Mixing & Matching: Your Healthy Food Wardrobe

GALTime.com

By Lori Reamer, RD for GalTime.com

Mixing & Matching
Mixing & Matching

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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