How to Create a Satisfying and Nutritious Meal

(Using Harvard Medical School Healthy Eating Plate model)

By Tedi Nikova, BASc, MPH ( c )

Healthy Eating Plate. (2015). Retrieved from: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

What is a healthy plate? How can I create a plate that is filling and satisfying while still getting in a nutritious meal? These are common roadblocks I often see people facing when making their meal. Most of understand what a healthy choice is to make, but are confused how we can make up our plate to create a satisfying meal. I will be Using the backbone of the, Harvard medical school healthy eating plate model, created by the T.H Chan School of Public health, in order to show the formula for a satisfying meal, while helping to ensure all vitamin/ mineral requirements are also being met. This formula can be modified to different diet types, such as vegan, low carbohydrate, paleo. The healthy plate model is very similar in layout the new Canada’s food guide, (Government of Canada, 2020). I will be also adding in my personal recommendations to help translate the plate model into the creation of the meal.

Vegetables and Fruit

Vegetables and a smaller fraction of fruits make up about half of the plate on the plate model, (Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019). Non-starchy Vegetables contain less carbohydrates and calories, then other food groups.An example of non-starchy vegetables include tomato, cucumber, dark leafy greens. This plate model excludes potatoes as a source of vegetables, however does not exclude other starchy vegetables such as squash or sweet potato, possibly do the higher nutritional value of these foods compared to that of a potato, (Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019). This plate model promotes to aim for colourful vegetables and fruit this will assure a variety of vitamins and minerals are in the diet, sending the message that not one vegetable or fruit can provide all of the vitamins and minerals our body needs, (Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019).

My Tips:

#1. Purchase a variety of vegetables and fruit from the produce aisle. Try new vegetables and fruit that you have never tasted, to help increase variety in the diet. This can help increase satisfaction in your meal, as well as help you get different vitamins and minerals you were not consuming before.

#2. Get creative with vegetables! Baking your veggies, creating a stir-fry, making a vegetable soup or pureeing carrots or cauliflower to create a mash can change the appeal of the vegetable and add a lot more flavours. With the right cooking technique and seasonings vegetables are a very delicious choice.

Protein:

Protein makes up ¼ of the plate model, with lean proteins and plant based protein encouraged over higher fat animal proteins, (Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019). Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health (2019) makes an important distinction that protein comes in a package of other components such as sodium, fats, fibre. For example 1 cup of lentils contain 18 g of protein, 15 g of fibre with no saturated fat or sodium, compared to a 4-ounce steak contains 33 g protein 5 grams of saturated fat. Choosing more plant based options and lean meats has a beneficial effect for several diseases including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, as well as weight control, due to more beneficial nutrients and less saturated fats founds in plant sources of protein, (Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019). Choices of lean meats include lean cuts of chicken and turkey, plant sources include legumes, nuts and seeds. T.H Chan: School of Public Health (2019) also mentions the concept of complete and incomplete protein. Complete proteins coming from animal foods, contain all 9 essential amino acids, these are building blocks of protein that the body cannot produce by itself, and therefore needs to be consumed through the diet. Plant protein sources often lack one or more of the essential amino acids, and are therefore incomplete sources of protein, eating a variety of plant proteins, can assure that all essential amino acids are consumed, which serve as building blocks for several important body function, (T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019)

The current recommendations for protein is a large range from 10- 35 % of calorie requirements, or 0.8 g/kg, Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019). A 2010 systemic review on macronutrient composition and weight management, showed that higher protein, making up 30% of total calories, is linked to greater satiety, and can help with weight management, (Abete, Astrup, Martínez, Thorsdottir, Zulet, 2010). Protein is an essential part of the meal to help increase satiety and keep you fuller for longer (Graaf, Blom, Smeets, Stafleu, Hendriks, 2004). Protein also has a the highest thermic effect of food, which means our body requires more calories to burn this food, this is also a biomarker for satiety, (Graaf et al, 2004).

Whole Grains

Whole grains make up, ¼ of the plate model. T.H Chan: School of Public Health (2019) makes the statement that whole grains have the full package of nutrition compared to refined grains, whole grains are not stripped away from essential nutrients. Nutrients in whole grains includes; fibre, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, antioxidants and phytochemicals that are linked to disease prevention. T.H Chan: School of Public Health (2019) provides a method to tell if a food product is a whole grain, if the first and or second ingredient list is 100% whole grain, or choose the unrefined whole grain (Eg. Brown rice, kamut, bulgur, quinoa). T.H Chan: School of Public Health (2019) states that most grain choices should be whole grains, due to the beneficial effect of whole grains for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and digestive health, and the possible detrimental effects on processed grains on health,T.H Chan: School of Public Health (2019).

A key insight why fibre is beneficial for weight loss, is due to the fact that higher fibre containing foods tend to have a lower glycemic index. The glycemic index of a food is the rate at which the food, breaks down into sugar in the bloodstream, (Zafar, Mills, Zheng, Peng, Ye, & Chen, 2018). The larger in rise in blood sugar, the larger the glycemic index is. A slower rise in blood sugar, lower glycemic index, will result in a slower insulin release, results in higher blood glucose concentrations, leading to increased satiety and reduced hunger, (Zafar, et al, 2018). The larger the blood sugar spikes the more insulin the body releases, the higher insulin level creates a cascade of processes that promotes the storage of calories into our cells and decreased glucose in the blood stream, which can lead to an increase in hunger levels at a quicker rate then that of lower glycemic foods.

Healthy Fats (Plant Oils)

Plant oils are recommended in moderation, as a dressing for food, or utilized in cooking, (T.H Chan: School of Public Health, 2019). Sources of plant oils include olive oil, canola oil and sunflower oil. T.H Chan: School of Public Health (2019) states the point that, the type of fat we consume plays a large role in our health. Good fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, lower risk of disease, sources of these fats include vegetable oils, fatty fish, nuts/seeds. Bad fat, saturated and trans fats can raise the bad cholesterol in the body, trans fats more than saturated fats, as well as through a cascade of events have negative impacts on overall cardiovascular health. Sources of saturated and trans fats include, milk products such as butter, and in animal meats, plant sources palm and coconut oil. Trans fats are mainly in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, however these have been dramitically slowed down in production, due their negative health effects.

Fats also play an essential role in increasing satiety. Adding more healthy fats in specific, these are called mono-unsaturated fats can have many beneficial aspects to cardiovascular health and even weight management, (Abete et al, 2010). Sources of unsaturated fats which feature monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, include vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.

I want to put a spotlight on olive oil. Olive oil contains a very high amount of polyphenols compared to over vegetable oils. Polyphenols play a role as antioxidants, which can fight the damage of oxidative damage in the body, Schwingshackl et al, 2019). Include olive oil in the cooking process, or as a dressing can have a positive impact on cardiovascular health, through lowering bad cholesterol and reducing damage in the body from free radicals, (Schwingshackl et al, 2019).

References

Abete, I., Astrup, A., Martínez, J. A., Thorsdottir, I., & Zulet, M. A. (2010). Obesity and the metabolic syndrome: role of different dietary macronutrient distribution patterns and specific nutritional components on weight loss and maintenance. Nutrition Reviews, 68(4), 214–231. doi: 10.1111/j.1753–4887.2010.00280.x

Government of Canada. (2020). Canada’s food guide Retrieveded from https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/

Graaf, C. D., Blom, W. A., Smeets, P. A., Stafleu, A., & Hendriks, H. F. (2004). Biomarkers of satiation and satiety. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 79(6), 946–961. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/79.6.946

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

Harvard T.H Chan: School of Public Health. Healthy Eating Plate. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

Schwingshackl, L., Krause, M., Schmucker, C., Hoffmann, G., Rücker, G., & Meerpohl, J. J. (2019). Impact of different types of olive oil on cardiovascular risk factors: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475319302662