How to eat to stay healthy.

When you have food allergies, being healthy is less about health and more about not being sick.  So much care is taken to prevent accidental intake, that we focus more on what we can't have than what we can.  Everyone in my household has different dietary needs and we all react badly when we go off course.  I recently brought us back to basics with simple tables of what to eat at each meal.  These tables are posted on the refrigerator to remind us to incorporate all of the food groups in our meal choices.

I don't drink milk.  I just don't like it. The USDA says to have a fluid milk with major meals and if you can you should.  If you're looking for calcium, vitamin D and protein, almond milk is a good alternative for your fluid milk intake. Do a side-by-side comparison of cow milk, almond milk and rice milk the next time you're at the grocery store.  

My husband likes to start his day with a bowl of oatmeal and a V8.  My favorite is breakfast tacos:  two fried eggs to divide among three corn tortillas (heated in a pan), garnish with some homemade salsa and a sprinkling of cheese. During the summer I take advantage of the abundance of fresh fruit, adding a small bowl of yogurt (1/2 cup or less) topped with a handful of fresh blueberries.   If you can't have yogurt, at least have the fruit. Berries are especially good for you.  If we have leftover rice, I simmer some with enough milk (dairy or non-dairy) to cover until heated through and the mixture thickens.  I add a mashed banana, cinnamon, vanilla (use real vanilla) and a bit of sugar.  I like it better than oatmeal.  If you can have gluten, don't feel guilty about just having two pieces of toast with fruit spread and a glass of milk.  Just do your best. 

Snacks are necessary.  We equate snacking with junk-food and weight gain, but when you're on a restricted diet, snacks are vital. If you don't eat between meals, you'll feel like you're starving around mealtime and either make a poor food choice or overeat.  Also, you have to eat a lot of food to get all of your nutrients.  That's just what it takes. You should be eating all day long. You also have to make good choices.  Avoid prepackaged foods, they'll not only frustrate you with their long list of offensive ingredients, but they're overpriced empty calories.  Try an apple with peanut butter, cottage cheese or hummus with veggie sticks, crackers and cheese, a cluster of grapes with a muffin.  When I make my quinoa salad I make a large bowl of it, so that I have plenty available for between meal snacking.  Plan ahead!

Arrange your grocery shopping around the food groups and do some meal planning.  Try making three columns on a page and then listing all of the fruits/vegetables, grains, and meat/meat alternatives that you can eat.  When you shop, choose the food that is closes to its original form, such as steel-cut oats instead of instant oatmeal, apples instead of apple juice, fresh chicken instead of breaded patties.  This is good habit to acquire.  Before you know it, making substitutions will come naturally to you.

If you're unintentionally losing weight because of your limited food choices, if you're tired, lethargic, even depressed, you have to make sure that when you eat, you eat the right foods.  Most people eat based on quantity not quality.  A steak, mashed potatoes and a cob of corn looks like a complete dinner, but it's not even close.  A drive through "meal" is a burger, fries and a drink.  That's nearly 2000 calories and you haven't had a complete meal.  

Health is more than avoiding sickness.  Be truly healthy.  Get creative, everything has a substitution.  Stay basic, avoid prepackaged or flavored foods. Eat more often.  Plan ahead. 

If you need help, visit the Eating Well website for ideas.  Use the 1800 calorie 28 day diet plan as a well-rounded meal and snack example, adapting it to your own caloric needs and dietary restrictions. 

USDA website: Meal Patterns

* I am not a nutritionist, my advice is based on personal research and decisions that fit my needs.  This information is meant to inform, please check with your doctor about your dietary needs and how to meet them.