1. Healthy Eating Laura McCulloch, Health Educator
Boone County – Columbia Health
Department

2. Healthy eating tips Make a grocery list Meal planning Buy in bulk
Read the labels
Choose generic
Make enough to freeze
Plan on leftovers
Choose lean and healthy proteins
Compare fresh to frozen fruits/veggies
Buy fresh produce when it’s in season
Make your own snacks
*Pass out my plate on a budget handouts
*What other tips do you guys have?

3. Choose good fats “Good” fat vs “Bad” fat? Good for you: Unsaturated
Vegetable oils
Avocados
Peanut butter
Fatty fish
Nuts and seeds
Bad for you: Saturated and Trans fats
Foods with “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” ingredients
Fatty meats
Milk and cheese made with whole milk
Fried foods
Shortening
Cookies and pastries
Limit the amount of saturated fats you eat
They raise your bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Processed foods sometimes have trans fats. You should try to avoid these completely.
They not only raise LDL and risk of heart disease and stroke, but also lower your good (HDL) cholesterol
Unsaturated fats
Lower “bad” (LDL) cholesterol
Lower risk of heart disease and stroke
Provide fats your body needs like Omega-3 fatty acids (for brain and heart health)

4. Choose whole grains What is a whole grain?
Whole seed or kernel: the bran, germ, and endosperm
Have B-vitamins, antioxidants, proteins, minerals, healthy fats
What is a “Refined grain”?
Missing one or more of the three parts
Read the Ingredients to find whole grains!
Whole, Whole grain, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice
Don’t be fooled by “wheat” or “multigrain” on the front!

5. Reduce sugar How much is too much?
Maximum of 6 tsp for women daily
Maximum of 8 tsp for men daily
Look at the Nutrition Facts label to see grams of sugar.
Do a little math:
Divide Grams of Sugar by 4 = number of teaspoons of sugar
Example: 20 grams of sugar/4 = 5 teaspoons of sugar
Yogurt and milk have natural sugar, but can also have added sugar, so look at the ingredient list!
We just discussed what to look for in your label and ingredient lists. The best way to make sure you’re not getting too much sugar is to read the label. We know we want to reduce sugar, but how much sugar is too much? 6 tsp women, 8 tsp men.
*Pass out sugar Shocker handout
The only way to know if a food has natural or added sugars is to look for sugar in the ingredient list
Ingredients appear in order of most common to least common. If it’s one of the first ingredients, then there’s quite a bit of it.
It may not say the word “sugar”. Other names for sugar include:
High fructose corn syrup, honey, fructose, dextrose, sucrose, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup, maltose, glucose, cane juice, and syrup
Let’s look at a couple examples! Do sugar shocker activity

6. Read the label You want more: You want less: LET’S PRACTICE!
Dietary Fiber
Vitamin D
Calcium
Iron
Potassium
Whole Grains
You want less:
Fat
Sodium
Cholesterol
Added Sugars
LET’S PRACTICE!
Pass out reading food label handouts and food labels
Discuss overall fat vs saturated fat and trans fat
Discuss sugar vs added sugars
Discuss refined grains vs whole grains
Was anything surprising about the labels?

7. Follow Myplate guidelines

8. Meal planning Helps you eat healthy all week
Aim for meals that use at least 3 of the 5 food groups
MyPlate
Plan meals that use foods you already have
Buy foods that can be used in more than one meal
Plan for leftovers so you’re less likely to eat out
Saves time and money
Let’s practice making a meal plan!
*Pass out meal planning templates so they can write down the ideas as we write them on a large sticky

9. Dinner for one week Day of the Week Dinner Plan Monday Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Ideas?

10. Myplate recipes and resources

11. Myplate serving sizes
To see serving size information on myplate, from homepage, click on the food group and then click on “View Food Gallery”. Then click, “All about the….”