish’s gender to male to produce a larger fish. One the positive side, this method does have an overall low environmental cost (food miles excepted).
If you are curious, I happily purchased a more expensive, local, drug-free triggerfish, which is supposed to be similar to grouper. I will be baking this beautiful fish in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (until it flakes easily with a fork) after dredging the filets in egg whites and coating with a combination of breadcrumbs, crushed pecans, and oregano. On the side, will be homemade tartar sauce (mayonnaise and relish), fresh boiled corn on the cob, and oven-fried red potatoes sprinkled with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
I did it! I ate completely vegan for five days! Well, except for that one bite of celery with ranch dressing that snuck into my mouth before my brain thought about it…
There are no pictures or foods listed for this day because it was an exact repeat of yesterday. There is a joy that comes with the easiness of using leftovers and I took full advantage! The only minor change was to my smoothie, in which I simply used pineapple and strawberries.
This final day was the first day that I was a little bit hungry between meals. The first four days, I was eating so often that I didn’t really move into full-on hunger; but on this afternoon, I did. I think I am learning to better meet my body’s needs for protein and calories and I have finally (yay!) adjusted to the increased amount of fiber in my diet.
Overall, I feel really good. I feel a little slimmer because of how my clothes are fitting, which may or may not be due to the vegan diet. It could be that this challenge has motivated me to keep up with my food journal and workouts. I also have slept through the night the last two nights, which is not at all typical for me.
Now that this challenge is ending, I am actually considering continuing a no-meat diet. I very much miss cheese, eggs, and milk so I will definitely add dairy back into my meals. I also, as an RD, am not comfortable with cutting out an entire food group. However, I’m not sure I want to go back to my old eating habits because I have found that I get to eat so much food and the nutrition quality of my diet has been stellar while eating like a vegan.
Initially, my vegan diet was low in protein, calories, and B12. By the end of the challenge, I was eating adequate amounts of these nutrients without using specialty foods. This has also reaffirmed my belief that vegans/vegetarians should consider a multi-vitamin since it can be difficult to obtain all the nutrients in the recommended amounts.
My vegan diet was also very low in cholesterol (obviously since it’s found in animal products), saturated fat, and sodium. These are the three main things to limit to eat heart healthy and reduce risk of some chronic diseases. Another heart- and cancer-healthy guideline is to focus on fiber and, as I’ve shared, this diet was definitely high in fiber.
I’m very happy that I decided to take part in this challenge. My goal was to better understand the challenges faced by vegans in planning for an optimally nutritious diet. I wanted to do this to help me when I counsel my vegan and vegetarian clients. I feel I have reached this goal. I think I will be a better nutrition counselor to my clients because of this challenge.
My final day was on May 24th and since then I have not yet eaten meat. I have been following a lacto/ovo vegetarian diet for the past week. I am one very happy camper to once again have cheese! I love cheese. 🙂 I’m still uncertain if I want to return to my previous omnivorous ways. Right now, my plan is to continue lacto/ovo and add seafood back in when I feel ready (there was an advertisement for a local restaurant’s deal on oysters that definitely peaked my interest!). But once I transistion into pescatarian, I may just stay there.
Don’t tell my husband! But he’ll probably read this blog…
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