Adding More Food Groups to Your Meals

Appraising Your Success

The end of the week is a good time to review the past week of your SWEET Life and count up your accomplishments. Your goal is 5-6 times per week for each aspect of the SWEET Life: Sleep, Water, Eating, Exercise, and Tranquility. If you didn’t achieve some of your goals for the week, then next week, focus on those areas more and think about how to fulfill them more consistently.
How do you feel at the end of this week? Are you better rested? Do you feel relaxed? Are you more energetic? Do you feel generally healthier? Continue with the SWEET Life and you’ll experience all of these feelings!

Topic of the week -- Adding More Food Groups to Your Meals

I try to eat from 3-5 food groups in each meal and at least 2 food groups per snack. Here are some suggestions how to add more food groups to your meals and snacks:

Breakfast is more difficult than other meals, but I still try to include 3 food groups. For example, cereal with milk and fruit, toast with peanut butter and juice, or a fried egg sandwich: egg, cheese and toast.

Lunch is a great time to eat all five food groups in one meal. For example, a turkey and cheese sandwich with a piece of fruit and a handful of baby carrots or cottage cheese (protein and dairy) heated on cooked pasta (it’s like a healthy alfredo sauce) with a small salad and piece of fruit.

For snacks, I try to eat at least two food groups. There are different possibilities depending on whether I’m home or out of the house. Out of the house I have non-perishable snacks, such as peanuts, crackers, pretzels and raisins (or other dried fruit). At home, there’s carrots dipped in hummus, apples slices spread with peanut butter, yogurt and fruit, pretzels dipped in cottage cheese or cheese and crackers.

Dinner is my last chance to catch up on any needed food groups. I make sure to include at least protein, grains and vegetables, which are all typical dinner foods. Adding fruit can be done by adding fresh or dried fruit to a salad or having a fruit salad for dessert. Dairy can be added by topping chili, noodles or other foods with cheese or by adding yogurt to your fruit salad for dessert.

It’s not difficult to add more food groups to your meals; it’s just a matter of thinking about it, and sometimes getting creative.

Have a SWEET week!

Suzanne