Eats part II...

I began laying out portions in the last post and need to finish with meats and fats.  

Meats and meat substitutes are probably the most involved and surprising group, and we get a lot less here that most of us are used to.  For a 1500 calorie diet, you should only have about 5 ounces of meat a day, and unfortunately, cheese is grouped into this category.  Meats are divided into very lean, lean, medium-fat and high-fat.  Some examples of very lean meats are fat free cheese, white chicken and turkey with no skin, Fresh, frozen or canned fish and egg whites.  Lean meats include low fat cheeses with 2-3 grams of fat per ounce, lean beef (round, flank, sirloin), and salmon/catfish.  Medium-fat meats include most other cuts of beef, cheeses with 4-7 grams of fat per ounce, dark meat chicken and turkey, pork (top loin, chop, cutlets), and tofu.  It surprised us to learn that tofu actually had a pretty high fat content, and also that several cuts of beef are more healthy than dark meat poultry!  All regular cheeses (that aren't low or non-fat) are grouped into the high-fat meats category.  It's also important to point out that egg whites and tofu are not included in the 5 ounce a day recommendation.  You can have more of those!  

Finally, fats are grouped into three groups: mono-unsaturated, poly-unsaturated and saturated.  For heart health, it's important to choose fats from the first two groups, and four or less servings should be included in your daily calories.  A serving of mono-unsaturated fats include avocado (only 1/8 per serving), 1 teaspoon olive and canola oil, 2 teaspoons peanut butter and 1 tablespoon nuts and seeds.  One serving of poly-unsaturated fats include 1 teaspoon or regular margarine, mayonnaise and corn oil, or one tablespoon of light margarine and mayonnaise.  Unfortunately, some of our favorites are included in the saturated fats group which we are advised to stay away from.  Per serving, these include 1 slice of bacon, 1 teaspoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of cream and 2 tablespoons of sour cream.  

Given all of these portion sizes and quantities, it gets pretty hard to structure your diet to include everything.  The basic rule for meals is to have half of your plate taken up by vegetables, 1/4 by starch, and 1/4 by meat.  Fruits and dairy are pictured on the side.  

Hope you were able to learn something you didn't already know from all of this information!