HealthyLife Articles

Tag: meals

Plant-Forward Eating

HEALTHY EATING

A plant-forward style of eating is one that features plant foods as the star of most meals. Animal foods such as meat and dairy may be included but are not the main focus. There are many ways to be plant-forward and improve the health of your diet.

How it works

Plant-forward eating is less of a diet prescription and more of a healthy food mindset.

Each meal begins with the question: “what plants can I add to my plate?” Animal products should be a secondary consideration and eaten in small amounts.

A plant-forward diet focuses on:

* Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, bulger, whole wheat, millet, and oatmeal

* Plant proteins such as nuts, nut butter, seeds, soy, beans, peas, and lentils

* A variety of vegetables of every color

* Whole fruits

* Quality plant fats such as olive oil, avocados, canola oil, and nuts

Benefits

Plant-forward eating has many benefits to physical health. Diets high in plant foods are linked to improved health and a lower risk of disease. Eating less meat reduces your risk of:

* Obesity

* Heart disease

* Stroke

* Type 2 diabetes

* High blood pressure

* High blood lipids

* Certain cancers

In addition, a plant-focused diet benefits the environment. Fewer animal products may translate to lower greenhouse gas emissions and more responsible land, energy, and water usage.

Getting started

Gradual change over time is the best way to create healthy habits. It also helps to get family members on board with “plant forward.” Here’s how to get started:

* Take it one meal at a time. Start with just breakfast or lunch being meat-free.

* Find a few simple, meatless recipes to try. Look for those big on flavor.

* Add more of the plant foods you already love to your plate and shopping cart. Gradually branch out for more variety.

* Swap out the meat in a recipe for a plant protein like beans or tofu.

* Aim to make three-fourths of your plate plant foods.

* Reduce your meat portions by half.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Stay Healthy With Shift Work

WORK LIFE

For many people, shift work is a great way to get in hours around family commitments. For some people, shift work is simply part of their profession. Nurses, doctors, first responders and many others work shifts because it’s necessary.

When you don’t work a 9 to 5 shift, it can be harder to find time to eat well and exercise. In the middle of the night, most restaurants and stores are closed. You may also feel tired and less motivated to exercise and eat well. But there are some ways to get around these obstacles.

Try these healthy tips if you work a shift schedule:

1. Stock up on healthy food. When you’re tired, it’s easy to simply reach for convenience foods. Instead, keep your favorite fresh foods on hand at home or work and make them convenient. Washed and cut fruits and vegetables are a great snack anytime. You may also try nuts or seeds, oatmeal and hummus.

2. Make meals before your shift. Many times, the only choice during shift work is a vending machine. Try cooking large meals in a crock pot and freezing individual portions.

3. Avoid large portions. Many people feel tired and sluggish after a large meal. Pack portions that will fill you up without making you feel stuffed. Between meals, choose pre-packed, healthy snacks.

4. Take a break to eat. Sit down at a table, if possible. Enjoy your food and eat slowly. This can help you avoid overeating or mindless snacking.

5. Watch the caffeine. Many people need at least six hours or more to process caffeine so they can sleep. If you’re feeling sluggish, try drinking plenty of water instead of coffee or tea.

6. Move your body when you can. Walk up and down stairs or hallways on breaks. Try stretching at your desk. You can even do some jumping jacks if you don’t have time for anything else. Any kind of physical activity can give you more energy and lift your mood.

7. Remember that sleep is important. Even if you don’t have a typical work schedule, you can still make sleep a priority. Aim for seven to nine hours per 24-hour period. If you can’t get that much at once, see if you can still get that much by using naps.

Source: National Sleep Foundation

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
How To Help A Heavy Child Lose Weight

Weight Control

A heavy child or teenager carries a psychological burden, especially if he or she is the only family member with a weight problem. What’s more, people who are heavy as children have more difficulty in controlling their weight later on, as adults.

Concerned family members can take positive actions that help the child lose weight and promote emotional support at the same time. The basic premise is to make weight control a group effort and not focus on the child. In other words, rather than single out the heavy child for his or her eating habits, the entire family should try to adopt a healthy diet and other weight-control habits. Focus attention on these activities.

* Family participation in fitness or sports activities. Going for a hike or bike ride as a family not only creates an opportunity to exercise, but can bring family members closer together.

* Make it a household rule to limit the amount of high-calorie snack foods brought into the home.

* Teach all family members how to prepare healthy meals and snacks. Make a commitment to avoid high-fat foods for everyone’s well-being.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Pick & Pack A Healthy Lunch

Nutrition

Supersized fast-foods and large sit-down or buffet lunches feed your hunger, but supersize your waistline, too. Make your own lunch with healthier foods.

* Choose fruits and veggies of different colors.

* Eat salads with dark, leafy greens; veggies and fruits; chick peas, kidney, and other beans. Choose low-calorie salad dressing.

* When cooking dinner, make extra for lunches the next day or two.

* Cook chili, spaghetti, and rice and beans in bulk. Refrigerate or freeze in single storage containers.

In the evening, make family lunches and snacks for the next day. Save time in the morning!

Yes:

* Low-sodium, lean meat and whole-grain bread sandwiches or whole-grain bowls or salads.

* Nonfat and 1% low-fat milks. Low-fat cheeses and yogurts.

No:

* High-fat luncheon meats on white bread.

* Regular soda and high-calorie coffee drinks and milkshakes.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Put Your Menu On A Diet

Nutrition

Careful menu planning can make the difference between gaining, maintaining, or losing weight. Look at the caloric differences between the three meal plans shown below. Make a point to plan each day’s meals in advance and select food items with their caloric value in mind. (Note: You can reduce calories without cutting back drastically on how much you eat simply by selecting low-fat foods.)

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Getting Your Kids To Eat Right

Children’s Health

Persuading your child to develop good eating habits can be a challenge. Here are some pointers.

* Start your child’s day with a good breakfast. Hot cereal is a better choice than over-sweetened breakfast foods that are heavily advertised to kids.

* Buy snacks that are low in fat, sugar, and salt. Fresh fruit, unbuttered popcorn, whole-grain muffins, juice, milk, and yogurt are tasty, nutritious foods that appeal to kids. Crackers with small amounts of peanut butter or cheese are also acceptable between-meal treats.

* Limit fast-food meals. A steady diet of fast-food menu items tends to be high in fat and generally doesn’t provide all the essential nutrients a child needs.

* Don’t punish or reward behavior with food. Punishing children by withholding food can deprive them of required nutrients. Rewarding them with food can encourage overeating and weight gain.

* Set a good example. Children can’t be expected to adopt good eating habits if parents don’t.

For nutrition-packed school lunches:

* Try sandwiches, using turkey, chicken, peanut butter with no added oil or sugar, and low-fat cheese or tuna fish instead of processed lunch meats.

* Pack finger foods like grapes, carrot sticks, celery stalks, and other fruit or crunchy vegetables instead of potato chips. Single-serving cans of fruit or applesauce are also handy ways to round out a lunch.

Beware of convenience foods that claim to be nutritious.

Here are some of the traps to look out for.

* Fruit drinks. Some contain only a small amount of fruit juice, but a lot of added sugar.

* Breakfast bars. These usually contain lots of sugar and very little in the way of nutrition.

* Pre-popped popcorn. Some popcorn products have a lot of oil, salt, and contain artificial coloring.

Teach Teens to Snack Wisely

Once kids reach their teens, they tend to eat what they want, when they want it. But these years of rapid growth and change call for added nutrients which might be lacking in diets that are hit-or-miss. And as their bones grow rapidly, teens need plenty of calcium. Adolescent girls need plenty of iron to offset iron lost due to menstrual flow. If the right foods are available, between-meal snacking can actually boost a teen’s intake of those critical nutrients.

* Leftovers, like chicken drumsticks, are high in iron and make good late-night snacks.

* Low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese can provide needed calcium.

* Keep the kitchen stocked with whole wheat crackers, sliced watermelon, fruit salad, and other ready-to-eat alternatives to junk food.

* Encourage teens to invent their own, easy-to-eat snacks, like “ants on a log”-celery stalks stuffed with peanut butter and dotted with raisins.

Resources

ChooseMyPlate.gov

www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/index.html

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Healthy Eating Tips

Children’s Health

* Make half your grains whole. Choose whole-grain food, like whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and brown rice more often.

* Vary your veggies. Go dark green and orange with your vegetables. Eat spinach, broccoli, carrots and sweet potatoes.

* Focus on fruits. Eat them at meals. Eat them at snack times, too. Choose fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruits. Go easy on fruit juices.

* Go lean with protein. Eat lean or low-fat meat, chicken, turkey, and fish. Also, choose dry beans and peas more often. Add chick peas, nuts, or seeds to a salad. Add pinto beans to a burrito. Add kidney and/or other beans to soup.

* Get calcium-rich foods. Have low-fat and fat-free milks, yogurts, and cheeses. If you have soy milks and yogurts, choose ones with calcium. Have broccoli, kale and collard greens. Calcium helps to build strong bones.

* Change your oil. Get yours from fish, nuts, and liquid oils, like canola, corn, olive, and soybean. Avoid foods with trans fat. Read food labels.

* Don’t sugarcoat it. Choose foods and beverages that do not list sugar, corn syrup and other sugars as one of the first ingredients. Added sugars give calories, but have few, if any, nutrients.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Nutrition For Children

Children’s Health

Birth to 2 Years Old

* Breast-feed your baby from birth to 6 months of age. Breast-feed for the first year, if you can. If you can’t breast-feed or don’t want to, give iron-enriched formula (not cow’s milk) for the first 12 months. After that and up to age 2, use whole cow’s milk to replace formula or breast milk. Don’t limit fat for the first 2 years of life.

* Follow your child’s doctor’s advice on breast-feeding and what formula and vitamins to give your baby. Breast-fed babies who do not get regular exposure to sunlight may need vitamin D supplements.

* Start solid foods as advised by your baby’s doctor. It is common to do this at 4 to 6 months of age. Iron-enriched infant rice cereal is usually the first food given.

* Start new foods one at a time. Wait 1 week before adding each new cereal, vegetable, or other food. Doing this makes it easier to find out which foods your baby has a problem with.

* Use iron-rich foods, such as grains, iron-enriched cereals, and meats.

* Do not give honey to infants during the first 12 months of life.

* Don’t let a baby fall asleep with a bottle that has formula, juice, or milk. The sugars in these can cause tooth decay.

Two Years and Older

* Give a variety of healthy foods for meals and snacks. Follow guidelines from theChooseMyPlate.gov/kidsWeb site. Let your child choose which healthy foods and how much to eat to satisfy his or her hunger.

* Help your child maintain a healthy weight. Give proper foods. Promote regular exercise. Lead by example. Children learn from what they see parents do, as well as, from what parents say. Eat with your children. Be a role model for good eating. Exercise, too.

* Let your child help plan meals and snacks, shop for food, and prepare foods.

* Don’t force your child to eat certain foods. Don’t use food to reward or punish behavior.

* Don’t give foods that can lead to choking, such as hard candies and whole grapes.

* Teach healthy behaviors in a fun way. For ideas to help get children to eat well and be more active, access the Web sites under “Resources”.

Resources

5-2-1-0 Let’s Go!

www.letsgo.org

ChooseMyPlate.gov

www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/index.html

We Can!™ Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition

www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Build Support At Home

Healthylife® Weigh

Part 4

Talk to the people you live with about what you are doing. Let them know why you are making these changes. Ask for their support and say “thank you” for things they do that help you.

* Set food rules for everyone in the family to follow. This may include eating together at the table and keeping the TV off. Keep phones in another room.

* Keep unhealthy snacks in dark containers, out of plain sight.

* Encourage positive talk about new meals and snacks in the house. If a new food is disliked, talk about why. A food can be prepared in a different way.

* Involve others in meal planning, especially if everyone will be eating the same meals.

* Prepare meals together. Adults and children can learn valuable lessons in the kitchen, from math skills to building self-confidence.

* Be active together. Make this time more about shared family joys than weight loss. Stretch together in the morning or go for a walk after dinner. Plan family picnics that involve a hike or bike ride.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Meal Planning Basics

Healthylife® Weigh

Part 3

This online guide uses the terms breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

* Breakfast: The first time you eat upon waking

* Lunch: 3-4 hours later

* Dinner: 4-5 hours later

* Snacks: Small meals between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These are optional, but snacks may help you manage hunger.

Your work schedule, culture, travel, dietary restrictions, or preferences may mean you have a different meal schedule. Label each meal or snack in a way that makes sense to you.

Goals for all meals and snacks:

* Get enough energy and nutrients.

* Choose foods from the main food groups.

* Meet, but try not to go over, your daily goals for all food groups.

* Avoid spikes or drops in blood sugar that can trigger overeating, sugar cravings, mood swings, and tiredness.

* Include tasty foods.

* Build time management into the meal plan.

Do I have to eat breakfast?

Breakfast is an important meal that you shouldn’t skip. Eating breakfast:

* Gives your body energy after a long break in eating.

* Kick-starts your metabolism and helps you burn energy during the day.

* May help with memory, concentration, and focus.

* May lower your risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

You don’t have to eat typical breakfast foods to get the benefits of eating breakfast. Choose foods high in protein and nutrient-dense carbohydrates. Try whole grain pancakes with yogurt and fruit. Or, re-heat leftovers from the night before.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026