Food Pyramid Choices
Whole Grains. Include three servings of whole grains as part of your daily diet such as oats, brown rice, whole wheat, quinoa, barley or buckwheat. You can easily add whole grains to your meals by substituting half the white flour with whole wheat flour in your recipes for cookies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes or adding half a cup of cooked brown rice, barley or Barilla Whole Grain Penne Pasta to your favorite canned or home-made soup.

Lowfat dairy. Consuming three servings of lowfat or fat-free dairy foods is key to bone health and reduces the risk for osteoporosis. Lowfat and fat-free milk, yogurt and reduced-fat cheese are good choices for snacks and at mealtime. Blend Smart Balance Fat Free milk with Omega 3 with fresh banana slices for a creamy fruit smoothie. Layer low-fat granola, fresh fruit and Breyer’s Inspirations lowfat vanilla yogurt for a delicious parfait.

Lean Meats. Go lean with 6 oz of protein-rich meats such as boneless skinless chicken breast, turkey, lean beef, lean pork or fish per day. Protein plays an important role in building muscle, maintaining a healthy weight and fueling physical activity. Add lean meats to casseroles, pasta, soups and salads. Grill, broil or stir-fry your meats to reduce the fat and calories. Try the Valley Fresh Chicken Pasta Salad recipe in this brochure for a quick and healthy summer meal.

Fruits & Vegetables. Eating fruits and veggies in a variety of colors provides a broad range of nutrients. Make sure to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Start by adding strawberries to your cereal, have an apple and salad for lunch, eat grapes for a snack and mix broccoli in your pasta for dinner which makes 5 a day!

Get Fluids. Whether you are working, lying out in the sun or exercising make sure you stay hydrated so that you have more energy. You’ll also want to replenish water lost through sweat during exercise. Nourish and hydrate your body with refreshing beverages like Propel Fit Water, Gatorade 2 Blueberry Pomegranate, Fruit2 O and Northland Cranberry Juice.

Get the Most Nutrition for your Money
The NuVal Nutritional Scoring system at Meijer helps you find healthy foods at a glance. The system scores foods from 1 to 100. The higher the score the more nutritious the food. Look for NuVal scores on the shelf tag under products. Compare scores within a category and see where you can “trade up” to healthier choices. See the tips below for increasing the average NuVal score of your diet and visit www.nuval.com for more information.

Nutrition Boosting Tips
• Shop the produce department. Almost all fruits and vegetables score high on the NuVal scale- they are low in calories and full of disease-fighting nutrients.
• Use Barilla Plus Pasta (NuVal score of 91) vs. regular pasta (average NuVal score of 48).
• Planter’s Go Pak Nutrition Healthy Nut Mix has a NuVal score of 71 and helps manage your portion sizes while making a healthy choice.
• Purchase low fat and fat free dairy foods. Select delicious Breyer’s Inspirations Lowfat Yogurt and fat free milk (NuVal score of 91) vs. whole milk (NuVal score of 51). Try the new Smart Balance Fat Free Milk with antioxidants.
• Select cereals that are high in fiber and low in sodium and added sugars. Shredded Wheat, for example, has a NuVal score of 91.
• Control calories from fat by using Ken’s Lite Accents Salad Dressing Spray.
• Use Brownberry Whole Grain bread for your sandwich and substitute bologna (NuVal score of 8) with Valley Fresh White Chicken (NuVal score of 27).

Valley Fresh Chicken Pasta Salad

8 oz uncooked Barilla Plus rotini pasta
1 (10 oz) can Valley Fresh 100% Natural white chicken, drained and shredded
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 cup dresh quartered strawberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh cubed pineapple
1 cup lowfat creamy poppyseed salad dressing or Ken's Lite Accents Raspberry Walnut Salad Dressing Spray
Fresh spinach leaves

Prepare pasta as directed on package: rinse under cold water and drain well. Toss pasta with onion, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and poppyseed dressing. Serve salad over a bed of fresh spinach.

Serves 6.

Recipe adapted from www.valleyfresh.com

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories 370, Total fat 11 g, Saturated fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 30 mg, Sodium 880 mg, Carbohydrate 54 g, Fiber 5 g, Protein 19 g