Subtitles section Play video
-
How do we know if we're getting the right nutrients or if our meals are adequately balanced
-
Now let me tell you firsthand as somebody who has studied and practiced in the field of nutrition it can be confusing and
-
Complicated I get it but nutrition does not have to be difficult so in this video
-
We're gonna simplify it a little bit by exploring a simple yet effective visual tool that helps us ensure that our meals are
-
Nutritionally balanced now we have written a comprehensive article on this on the pickuplines blog
-
I'm gonna link it for you down below because there's more information
-
In there than we can delve into in this particular video
-
And I also want to make mention before we get started that this technique
-
I'm going to share with you is just to be used as a guideline. Not as a strict rule now. Let's get started
-
Many countries have unique food plans that have been created by their governments or by
-
Nutrition authorities to make sure that their citizens are getting the right kind and amount of different nutrients now each
-
Country's food plan is a little bit different
-
But across the board the emphasis tends to be the same which is to focus on making sure you're getting enough fluids
-
Enough fruits and vegetables enough whole grains as well as protein calcium and fat sources now
-
I'm gonna share one of those food guides with you today
-
And it's called the Canada's Food Guide given that this is where I grew up
-
And this is the particular guy that I learned in Canada we have four food groups fruits
-
And vegetables grain products milk and alternatives and meat and alternatives this list shows what the recommended servings are of each food group
-
Based on a person's age and gender. It's an awesome tool. No doubt, but I often had clients asking me well
-
Do I need to count the amount of these foods? I'm eating each day and realistically the answer is not necessarily
-
You're always welcome to record your intake for a couple of days it really does help to see if there's a certain area in which?
-
You might be missing out, but once you know it
-
Then you can make up for it
-
So the question that often be camel is there an easier way to make sure that my meals are properly proportioned and the answer is
-
Yes, here's how?
-
The plate method is a wonderful and effective technique that helps us visualize how to organize those food groups
-
This plate method outlines a proportion of food groups to include when creating
-
nutritionally balanced meals
-
Now a heads up if you want to get a printable copy of this image here that you can post on your fridge
-
See the link in a description box below
-
This isn't the first time that a plate method has been used to compose nutritionally balanced meals
-
I mean because it's such an effective visual tool a lot of organizations have begun to adopt this particular method now
-
You can see that each of these authorities use the plate method in their own way to make healthful eating something that can be easy
-
Now let's break it down a little bit more and share some specifics now
-
We're using a plate here for demonstrative purposes
-
But you could easily use a bowl or any other serving dish so the first thing you want to do is make sure that about
-
half of your serving plate comes from the fruit and/or vegetable category for each meal
-
Now the benefits of this are widely known of course these are loaded with vitamins minerals fiber antioxidants
-
They can help reduce the risk of developing chronic
-
illnesses and
-
So on so you want to get it in any way that you can now the sources of this are well any fruits and/or vegetables
-
That you enjoy
-
One thing we do recommend is that you get at least one
-
serving each day of a green vegetable and one serving each day of an orange vegetable now examples of this can be found in the
-
Article that is in the description box below
-
One pro tip is to use
-
Frozen fruits or veggies for quick and nutrition add-ins to meals we also recommend that you get a little bit more
-
vegetables per day than fruits if you kind of just keep that in the back of your mind the general guideline is about three to
-
Four servings of fruits and about four to six servings of vegetables again, no need to count
-
But if you're generally getting more veggies than fruits each day. You should be good to go
-
Now when it comes to grains we aim for this to take up about a quarter of the plate the benefit of grains is that?
-
The complex carbs that can be found in them provide a fantastic source of sustained energy and fiber
-
Sources that this include oatmeal rice whole grain bread wheat tortillas whole grain pasta quinoa
-
barley millet buckwheat
-
I mean the list goes on one pro tip that we can give is to aim to have a
-
Least half of your grain servings per day come from the whole grain category so the more whole grains you can include the better
-
Moving on to the final quarter of the plate
-
This is plant-based protein sources and the benefit of this of course is
-
Protein which is an essential part to health and nutrition?
-
But the other amazing thing about getting your protein from plant-based sources is that there is the added benefit of fiber both?
-
soluble and insoluble fiber
-
Essentially this means it helps to keep us fuller for longer helps to keep things regular
-
Generally all-around good for us sources include soy products like tofu tempeh and edamame and other rich sources are things like peas all
-
Beans all lentils and most veggie meat
-
Replacements now another source of plant-based protein for vegans, that's also considered a fat
-
Source is any kind of nut or seeds these are things like hemp seeds sunflower seeds pumpkin seeds
-
Walnuts almonds pecans and all forms of not an seed butters now one pro tip is to not be afraid of using canned or jarred
-
Beans and lentils if this means it's gonna help
-
You speed up your meal prep time and make sure you get enough of this essential food group if you're gonna be cooking from scratch
-
And you're in a rush lentils cook a lot faster than beans do and when it comes to incorporating more
-
Nuts and seeds that should be easy enough right we can sprinkle it on top of salads add it to oatmeal's into smoothies or just
-
Enjoy, it as a snack
-
Now we developed something called the three pillars so that in addition to the plate
-
We make sure that we're getting an adequate variety of necessary nutrients that we need for optimal health
-
Now if you can't include this into your meal. It's not a problem
-
You can also include it on the side of your meal, or enjoy it as a snack
-
All right first up is calcium
-
This is something that both vegans and non-vegans
-
Tend to overlook and calcium plays such a crucial role in our bone development and maintenance throughout the lifespan
-
So we want to make sure that we're getting enough our recommendation is that you get at least two servings of calcium
-
Fortified foods each day and we do recommend that you get it from food
-
supplements whenever possible
-
food sources include fortified yogurts like soy
-
Almond rice or coconut yogurts or any kind of plant-based milks that are fortified and this can be included in chai lattes in
-
smoothies or in oatmeal's in place of water
-
The second pillar is fats which is an essential part of a healthy diet because fats play such an integral part in so many functions
-
In the human body and this is also where we find those essential omega-3 fatty acids now the recommendation here
-
is that we get those healthy fats from whole food sources whenever we can because again we get that added benefit of
-
Vitamins and minerals and fiber and antioxidants, so oils are also considered a fat source
-
But we want to use this one in moderation vegan sources of fats are things like avocados all kinds of nuts and seeds nut butters
-
Olives and coconuts such as coconut flakes or coconut milk
-
The final pillar is supplements, this is when we get questions about all the time
-
So let's see if we can address it here vitamin b12 is one of those vitamins
-
That's very rarely found in plant-based sources
-
So it is recommended that vegans either obtain it by consuming fortified foods or more commonly that they're taking a vitamin b12 supplement and vitamin
-
D
-
It is possible for our bodies to synthesize, but it depends on the time of year, and if we are in direct sunlight
-
But if we're not then it's also recommended that we supplement with vitamin D
-
But this applies to everybody not just vegans as far as other supplements are concerned
-
It's generally not required if you're consuming a well-balanced vegan diet it should offer all of the nutrition that we need
-
But if you're concerned or if you have a medical condition
-
And you're unsure you can always see a doctor or a dietician to learn more
-
Ok so we've learned quite a bit so far in this video, but hopefully it's coming across as being quite simple
-
Let's take a quick second to recap we want about half of our plate to come from fruits and vegetables
-
Preferably a little bit more vegetables than fruits
-
We want about a quarter of our plate to come from grain products
-
Preferably more whole grains when possible and we want another quarter of our plate to come from plant-based protein sources on the side either
-
Incorporated into the meal or enjoy it as a snack
-
We want to make sure we're getting about two servings at least per day of calcium rich foods
-
We want to make sure we're getting enough healthy fats as well as a vitamin b12 supplement and possibly a vitamin D
-
Sub - not so bad right now. It's important to note that by developing this plate method and breaking it down
-
We're not trying to recommend that you
-
Meticulously organize your plate in this exact order in fact if you were to look through the pickup lines
-
Recipes you'll notice that not all of them necessarily follow this plate method 100% of the time
-
And that's okay
-
By following this method most of the time
-
things tend to balance out the bottom line is that the plate method is just to be used as a
-
Template or a visual tool to help us create balanced meals
-
Now if you're looking for more concrete examples of this see the article in the description box below where you can also get that
-
Downloadable PDF of the plate method that you can then post onto your fridge
-
To use as a guide for either you or your family members to make sure you're getting the proper proportions of different food groups
-
I know it's something that's really helped me over the years now if you're planning on following this technique
-
Let us know about it share it in the comment section below, or share it with us on Instagram
-
It's always a lot of fun watching you guys incorporate these
-
Techniques into your healthy habits alright before you leave as well be sure to give the video a thumbs up if you learn something new
-
Or if you enjoyed it it means a lot to us when you do. Thanks a lot for watching pick up lines signing off
-
We'll see you in the next video