70 Part I: Eating Right with Every Bite
already purchased and you didn’t have to stop at the store on the way home,
saving you a lot of extra time.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, by planning your meals ahead of time, this
scenario is easy to make reality.
Laying the Groundwork for Meal Planning
for Meal Planning
This chapter is called “The Art of Meal Planning” because planning meals really
is a little like art. It’s all about composition and presentation. The composition
of your meals is very important in terms of eating a variety of nutrient-rich
foods. You know how important protein is, but just as important are whole
grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy, and healthy fats. Each of
your meals should be composed of a food from each of these groups.
Have you ever thought of food as beautiful? The next time you go to the
grocery store, take a minute in the produce section to look at all of the
vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables — reds, oranges, purples, greens,
and yellows. Notice the different textures of the skins and leaves. A dinner of
grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and cauliflower looks pretty blah,
doesn’t it? But if the chicken breast is served with a baked sweet potato and
broccoli, the varied colors make it much more appealing.
This section shows you how to examine your regular meals to see how they
measure up in nutritional composition and find out where you can improve
them to make them a real work of art.
Breaking down your favorite foods
To get started with healthy meal planning, write down on separate pieces of
paper your favorite foods (entrées, sides, desserts, and snacks) that you eat
on a weekly basis. If you have a family, enlist their help. Every meal should
have all the food groups represented, so on each page, make a checklist:
✓ Protein
✓ Whole grains and starches
✓ Fruits
✓ Vegetables
✓ Healthy fats
✓ Low-fat or fat-free dairy
