Rarely a day goes by when there isn’t a study released about what we should and shouldn’t eat. Rarely a week goes by that I don’t think, “I should be more careful what I eat.” Truthfully though, I think we do OK in our family.
Overall, we eat balanced meals, a variety of foods, plenty of vegetables, and most of what we eat is not processed. We accommodate one vegetarian and a gluten-reduced diet, and we aim for something in the diabetic-friendly/low GI range. Smoothies make up a large number of my breakfasts (4-5 a week). The biggest challenge we find is controlling starch intake.
There are a few truisms that help me make decisions when looking at meals:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” — Michael Pollan
The core of Pollan’s early manifesto, In Defence of Food, this advice is really three rules.
- Eat food. Not food-like products but food, the ingredients you find on the outer part of the supermarket, not in the aisles.
- Not too much. Do not fall prey to the GIANT serving sizes passing as meals. (Check out Food Friday: Portion Distortion for how to judge portion sizes)
- Mostly plants. Proteins and starch have their place but neither should take the lead.
If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you are not hungry.
I have no idea where I first read that (though it appears that it is also one of Pollan’s Food Rules) but it saves me from empty calories frequently. I know that I eat out of boredom or just habit — I wander into the kitchen looking for “something.” When I remember to ask myself this, I often find the answer is that I am not really hungry and I am able to walk out of the kitchen again. Sometimes, I will acknowledge that I am hungry and look for food. Sometimes, I actually grab an apple.
Half of your plate should be vegetables.
The half-plate model, like the serving size guide, is a great visual tool and is especially useful when dining at buffets or smorgasbords. It’s also helpful at home. The model is based around a 10″ plate and if you make 1/4 starch or grain and 1/4 protein you will also likely hit the target for serving sizes.
Everything in moderation.
OK, maybe not everything but I try not to abstain from certain foods or restrict myself by carefully measuring specific items (salt, sugar, fat, especially) because it always ends in cravings. On the other hand, moderation is a key component of the phrase — something I find myself unable to do when it comes to theatre popcorn, my dietary Achilles heel. Other than that, I do manage to balance and moderate.
One last thing.
Shawn and I realized a while back that we tend to enable each other when it comes to bad food choices so we try to give in less frequently. We neither chastise nor cheerlead but when one of us says, “I could really go for… ” the other one tries not to say, “I’ll get my keys.”
It’s definitely a work in progress, but progress is definitely being made.
That said, I am going to keep a food diary this week, without consciously trying to adjust my eating, just to see what an average week looks like. It includes one birthday celebration and an assortment of meetings so it’s a typical week in that respect. Mostly I am curious to see whether my perception matches my reality.