Tag Archive for: myplate

MyPlate Oklahoma

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MyPlate is the current nutrition guide published by the USDA and the guiding light for nutrition recommendations. Most remember the Food Pyramid. MyPlate was created to depict a place setting that helps better visualize our food groups easier than the previous pyramid.

A place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups approximately:

  • 30 percent of grains
  • 40 percent of vegetables
  • 10 percent of fruits
  • 20 percent protein
  • Dairy, such as a glass of milk or a yogurt cup

This is a helpful visual to fit your diet whether or not it consists of animal proteins or not.

Locally produced MyPlate Oklahoma Foods

  • Fruit
  • Apricots Blackberries Blueberries (tame and wild) Muskmelons Cherries (sweet and tart) Figs Nectarines Peaches Pears Persimmons Watermelons
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  • Vegetables
  • Asparagus Beans (snap) Beets Cabbage (head) Carrots Eggplant Mustard Greens Okra Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Spinach Sweet Corn Turnip Greens Turnips
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  • Grains
  • Barley Corn for grain (e.g., flour) Oats Rye Wheat
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  • Proteins
  • Beans (other than lima beans) Beef Bison Catfish Chicken Cowpeas Duck Eggs Elk Emu Goat Goose Lamb Ostrich Partridge Peanuts Peas Pecans Pheasant Pork Quail Rabbit Sesame Seeds Soybeans Sunflower Seeds Tilapia Turkey Venison Walnuts
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  • Dairy
  • Milk, Milk from sheep and goats
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KD

CARBS – The Facts

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The basics –

Our bodies need fuel to continue to work properly and do all of the amazing things we want to do. That fuel comes from protein, fat, and… you guessed it – carbohydrates! The amazing thing about carbs is that they instantly break down into sugar/glucose that the body is able to use immediately. Glucose is super important for your body; it’s also the type of fuel that your brain uses. When we aren’t getting enough carbohydrates the body decides to break down fat for fuel which sounds like a GREAT thing right? Not necessarily… When the body uses fat for fuel, ketones are formed. Ketones raise the level of acid in your blood, and that can be unhealthy over long periods of time. Think about this next time you are planning on restricting or taking carbs out of your diet completely. Removing major food groups from your diet is a BIG DEAL and should only be considered when recommended by a licensed dietitian or your primary physician.

Simple versus Complex –

REMINDER: There are no good and bad carbs; everything is OK when eaten in moderation.

Simple carbohydrates: Easily broken down by the body, raise blood sugar levels quickly, include foods like candy, pastries, and desserts.

Complex carbohydrates: Take longer to be broken down by the body which raises blood sugar levels more slowly than simple carbohydrates, include foods like multigrain bread, pasta, beans, potatoes, other vegetables.

We want our blood sugars to stay as consistent as possible, meaning we need to be including more complex carbs into our diet. A good rule of thumb to live by would be to fill HALF of your plate with complex carbs (fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, & dairy) and keep simple carbs to a minimum.

For some healthy MyPlate approved meals click this link>>> https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy/photos/myplate-meals

KM