There
are many people who could benefit from a more nutritious diet. Even if
someone has a balanced diet, there is always room for improvement. Personally, I feel that my
diet is pretty balanced. However, I know I need to work on certain aspects.
One
strength I have is my cooking ability. We
rarely eat out, and I cook 98% of my families meals
and do not own a microwave. I do not cook
from a package or a box, and do not use ready-made meals. Everything we eat is made from scratch. I also preserve food from local farms for the months when the
growing season is over.
Another
strength within my diet is the fact that I love vegetables. During the growing season, we have
an overabundance of vegetables from our local CSA. However, while
vegetables are a strength for me, when it
comes to fresh fruit, while it is always on hand I have a tendency of saving it
for my children. One way I can improve my intake of fruit is by adding it to my
meals by way of salads.
Another
issue I have come to realize I have is
with getting enough protein as I do not eat much
meat. I have come to realize that I have only been eating protein at one meal per
day. I am looking into ways to incorporate
protein into each meal. One way I am
doing this by searching the internet for websites to get ideas. One website I have found is One Green Planet which has an article called 10 Simple Ways to Eat at Least 10 Grams of Protein at
Each Meal Without Meat that looks to be
very helpful.
While
I am good at making sure I have correct portions during my meals;
there are many that struggle with it. Something I have found that helps with
this, without going out and purchasing a food scale is this picture that shows the hand scale.
Another
good guide for people to follow is this photo
from the Portion Plate
While
I feel thankful that I have the knowledge and understanding about
food that I do, I know there is always more to learn. I cannot wait to learn more and be able to help others as well. I am a firm believer in the quote "to act on knowledge, people must change their behaviors, and while this may sound simple enough, behavior change often takes substantial effort" (Sizer & Whitney, 2013. Page 18). After all, something worth having is worth working for, and living a healthy life is worth it to me.
References
References
Sizer, F. & Whitney, E.
(2013). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies
(13th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.