Patient was educated on how to plan a healthy meal as follows:
- Plan for a well-rounded meal with good amount of all the major elements of diet, such as, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fiber, and other nutrients. Plan on avoiding unhealthy fats/oils, extra & added salt and sugars.
- Focus on having half of your plate filled with non-starchy and less starchy vegetables, such as, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, green beans, kale, mushrooms, eggplant, okra, tomato, zucchini, and peppers.
- Divide the remaining half of the plate into two portions. Fill one-half of these two with grains and products made of grains & starchy vegetables and the other half with protein & lean meat.
- On the portion for grains, use whole grains and products made of whole grains such as, brown rice, wild rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas, quinoa, whole barley, whole oatmeal, & whole cornmeal. Try avoiding all the refined grains and products made of refined grains, such as, white rice, white bread, and white flour tortillas. You can add some starchy vegetables, such as, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, plantain, peas, beans, pumpkin, lentils, and butternut squash. To avoid extra calories and fat, choose starchy vegetables that are baked, roasted, or grilled against fried. This can help with better control of calorie intake, improved control of blood sugars, reduced consumption of unhealthy fats, and improved weight control.
