Nutritious, Balanced Meals Atlanta GA

Planning and preparing nutritious and balanced meals may present a formiidable challenge, particularly on special occasions when schedules heat up faster than an open-flame stove burner. Fact is, following a few simple guidelines can make you the king — or queen — of your kitchen domain without consuming all your time and energy. Consider these sure-to-please concepts:

• Serve at least four different foods at each meal.

To ensure you are getting a variety of essential nutrients, serve a variety of foods. For example, if you want to serve pasta with a basic tomato sauce, add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for calcium and protein and a salad or steamed green vegetable (for vitamins, minerals, and fiber). Preparing at least four foods also helps to meet sensory needs for a variety of flavors, appearances, textures, and aromas.

You can also use the Rule of Fourths to ensure a meal is balanced. Imagine a dinner plate divided into four sections. One section should contain a protein-rich food, one section should contain a starchy food, one section should contain a vegetable, and the fourth section should contain either a fruit or another vegetable.

• Balance higher fat choices with lower-fat or nonfat choices.

If you want to serve a rich dessert, make sure the rest of the foods on your menu are lower in fat and calories. For example, if you want to impress your in-laws with your award-winning cheesecake for dessert, serve a mixed green salad with low-fat vinaigrette or balsamic vinegar, poached or grilled fish, steamed vegetables, and whole grain rolls. The low fat content of the salad and main course nicely offsets the high fat content of the cheesecake.

• Take the long-term view. Follow the macro-plan rather than the micro-plan.

Sometimes, in their eagerness to follow heart-healthy nutrition guidelines, people slip into behaving like food cops. If a particular food or recipe doesn't have 10 percent or less of its calories from saturated fat and 30 percent or less from any fat, it's banished from the shopping cart or table. Taking such a negative, restrictive view is much too limiting. Your goal is to enjoy healthful food. You can include higher-fat and calorie-dense foods in healthy eating.

It's not the individual food or the individual meal that is most important, but the average pattern of eating that you achieve over each day, each week, and each month. Being able to include all sorts of recipes in a heart-healthy approach to eating is another reason to engage in some longer-range meal planning, rather than just thinking about each meal as the time to prepare it rolls around.