Back-to-School with MyPlate

Getting the kids ready to head back-to-school?  I’m sure you are thinking about what to make for their meals and snacks.  Let the new USDA food icon “MyPlate” which replaced “MyPyramid” guide you when planning your meals.  “MyPlate” is divided into four colorful sections- which are the food groups- red for fruits, green for vegetables, orange for grains, and purple for protein- with a separate blue section for dairy on the side and follows the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  Follow the recommended servings for each food group on www.myplate.gov.   Here are some ideas to help you build healthy meals from each of the food groups on MyPlate.

 

Building Healthy Meals and Snacks with MyPlate

Grains- Make half your grains whole grains.  Try an unsweetened whole grain cereal for breakfast.  Substitute whole wheat or oat flour for up to half of the flour in pancake, waffle, muffin or other flour based recipes.  For a change, try brown rice or whole wheat pasta.  Substitute a whole grain product for a refined product such as whole wheat bread instead of white bread to make sandwiches.  Use whole-grain bread or cracker crumbs in meatloaf. 

Vegetables and Fruits- Fill half your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables. At breakfast top your cereal with sliced banana or strawberries; add blueberries to whole wheat pancakes.  For lunch pack grapes, apple or fruit salad.  Plan some meals around a vegetable main dish, such as a vegetable stir-fry.  Try a main dish salad for lunch with a low fat salad dressing.  Include a green salad with your dinner every night.  Grill vegetable or fruit kebabs as part of a barbecue meal.  Try peaches, pineapple, tomatoes, green peppers, or onions for your kebabs.  Order a veggie pizza with toppings like mushrooms, green peppers, and onions and ask for extra veggies.  At dinner, add crushed pineapple to coleslaw or include orange segments in a tossed salad.  You can find many different varieties of canned, fresh, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables throughout the grocery department at Meijer.

Dairy- Switch to low fat dairy- milk, yogurt and cheese- they have the same amount of calcium and other nutrients as whole milk products, but less fat and calories.  Include low fat or fat free milk or calcium-fortified soymilk as a beverage with meals.  Have fat free or low fat yogurt as a snack.  Make a dip for fruits and vegetables from low fat yogurt.  Top cut-up fruit with flavored low fat yogurt for a quick dessert.  Top casseroles and vegetables with shredded reduced fat cheese.  Top a baked potato with fat free or low fat yogurt.  If you are lactose intolerant, choose lactose free alternatives such as cheese, yogurt, lactose free milk or calcium fortified soymilk, orange juice, cereals, breads, almond  or rice milk.

Protein-Vary your protein choices-All foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts and seeds have protein.  Use leftover pork tenderloin, lean beef or chicken breast and combine with chopped vegetables and coat with a lite Asian sesame dressing to make lettuce wraps.  Choose beans, peas or soy products as a main dish or part of a meal like garbanzo or kidney beans on a salad, rice and beans, hummus spread on pita bread, veggie burgers or baked beans.  Eat seafood twice a week.  Look for seafood rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout, and herring.  Use salmon to make salmon burgers or simply add to your salad.    Use unsalted nuts to replace meat or poultry.  Add slivered almonds to steamed vegetables.  Sprinkle a few nuts on top of low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt.  Add walnuts to a green salad instead of cheese or meat.

3 Kid-Friendly Healthy Lunch Ideas

Lunch #1

Crunchy Tuna Wrap (See recipe)

Fresh Blueberries

Dannon Danonino Drink

 

Lunch #2

Garden Pasta Salad (See recipe)

Fresh Peach Slices

Horizon Organic Low Fat Milk

 

Lunch #3

Meatball Sub Kebab (See recipe) with pasta sauce dip

Cantaloupe Chunks

Ocean Spray 100% Juice Blend

 

Recipes

Crunchy Tuna Wrap

Serves 2

2 tbsp. Meijer reduced-fat mayonnaise

2-1/4 tsp. Meijer prepared mustard

1 pouch (7.06 ounces) Bumble Bee light chunk tuna in water, flaked

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

3 tbsp. chopped sweet red pepper

2 spinach tortillas (8-inch)

1 cup shredded lettuce

 

1.    In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and mustard. Stir in the tuna, onions, celery and red pepper. Spread over tortillas; top with lettuce. Roll up tightly. 

 

Recipe adapted from www.tasteofhome.com

 

Nutrition Information (per serving): 1 wrap equals 342 calories, 6g fat, 1g saturated fat, 29mg cholesterol, 483mg sodium, 39g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 31g protein

Garden Pasta Salad

Serves 6

2 cups Meijer Organics whole wheat rotini, (6 ounces)

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 cup diced yellow bell pepper, (1 small)

1 cup grated or matchstick carrots, (2-4 carrots)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup canned sliced black olives

1/3 cup slivered fresh basil

½ cup balsamic dressing

 

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and refresh under cold running water. In a large bowl, combine pasta, tomatoes, bell pepper, carrots, green onions, olives, basil and dressing; toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Note:  Toss in 2 (5oz.) cans of Bumble Bee chunk light tuna in water or 2 cups cooked chicken to add protein.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 149 calories, 7g fat, 0g saturated fat, 3mg cholesterol, 234mg sodium, 21g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 3g protein

Recipe provided by: Chef Maribel Alchin, MBA RD LDN - Meijer Dietitian and Healthy Living Advisor. 

For more nutrition information, coupons, recipes and a weekly menu plan, visit

www.meijerhealthyliving.com and www.meijermealbox.com

Meatball Sub Kebab   

Makes 2 Kebabs

2 slices of whole wheat bread
2 slices of Provolone cheese
1 green bell pepper, cut into squares
4 Meijer meatballs, cooked
2 craft sticks or popsicle sticks
Meijer Traditional pasta sauce for dipping sauce

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

1.    Remove crust from bread and cut into 4-inch squares. 

2.    Fold provolone cheese into a square. 

3.    Start layering with a square of bread, then cheese, bell pepper, meatball and bread.  Repeat layers. 

4.    Pack into resealable bag in lunchbox.

5.    Serve with a side of traditional pasta sauce for dipping.  Don’t forget to pack an ice pack into the bag to keep everything chilled.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 251 calories, 12g fat, 6g saturated fat, 35mg cholesterol, 565 mg sodium, 22g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 14g protein

 

Recipe provided by: Chef Maribel Alchin, MBA RD LDN - Meijer Dietitian and Healthy Living Advisor. 

For more nutrition information, coupons, recipes and a weekly menu plan, visit

www.meijerhealthyliving.com and www.meijermealbox.com

At Meijer we make it easy to find healthier foods within each section of the plate with NuVal.   NuVal helps you to find the most nutritious foods throughout the grocery department at Meijer.  High scoring NuVal foods include colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources, and low-fat or fat free milk products.  Use NuVal at Meijer to help you find healthy snacks.  Foods are rated 1 to 100.  The higher the number, the higher the nutritional value.  Look for the NuVal score on the shelf tag under products.  Try these healthy snacks ideas.

·         Serve raw veggies with tasty dips like hummus, low fat salad dressing, or balsamic vinegar.

·         Cut up fresh fruits and serve with a dip of Dannon low fat yogurt with a splash of vanilla and McCormick cinnamon.

·         Fill small plastic bags with colorful veggies cut into fun shapes for an on-the-go snack.

·         Give your child a Dannon Danimal Smoothie for a quick energy boost.

·         Use Welch’s 100% Grape Juice blends and make popsicle sticks for a cool snack.

·         Mix Planter’s Nuts with Meijer raisins, whole grain cereal and whole grain pretzels to make your own trail mix.  Serve with Crystal Light Lemonade.