Mixing & Matching: Your Healthy Food Wardrobe
By Lori Reamer, RD for GalTime.com
Do you know anything about the fashion wardrobing concept of mix, match and multiply?
If you own a handful of key core items you can create numerous outfits!
You see this principle at work when you page through a fashion magazine or when you work with a personal wardrobe consultant.
But...did you know you can use this same concept to create food-fits? Nutritional and yummy, at the same time-a win-win.
Here are my top ten food picks, my food wardrobe, if you will:
Fruit: apple, berries
Related: An Apple a Day: Wise Adage for Health
Vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower
Starchy carbs: brown rice, sweet potato
Lean and clean protein: chicken breast, salmon
Fashionable fats: almonds and olive oil
Wha-lah, with the wave of my magic nutrition wand I have combined these ten basic foods to form a variety of different meals for which the whole is greater than the sum of their parts!
Apple berry salad; grilled chicken; brown rice with steamed broccoli florets
Stir-fry chicken with brown rice, broccoli and cauliflower; baked apple
Grilled salmon topped with apple coulis; sweet potato garnished with almonds; berry fruit smoothie
Baked chicken breast dusted with crushed almonds; roasted sweet potato wedges; fresh berries
Related: Eat This, Not That! Some Great Advice
Baked and shredded sweet potato and apples topped with slivered almonds; grilled salmon; broccoli grilled in olive oil
Baked salmon dredged in olive oil and topped with almonds; mashed cauliflower; warm apple berry compote
Stir-fry salmon with brown rice, broccoli and diced apple; berries garnished with almonds
Shredded apples, broccoli, cauliflower with diced chicken; sweet potato fries
Pounded chicken breast with brown rice and chopped apples rolled inside; steamed broccoli
Sweet potato soup garnished with almonds; stir-fry brown rice with broccoli
Here are some tips for building your own Fashionable, and Nutritious Food Wardrobe:
Pick two fruits, two vegetables, two starchy carbohydrates, two lean proteins and two fats and mix, match and multiply them in the following ways:
Vary the cooking methods (bake, grill, sauté, steam, etc.)
Vary the shape (strips, patties, etc.)
Vary the size (whole, chopped, grated)
Related: 5 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight
Vary the consistency (whole, pureed)
Vary the temperature
Alter which food serves as the main course
Create a meatless meal
Season differently
Use fruits to create sauces for grain or protein dishes
Add vegetables and fruits to grains to add flavor and texture
Create salads, soups or stir-fries
If you also allow yourself to use a handful of staple pantry items you can create many more meals. For example: use eggs and whole wheat bread crumbs and mix with shredded vegetables or flaked fish to make veggie or fish patties.
So, if you are in the mood for simplifying your food without resigning yourself to eating the same foods cooked in the same way meal after meal, applying wardrobing concepts to your food makes perfect food-fit sense!
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