The Healthy Plate

Do you know the secret to creating a healthy plate?  Do you get confused when it comes to portion control? 

The concept of the healthy plate is really not that complicated and it’s really not a secret at all.  As my high-tech diagram shows, your plate should be made up of the following:

1. Half your plate should be filled with vegetables
2. One quarter of your plate should be filled with a meat or alternative
3. And the remaining quarter will be for your starch serving

By following this simple structure and including the other food group servings as suggested by the Canadian Food Guide, portion control and caloric intake become a little easier to understand. 

Creating Vegetable Side Dishes

There are a wide variety of vegetables to choose from and an even broader selection of styles to serve them.  So don’t worry about getting bored with your veggies. 

And to help, today I’ve included one of my favourite recipes for a vegetable side dish.  It’s quick and easy to make and has a very satisfying taste.

Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

Ingredients (for one serving)

• 1/4 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed
• cooking spray
• pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon light margarine
• 3/4 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray, and season with pepper.
3. Bake asparagus 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender.
4. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, and stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Pour over the baked asparagus to serve.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.  I have changed some of the ingredients to create a healthier version.  I like to use reduced calorie margarine in place of butter and reduced sodium soy sauce.  You can also season with salt and pepper, but I find using just the pepper is enough. 

Happy eating,