Tips for Heathier Eating
A Typical meal should be:
   * bread, starchy food or grain in 1/4th of the plate
    * meat or another form of protein in 1/4th of the plate (optional for breakfast)
    * vegetables (optional for breakfast) in 1/2 of the plate
    * 1 small piece of fruit (fruit vs fruit juice)
    * 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 1/2 cup of pudding or ice cream

                                                                         Smart Choices
              Vegetables:     greens, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, okra, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes
              Fruit:              melon, peaches, pears, apples, cherries, berries, apricots
              Whole grain:   corn, cornmeal, grits, brown or wild rice, oats
              Beans:            black eye peas, limas, butter beans, black beans, peas, peanuts

                                              Instead of:                                       Try this:
                             Butter, margarine, or vegetable oil                             Canola or olive oil
                                      Lard or meat drippings                                 Chicken or beef broth
                                      Vegetable oil (baking)                                          Applesauce
                                     Oil (to prevent sticking)                                Nonstick cooking spray
                           Whole milk, cheese, or cream cheese            Reduced fat milk, cheese, cream cheese
                                                                                                                or buttermilk
                                        Dark meat poultry                                  Skinless white meat poultry
                                     Pork or beef sausage                                Chicken or turkey sausage
                                                Bacon                                    Ham, Canadian bacon or turkey bacon
                                           Heavy Cream                                           Evaporated skim milk
                      Whole milk in mashed potatoes, soup, gravy           Chicken broth or fat-free milk
                                           Pastry dough                                                Phyllo dough
                                     Sour cream or yogurt                     Reduced fat or nonfat sour cream and yogurt
                                            French fries                                            Oven fried potatoes

                                                        Tips for Reducing Calories and Fat:
1.  Choose leanest cuts of meat (round, loin and sirloin).
2.  Substitute 2 meat dishes each week with fish or vegetarian meals.  Limit red meat to 1-2 meals per week.  Choose
     fish and shellfish when you can.  You should have 2 servings of fish each week. 
3.  For cheese, select a strongly flavored variety such as gorgonzola or sharp cheddar and use only a small amount.

                                                              Cooking Tips:
1.  Grill, broil, bake, braise, steam, slow-cook foods instead of frying.  Saute with minimal oil or use cooking spray.    
     Drain fat from cooked meats and blot with paper towel if necessary.
2.  Instead of deep-frying breaded foods, oven-fry.  Marinate in buttermilk, coat in dry crumbs, spray food with 
     cooking spray and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.  Finish under broiler for a minute or two to brown.
3.  Cut back on salt and sugar.  Cook with paprika, bay leaf, basil, oregano, nutmeg, rosemary, and salsas.  Use liquid
     smoke to add traditional flavor without adding calories.  Chop fresh herbs in place of dried.  Try a few drops of lemon
     or lime juice on a baked potato instead of salt.  Use low-cal artificial sweeteners instead of sugar, but beware if you
     are diabetic.  Artificial sweeteneres are harder for the body to process and may cause blood sugar to
     increase.  You can trim the sugar by up to half in many sweets and baked goods.  You will lose some sweetness, but
     if the recipe calls for vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, or cinnamon, you can add a little extra to help replace the flavor.
4.  Use chopped vegetables, beans and whole grains to replace some of the meat in all types of recipes including soup,
     stew, casseroles, meat loaf, burgers, and chili.
5. And remember  -  if you can drive up to a window to pick up your food, you probably
    shouldn't be eating there!