August 16, 2010 Super Diet, Not Just Superfoods.

Quinoa has made more than one list of superfoods – among them, WebMD;s list of 10 Everyday Super Foods. But as Superfood columnist Darya Pino points out in her recent article, The Myth Of Superfoods, a super diet is far more important.

We’re sure you’d be rich if you had a nickel for every time you heard that eating right is important – but despite hearing this from the time we’re old enough to sit at the dinner table, WebMD reported in 2007 that only one in seven American adults eat right and exercise. Super foods may seem like a sexier alternative to a balanced, complete diet, but therein lies the myth: there is no real alternative to a healthy diet.

While it may not be as exciting as the latest berry to come out of Peru, or as exotic as a new edible seagrass from Japan, a good old-fashioned diet built around the food pyramid is the healthiest way you can eat. This isn’t the food pyramid you learned about in grade school, however. As our understanding of health, nutrition, food interactions, and our bodies’ needs evolve, so does the food pyramid. The current version of the food pyramid was developed in 2005, but as Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every five years by the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), the 2010 update is due out very soon.

None of this means that superfoods are a bunk idea. A kiwi can still supply your daily requirement for Vitamin C; salmon is still dense with omega-3 fatty acids. Quinoa is still packed with proteins, fiber, iron, zinc, Vitamin E, and selenium. The “myth” of superfoods is that they are a substitute for healthy eating habits, rather than a part of them.

Perhaps the diet industry is to blame on some level. Just using the word diet can summon thoughts of bland meals, dull flavors, and going hungry. But you’re on a diet already – since your ‘diet’ is just what you eat, for better or worse. The good news is that healthy eating doesn’t have to be bland or dull, and it doesn’t mean having to go hungry.

Don’t worry that you don’t have time to drop everything and become a nutrition expert. A little food know-how goes a long away, and small, gradual changes to your diet are likely to last longer than a sudden and radical shift in your eating habits. Here’s a few baby steps to get you started on the path to making great food choices without a degree in nutrition:

Print out MyPyramid.gov’s Mini Poster (PDF) and stick it on the fridge. It’s a simple guide to getting your daily recommended allowance of foods from the five major food groups, and using this as a guideline to plan meals will put you way ahead of the game. If it seems daunting, just approach one food group a week – or even two weeks. In just five or ten short weeks, you’ll be a nutritional ninja, making sure your body gets everything it needs while still eating the foods you love.
Each trip to the grocery store, single out a few items you purchase regularly and read the labels. No one has time to stand around all day studying nutrition labels, but don’t bank on the giant red letters on the front that read ‘low fat’ being synonymous with ‘healthy’. Compare your favorite brands with other choices, and don’t assume that ‘expensive’ means ‘good’. In just six months, your supermarket skills will be finely honed, and you’ll know which are the best choices to bring home and put on the table.
Start a recipe file that supports your healthy eating habits. Pop culture is on your side; celebrity chefs everywhere are producing recipes for delicious, healthy foods. Websites such as the Mayo Clinic make it a point to offer a bevy of free, printable, healthy recipes for everyone – from seasoned chef to kitchen beginner. You’re bound to find dishes you love to both cook and eat, with ingredients to suit your budget. Add a recipe or two each week, and soon you’ll have an arsenal of meal options that are good and good for you.
Keep an eye on superfoods lists, and put them in their proper place. While superfoods are not a replacement for eating right, they are like an added boost to a healthy diet. Getting your daily 3oz of whole grains is good – but quinoa twice a week packs an extra punch with its zinc and Vitamin E content. Eating lean proteins is great – but brown rice and beans will form a complete protein, while providing additional nutrients like magnesium, potassium, B-vitamins, and niacin. Think of superfoods as the ace-high in your nutritional hand; the best of the good.
Get the whole family in on it. Anyone who cooks for a family knows that getting everyone to sit down at the table and eat a meal together can be like herding cats, and trying to feed your family better can be a thankless job. But a few slick tactics can get the whole family interested. Your image-conscious teenaged daughter can stay just as slender as her friends, without giving up the healthy glow her skin gets from eating right. Sports-obsessed sons can leave the big cans of horrible-tasting powder drinks behind, and still pack on all the lean muscle mass they need. Younger children can have great fun with the ‘5 a Day – The Color Way‘ system; there’s even a 5 a Day coloring book (PDF) to help them learn about making smart fruit and veggie choices. Let them get in on the cooking fun with recipes like Eloise’s favorite healthy snack – easy enough for a kid to make, but healthy and delicious. With a little applied effort, pretty soon the whole family will be looking forward to meal time.
Work at your own pace. Unlike diets focused on deprivation, when you’re moving towards healthier eating habits, any improvement is a good one. If you’re pressed for time this week, skip the label reading. If you don’t have time to learn a new recipe, use one you’ve already learned. Developing healthy eating habits isn’t about flipping a switch, and doesn’t need to be yet another source of stress. Do what you can, when you can. Preparing healthy, delicious foods should be a joy, not a burden.
Put it in perspective. Eating right isn’t just a good idea, it’s vital to the quality of your life. If you get home from work too tired to cook, there’s a very good possibility that’s because the foods you’re eating aren’t giving you the energy you need to handle your day. If you have trouble getting up in time to have breakfast, consider that the quality of your diet absolutely affects the quality of your sleep. Over time, poor eating habits can play a major role in leading to things like heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, just to name a few. There’s nothing wrong with throwing down the gauntlet and declaring good eating habits important, or with declaring learning how to prepare healthy meals a valuable use of your time. Eating right starts with you knowing that you need to, and making no apologies for doing it.
Make it social. We’re willing to bet you’re not the only person on your street struggling with how to eat better, or the only cook in your neighborhood who doesn’t have all the time in the world to become an expert on preparing healthy meals. Get a few friends in on the game and mix priorities with pleasure. Have a healthy recipe Saturday swap meet, share what you find out reading nutrition labels with your group. Many hands make for light work – and in this case, a little knowledge can go a long way. Starting your own healthy cooking club can turn the quest for good eating habits into outright fun.

Might we offer the first set of recipes in your new recipe file focused on you and your family eating healthier? Here’s how you can get your daily recommended whole grains at any and every meal, without sacrificing an ounce of flavor.

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