AARP Rewards Healthy Plate Contest, Week 1 May 3-9, 2021

I don't drink juices, I eat the whole fruit. I drink flavored zero calorie water and avoid sodas. I make my own coffee with sugar-free creamer and avoid the high calorie and high cost of restaurant-bought coffees. These tips have worked for me!

I try to keep a plate of cut up vegetables, like sweet peppers, cucumbers, celery, carrots, jicama and more, on the table at all times. No dip, just vegetables. They are a healthier alternative to crackers and other snacks and also help fill us up.

I have been gradually switching my consumption from mainstream products to cleaner healthier small-batch brands.

We love roasted vegetables like butternut squash (or sweet potatoes/red potatoes combo) with sweet yellow/red/orange peppers, poblano peppers, red onions or shallots, and garlic, with olive oil and S&P (or many other combinations). Even though I'm only cooking for two these days, I fill the oven with several pans of veggies. Then we can have them for dinner with meat or fish, and veggie bowls for lunch the next couple of days.

We bought and use smaller plates for meals to help with portion control. Knowing you can always get '2nds' if you want lets us start with less and helps maintain healthy eating habits.

I have found that tracking on an app such as my fitness pal really helps me keep my eating under control!  It will break down my carb, fat, protein intake to help me make sure I am eating the right foods.  It also encourages you to exercise more to be able to consume more healthy foods in your day! 😊

Soup and salad are now my staples! Every week I cook two pots of soup: one is shock-full of green vegetables, the other is a bean or lentil or grain soup. The former is for the evening meal, the latter for a more substantial lunch. Composed salad for lunch and green salad for dinner as well!  You see it's not a healthy plate for me, only healthy bowls! 

Each meal, I microwave up a bag of my favorite veggies (spinach or broccoli) and add them to whatever I'm eating. Simple, inexpensive and adds delicious, healthy and fiber-filled yumminess to my meals. 

In addition to making our diet mostly Mediterranean with heavy emphasis on vegetables, grains and fruit based meals, we brush our teeth immediately after dinner and hang out the CLOSED sign in the kitchen at 7pm!

Last year, 2020, we regularly took advantage of sales on strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.  We froze them in single batches and in mixed batches.  Throughout the Winter, and now Spring, we have thawed a container of these healthy berries to eat either with or meals or as an dessert afterwards.  I even froze batches of strawberries & rhubarb that I cooked into a sauce, which we use on pancakes now instead of sugary syrups.  All fiber rich and full of vitamin and healthy nutrients!