Irwindale, CA – The government’s Choose MyPlate recommendations for healthy eating provide a simple, visual explanation for building healthy, balanced meals. The first key message of the MyPlate program is to “make half your plate fruits and vegetables.” Many Americans are striving for that half plate goal at every meal, while others struggle to work in any fruits or vegetables to their diets at all. Ready Pac Foods, a leading producer of fresh foods including fresh-cut produce, has many ideas that make adding vegetables and fruit to your diet easier at readypac.com.
“Ready Pac fresh-cut salads, fruit and vegetable snacks take the work out of fresh produce preparation,” said Tristan Simpson, director of marketing at Ready Pac. “The open-and-serve convenience and wonderful fresh flavor of our items make following the MyPlate recommendations very easy.”
Simpson shared some of her favorite tips, including starting her week off by preparing cold dinner plates on Sunday nights to use for busy Monday night dinners. She starts with cold vegetables, made simple with a bag of Ready Pac fresh-cut salad, such as Spring Mix, topped with other veggies, and fills about one-third of each plate. Next she adds fresh-cut fruit to fill half the plate with fruits and vegetables, and then divides the remaining half of the plate between cold grains and protein. She creates flavor themes based on the ingredients she has available. A recent plate included Ready Pac fresh-cut pineapple, a brown rice salad, sliced grilled chicken and Ready Pac Baby Arugula, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated. At dinner time she simply unwrapped the plates, drizzled the chicken and arugula with a little Asian salad dressing, and served with a glass of low-fat milk.
Breakfast and lunch during the work week are two of the areas that often miss out on fruits and vegetables. Ready Pac Bistro® Bowl Salads provide at least two of the MyPlate recommendations, vegetables and protein, with fewer than 300 calories each and significant time savings. Some also feature cheese and/or whole grains. The bowl salads include dressings and a handy fork, making them ideal for taking to work. To complete the MyPlate recommendations, simply add a small fruit salad or a piece of fruit, a glass of milk and some grains, such as a packet of rye crackers, for those bowl salads that do not already include grain or dairy. The bowl salads are also great on the run, such as on planes and trains, or wherever a convenient, delicious salad meal strikes your fancy.
Simpson also suggests bringing a family-size bowl of Ready Pac fresh-cut fruit to work on Mondays, storing in the work refrigerator and adding a serving of fruit to breakfasts and lunches every day. Those who do not have refrigerators at work can pack a lunch cooler with a Ready Pac 10.5oz container of fresh-cut fruit, such as Fruit Medley, a delicious combination of seasonal fresh fruit, and split it between breakfast and lunch. With no washing, peeling or chopping necessary, there’s no mess or waste.
Fresh-cut produce makes hot MyPlate meals easier as well. Ready Pac fresh-cut spinach cooks in about 3 minutes, and is delicious on its own or combined with grains such as pasta and rice. Fresh-cut fruit, such as Ready Pac mango, is perfect for kabobs and grilling.
“Following the MyPlate guidelines is especially easy with grilled meals,” said Simpson. Just grab a bag of salad, grill your fish, poultry or meat and warm some whole wheat tortillas on the grill. Then enjoy fresh-cut fruit topped with low-fat yogurt for dessert!”
Source: Ready Pac