's motd Monday March 8, 2010

[Guest guest]

WHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE?

Monday, 08 March 2010

What kind of plates do you serve your dinner on? Do they have flowers on them with a pretty border? Maybe they have your family's last name in a big initial. Are they adorned with fluffy white clouds on a blue backdrop?

My parents had several sets of plates in our dining room cabinet. My favorites were the ones that had these adorable flamingos all around the edge of the plate and little palm trees next to the flamingos. The serving portion of the plates were a light blue so they reminded me of a little swimming pool.Our fancy plates, for company, were simply white with an elegant gold border around them. They looked like the plates a European king or queen might serve dinner on. (By the way, back then, we had no dishwashers which meant, after dinner, those plates had to be washed in the sink...by hand!)

But, besides what your plates look like, I have another question for you and that is...what do you put on your plate for dinner? Well, let's take a look, shall we?Now I'm sure there's a protein on your plate. Let's see, maybe three or four ounces of fish, chicken or turkey? You know that a lot of people go on those high protein diets but with my FoodMover, we make sure you get a healthy balance of foods from all six food groups. Okay, we've covered your protein.Next, let's look at what kind of starches you put on your plate. That would be a serving of rice, pasta or potatoes. But, remember, we're talking about having those foods in the right size portions, of course. Let's move on to your vegetable selections. Those might include fresh spinach, broccoli, green beans or carrots. Why just look at it...what a colorful plate of healthy foods presented there!

And next to your dinner plate you'll have a little salad plate for, well, your salad of course. How's about a medley of purple cabbage, celery, cherry tomatoes and sliced purple onions, sprinkled with a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing? Now, stand back and just look at that plate of food you've prepared to nourish yourself. You should be proud! But as I'm sure you know, a lot of people's plates look nothing like the one I just described. Ohhhh, no!Some people load their plates with foods like buffalo wings, pizza, cheeseburgers and French fries! Others pile their plates with Chinese food they picked up at a local Asian buffet and brought home with them. Oh, there's rarely a vegetable on their plates. And as far as portions go, their plate is overflowing with food! And let me tell ya', the people whose plates look like that don't lose weight and don't get healthy, either.

So on this Monday, as you plan your meals for the week, plan colorful meals, full of nutrition so you can nourish yourself and...keep your body healthy!And I'm gonna tell you, if you've got a FoodMover from my store, you'll be able to figure out the correct-size portions of the foods you should be eating. Do that and in just a couple of weeks, I promise, you'll be feeling so much better...inside and out!Now, think fresh and this week, try to make the best choices of foods to put on you and your family's plates!Love,