Family & Consumer Science Agent, UGA Cooperative Extension Chatham County

Healthy Eating has a new look and you can too. There is a new U.S. symbol for healthy eating which was announced by the Department of Agriculture June 2, 2011 - the new “MyPlate”. It is bright, colorful and easy to read. MyPlate promotes fruits and vegetables, which cover half the plate. Grains occupy a quarter of the plate as do proteins, such as meat, fish and poultry. A glass of dairy rests to the side. It is believed to be simpler for consumers to understand and is meant to be a guide for healthy eating.
Some general guidelines to get you started include:
Balancing Calories
• Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Avoid oversized portions.
Foods to Increase
• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Make at least half your grains whole grains.
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
Foods to Reduce
• Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ? and choose the foods with lower numbers.
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
Would you like to have a personalized meal plan, learn healthy eating tips, get weight loss information or analyze your diet? You can get all of this information and much more for free by visiting www.choosemyplate.gov . One of my favorite parts of the website is the Ten Tips Nutrition Education Series. It provides tips on healthy eating on a variety of topics: including smart shopping, healthy eating, being a role model for your kids, liven up your meals with fruits and vegetable, cutting back on children’s sweets, building a healthy meal and other topics.
The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension also has the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program that is offered in Spanish or English in Chatham, Wayne, Appling and surrounding counties. This program is free and can be obtained by contacting the local EFNEP Program Assistant in your area. We come to you and deliver a series of nutrition sessions, which include food demonstrations, recipes, information on nutrition, how to prepare quick and economical meals, and much more.
To find out more information in Chatham contact Carmen Martinez at (912) 652-7994 or martinez@uga.edu for Appling/Wayne or surrounding counties contact Fani Orellana at (912) 367-8130 or fanio@uga.edu . The program is free and client information is confidential.