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