General guidelines for a healthy menu

General guidelines start with a simple observation: most nutrition mistakes don’t come from a single slice of cake but from everyday habits. If your table is varied, your portions are sensible and you don’t go overboard with fat, sugar and salt, your menu is already heading in a much better direction.

General guidelines: why does balance matter?

The foundation of healthy eating is balance, variety and moderation. The body needs more than 40 different nutrients, but no single food contains them all. That’s why it doesn’t pay to fixate on one “right” food or one menu.

Your daily menu should include something from each major group: whole grain products, fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat, fish or poultry. Put special emphasis on whole grains and on fruit and vegetables, because they provide plenty of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.

A simple truth: the fresher and less processed the food, the better the starting point. Food that has been standing for a long time or is heavily processed changes in taste, texture and appearance, and some of its beneficial substances may be lost. That doesn’t mean everything has to be perfect. It means your everyday choices should be as simple as possible.

General guidelines for everyday food choices

Eat at least half of your fruit and vegetables raw. This preserves vitamins, minerals and enzymes better. When you cook, favor quick and simple methods: stewing, boiling in a little water, steaming or baking in the oven all work well.

Whenever possible, eat fruit and vegetables with the skin on, because many nutrients sit right under the skin. Juice is not the same as whole fruit. Juicing often removes some of the fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that a whole fruit retains.

Legumes deserve more room on your menu. Beans, peas and lentils contain fiber, calcium, iron and protein, and are low in fat at the same time. At least 2-3 times a week, legumes should actually be on your plate, not just a good intention on your shopping list.

Be mindful of fats, especially saturated fatty acids. They are found in large amounts in dairy and animal products, with the exception of fish and other seafood. When cooking, use methods that don’t require added fat, or replace part of the fat with broth, water or lemon juice. Vegetable oils are fine in small amounts, for example unrefined olive oil and sesame oil in salads or on stewed vegetables.

Limit trans fatty acids. They can be found in margarines, salad dressings, mayonnaise, nut butter, roasted nuts and seeds, frozen or packaged pre-baked dishes, baked goods, snacks, flavored coffee powders, ready-made creams and ready-made desserts. If the label lists hydrogenated vegetable fat, it’s worth pausing for a moment.

Meat, especially red meat, should be eaten at most three times a week. The reason is simple: red meat often contains more saturated fatty acids. Good alternatives are fish, skinless cuts of chicken and turkey and, if you like, leaner game meat such as hare, venison, moose, bear or wild goose.

Among dairy products, choose simple, unflavored, fat-free or low-fat options: milk, curd cheese, yogurt, kefir or acidophilus milk. The original recommendation stresses that you should have at least two glasses a day of unflavored fat-free yogurt, kefir or acidophilus milk, and choose live products.

You need to drink enough fluids. Water helps transport nutrients, remove waste from the body and keep digestive juices working normally. During illness your need for water increases, especially if you have diarrhea, vomiting or a high fever.

How do you keep portions and meals under control?

Don’t overdo any single portion. Skipping a meal doesn’t usually improve your menu; it leads to stronger hunger, which in turn leads to overeating. When hunger is intense, sensible choices quickly disappear from the picture.

A snack can be perfectly in place, but it shouldn’t turn into a separate big meal. If you can’t eat from every food group at one meal, there’s no need to panic. Balance builds up over a few days to a week. If you skipped vegetables today, make a better choice tomorrow.

You don’t necessarily have to avoid certain foods completely. If a favorite food is rich in fat, salt or sugar, eat it less often and in a smaller portion. Food is also a pleasure, not just a table of nutrients.

For snacks, favor fruit and vegetables, nuts, whole grain cookies or popcorn. Potato chips, donuts and other fatty nibbles should be rarer. Instead of fast food, spaghetti or soup often work well too, since they’re also quick to make.

It’s worth cutting back on risk foods. These include fatty meat, salty foods, desserts made mainly of sugar, pickled and salted foods, smoked meat and cheese, and charred foods, including shashlik.

Changing your diet starts with an honest look at what you eat now. For example, write down everything you eat and drink over three days and compare it with these recommendations. The changes don’t have to be radical. There is no superfood for healthy eating, and changing too fast can do more harm than good.

Practical general tips for cutting back on fat, sugar and salt

Fat and saturated fatty acids

• Boil, stew, steam or bake in the oven instead of frying.
• When you do fry, use a vegetable oil high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and switch oils regularly.
• Choose lean meat and trim off any visible fat.
• After cooking, skim off the fat that has risen to the surface of soups, sauces, ground meat dishes and stews.
• Use fats sparingly and choose low-fat products.
• Where possible, use low-fat yogurt instead of salad dressings and cream.
• Swap whole milk for lower-fat milk and choose leaner cheeses and yogurts.
• Cut back on processed foods with hidden fat, such as pies, pastries and boiled sausages.

If a recipe calls for melted butter or margarine, you can often use vegetable oil instead. Vegetable oils also work in place of butter and lard, and butter–vegetable oil blends in place of margarine.

A little precision goes a long way when baking. For buns, breads and cookies, the minimum amount of fat is 1-2 tbsp per glass of flour. Some yeast-based baked goods can also be made without any fat. You don’t necessarily need oil when boiling pasta and rice. In a salad dressing, mayonnaise can be thinned with plain yogurt, milk or apple juice.

Fruit, vegetables, berries and dietary fiber

• Serve at least two different salads or vegetable dishes at every meal.
• Prepare food in a way that keeps nutrient loss low.
• Keep vegetables alongside the main dish: raw, stewed or as juices.
• Use more fruit and berries in desserts.
• Add peas, corn or bell pepper to cooked rice and pasta.
• Make vegetables the main component of casseroles and baked dishes.
• Add fruit and berries to baked goods and pancakes.

Vegetables become more appealing when you add less familiar options to the menu. Celery stalks can serve as edible utensils, while bell pepper and other colorful vegetables are an easy way to improve your plate.

To increase your dietary fiber intake, eat a varied diet. Breakfast could include fiber-rich foods, such as whole-grain porridge or whole-grain breakfast cereals. You can add raisins and berries to whole-grain cereal flakes. At lunch, eat vegetables both cooked and as a raw salad and, where possible, unpeeled and with their seeds.

As a source of starch, favor whole-grain bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. When baking, at least 1/3 of the flour you use should be whole-grain flour. In the morning, choose porridge or whole-grain cereals high in dietary fiber instead of sweetened flakes. Make soups yourself where possible and use ready-made soups less often.

Sugar and salt

To cut down on sugar, keep water and lower-sugar drinks within easy reach. It’s worth limiting sweets and sugar-rich foods, especially between meals. In baked goods and puddings, part of the sugar can be replaced with fresh or dried fruit and berries.

• Choose natural juices over syrup.
• When making cakes, use flour and sugar in a 2:1 ratio.
• For muffins, 1 tbsp of sugar per one glass of flour is enough.
• For yeast-based baked goods, 1 tsp of sugar per glass of flour is enough.
• For flavor, add a small amount of vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg when you have reduced the sugar.

To cut down on salt, favor unprocessed foods over canned and ready-made ones. Learn to notice which foods are high in salt. When cooking, keep added salt to a minimum and use more herbs, such as basil, and other seasonings. Use bouillon cubes, extracts and soy sauce in limited amounts.

Don’t add salt to finished food at the table. Getting used to a milder taste happens surprisingly fast. When eating out, you can ask for food with less salt. For a snack, choose fruit and vegetables instead of salty crackers.

When baking with yeast, salt is necessary because it supports the yeast’s activity. In baked goods made without yeast, you can use only half of the stated amount of salt. It’s easier to cut back on salt if the dish already contains saltier ingredients, such as cheese or canned foods. Onion or garlic powder is a better choice than garlic salt or other seasoned salts. In pasta and rice dishes, you can use tomato juice, for example, for flavoring.

FAQ

Does healthy eating mean giving up your favorite foods?

No. You don’t have to cross favorite foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar off your menu completely, but you should eat them less often and in smaller amounts.

How do you get started if your menu is fairly random at the moment?

For three days, write down everything you eat and drink. This quickly shows whether you’re falling short on vegetables, dietary fiber, water or regular meals.

Should you cut fat out of your menu?

No. Use fat in moderation and choose better sources. The goal is to reduce excess saturated fat, hidden fat and trans fatty acids, not to make your food dry and tasteless.

Come and get the details from our nutrition counselor! ArtGym

Author: Compiled by M.M.

Source: WHO – physical activity.