NOURISH

WHAT AND HOW MUCH SHOULD I EAT?

A 2,000 CALORIE DIET SHOULD INCLUDE

• Sodium

  No more than 2,300 milligrams a day. For heart health, shoot for 1,200.

• Sugar

  Women should not eat more than 20 grams of added sugar a day. Men should not eat more than 32 grams of added sugar a day. Children should only have 12 grams of added sugar a day. Fruits and vegetables do not count.

• Cholesterol

  No more than 300 milligrams a day. For heart health no more than 200 grams a day.

• Carbohydrates

  Between 225 grams and 325 grams a day. Your carbohydrates should be your 45-65% of your total daily calories.

• Protein

  To determine this number, multiply your weight in pounds by .36. To build muscle mass in combination with physical activity it is recommended to eat a range of .5 - .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day.

• Fiber

  Women should eat at least 21-25 grams of fiber a day and men should aim for 30-38 grams a day.

• Fat

  Eat 44-77 grams of fat or less per day. Fat intake should be 20-35% of your daily intake of total calories.

MEAL PLANNING TIPS

• Acknowledge the time and space to plan your meals, life and embrace this with ease.

• Explore many avenues and resources, such as the internet, magazines, friends and social networks to discover what type of meal planning suits your lifestyle.

• Discover your partner’s, family’s and friend’s favorite recipes. Collect the recipes and surprise the people you care about by making their favorite dishes for them. You’ll bring joy to their lives!

• When searching for inspiration for your daily menus, consider your favorite traditions, appealing trends and the weather.

• Look for healthy nutrition themes that you can include in your daily repertoire.

• Keep a well-stocked rotating food supply.

• Be vigilante with your space, a clean kitchen is a happy kitchen. Consider small updates to make your kitchen feel better such as new hot pads, kitchen tools, fruit bowls, cutting boards and whatever else suits your fancy.

• Take note of what you are preparing. Are there opportunities to use healthier ingredients? For example, lettuce wraps versus bread wraps, ground turkey (leaner) versus beef, arugula or spinach versus iceberg lettuce.

• Have a weekly menu planner.

• Dry storage is great, do not be overwhelmed. Make sure you can see everything you have, know where everything is, and have a system for cans, bags, bottles, boxes. Check due dates and throw away anything that's old or looks like it is no longer good.

MEAL PREPARATION TIPS

• Decide what day(s) of the week is best for shopping and what day(s) are best for cooking.

• To aid in meal preparation, consider healthy resources such as healthy pre- and fully prepared foods.

• Keep a journal or use a calendar, etc, to give yourself resources for tracking and planning. Make notes that aid your memory. Also make lists for shopping, recipes, prepping and cooking.

• If you enjoy eating seasonal foods all year long, consider stocking up and freezing them in meal size portions. This will make it easy for you to pull out just the amount you need from the freezer. Be sure to label what you freeze with the name of the food and the date. When you freeze something have a plan for when you're going to use it. This way the freezer won’t become an overwhelming place!

• Choose food recipes with preparation that you will enjoy. Designate a time to do the preparation. This can be done when it’s convenient for you and put in labeled bags and containers for the next few days or week. For example, if you like chopped onions in your dishes, prepare a few days of chopped onions and have them ready for cooking.

• Plan for leftovers. They can be frozen, used for lunch or repurposed into another meal.

• Keep the refrigerator up to date and clean. When in doubt throw it out – it’s okay. Keep track of what is in the fridge to help you use your food in as fresh a state as possible.

• If you have lots of partially used items piling up in the refrigerator, consider a crock pot meal on a day off or weekend to clean out the refrigerator and cook the partially used ingredients.

• If you can, choose a market that makes you feel good to make shopping a fun. For example, many markets have coffee and tea stations – you can grab your favorite drink while you shop!

• Take notice of the items you use a lot of – does it make sense to have a pantry? Basement or mud room pantries are great places to stock up on highly used items such as cereals, pastas, coffees and sauces, to name a few.

• Have containers for leftovers on hand and upgrade storage containers if needed, to have proper storage for leftover foods.

• Stick to your new routine! Getting fluid and consistent in a new routine takes time. Make a plan to stick to your new goals for 30 days!