THE ART OF NOURISHMENT: DISCOVER HOW TO CREATE A MASTERPIECE ON YOUR PLATE

Following the recommendations of The Plate to Healthy Eating, created by nutrition experts from the Harvard School of Public Health and the editors of Harvard Health Publications, we propose the assembly of the healthy, balanced, and complete plate that you must carry out in all your daily intakes if you want to get all the nutrients. It is used as a guide to prepare healthy meals, paying special attention to the quantity and quality of the foods that are part of each dish.

1. First, you should divide your healthy plate with 1/2 amount of vegetables and/or fruits:

• These groups are full of antioxidants, fibers, and vitamins that your body needs daily to counteract the oxidative effect of free radicals, reduce glycemic indexes generated by other foods, and achieve greater satiety by the effect of these to have a lot of water in its composition. The more variety and colors the better!

2. Secondly, you must choose the Proteins, which will make up 1/4 of the healthy dish:

• They can be of animal or vegetable origin, depending on your chosen eating plan. These can be meats and animal derivatives such as eggs or cheeses or even plant foods high in protein such as tofu, lentils, or chickpeas. They will give you satiety for longer, iron, vitamin B12, and will even be important in metabolic functions such as muscle repair.

3. Third, choose carbohydrates, which will also be part of 1/4 of your balanced plate:

• Choose whole grains such as whole wheat, barley, wheat grains, quinoa, oats, fibrous tubers such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes or cassava, corn, legumes or starches in their integral version such as rice or pasta, which have a more moderate effect on blood sugar and insulin than white bread, white rice, and other refined grains. They are in charge of giving us energy!

4. As a fourth place, healthy fats, here in moderation:

• Choose healthy vegetable oils like olive, peanut, or grape first because they are anti-inflammatory oils and high in good quality fats, and avoid partially hydrogenated oils, which contain unhealthy trans fats. Remember that "low-fat" does not mean "healthy."

To complete the healthy dish, last but not least, do not forget about the hydration factor:

• Water, coffee or tea without sugar are important options to achieve the balanced dish. Skip sugary drinks, limit industrialized juice or sweetened beverages if you want to get healthy.

Physical activity: Stay active!

Staying active is also important in weight management and in developing short- and long-term quality of life and health to achieve longevity.

Summary: It is very easy to create a mental image of what the healthy plate or Harvard plate looks like with its rule of proportions on the plate:

• 50% (vegetables)
• 25% (protein)
• 25% (whole grains)

A simple example for a lunch:

• 1/2 plate of raw vegetables or roasted in salads
• 1/4 of a plate of chicken breast or baked fish
• 1/4 of quinoa
• For dessert, a fresh fruit.

That's how easy it is to make a healthy dish, simply meet the proportions of vegetables, proteins, and cereals.

And the recommendations: use healthy fats, hydrate mainly with water, and do physical exercise daily are some of our recommendations in Nutrition plans to start the change of diet you are looking for.

You already have the practical and simple guide to prepare your healthy dish for it!