Brooke Staats, RD, LDN, CNSC
BOSTON, MA,- March is National Nutrition Month and Faulkner Hospital’s Department of Food and Nutrition Services if offering up some helpful hints on eating well. Research shows that eating well can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
“Healthy eating can be easy when you incorporate color into your daily diet,” says Brooke Staats, RD, LDN, CNSC, Outpatient Dietitian at Faulkner Hospital. “The color of food often indicates which vitamins and minerals are especially abundant in that particular food. A deeply colored fruit or vegetable holds an almost magical combination of vitamins, minerals and tiny compounds called phytochemicals that have proven health benefits ranging from cancer prevention to lowering bad cholesterol.”
Staats offers these tips on how to begin incorporating color into your daily diet:
Breakfast:
Oatmeal-
- Add in some fresh or dried fruit such as blueberries, apricots, strawberries or banana.
- Add in canned pumpkin during the fall months and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
Smoothies-
- Frozen fruit makes a smooth and thick smoothie without the need to add ice. Try a fruit you wouldn’t normally use, such as frozen mango or papaya which you may find at your local grocery store or health food store.
- Add a handful of fresh spinach to any fruit smoothie to pump up the nutrients. See if you taste a difference!
Lunch:
Sandwich Fillings-
- Add sliced cucumber and sliced peppers as toppings in your sandwich.
- Instead of the usual tuna try canned salmon with chopped celery, carrots and a teaspoon of dried cranberries. Consider some spinach or spring mix to top off your sandwich.
Basic Green Salad-
- When at the salad bar, make it a goal to see how many different colors you can include. Throw in a few colorful bell peppers, artichokes or beets!
- Experiment with your salads at home by substituting lettuce for peppery arugula, toss on some antioxidant rich pomegranate seeds or even use leftover vegetables from last night’s dinner- cooked broccoli or sweet potato would add a new dimension to your basic salad.
Dinner:
Spaghetti
- Heat some shredded sweet potatoes or carrots with pasta sauce, and then wilt in some spinach or kale right before serving.
- Use spaghetti squash in place of pasta. At only 42 calories per cup, you can definitely feel good about this nutrient-dense, not calorie-dense choice. Serve it with tomato sauce, the same way you would regular pasta.
Side Dish
- Buy frozen edamame and heat in the microwave. Sprinkle lightly with salt and enjoy a protein-rich side dish. It goes great with Asian cuisine or fish.
- Try making your own fries at home using parsnips, rutabagas or sweet potatoes, or use a combination and call it “root vegetable fries.”
“Eating a rainbow of colors everyday will not only assure intake of a variety of nutrients, but will also keep your diet appetizing and exciting,” concludes Staats.
For an individualized nutrition counseling appointment, please contact your physician for a referral to Faulkner Hospital’s Outpatient Nutrition Clinic, call 617-983-4455 or email FHNutritionClinic@partners.org.
