Healthy Eating on the Go: A Guide to Dining Out, Traveling, and More

A healthy diet is an important

 cornerstone of good health, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.

Along with exercise and stress management, healthy eating reduces your risk of lifestyle diseases and helps manage health conditions (1

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, 2

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Jess Craven/Stocksy United

The basics of healthy eating

Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, lactose-free milk, fortified soy milk

Protein-rich foods: seafood, meat, poultry, eggs, peas, beans, nuts, seeds, and soy products

Grains: wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley

Fruits: fresh, canned, frozen, or dried fruits and 100% fruit juice

Vegetables (nonstarchy): fresh, canned, frozen, or dried vegetables (raw or cooked) and 100% vegetable juice

How to fill your plate for a healthy meal

Fill half of your plate with nonstarchy vegetables like spinach or collard greens.

Then, fill one-fourth of your plate with protein-rich foods, such as chicken, fish, or navy beans, depending on your preferences.

Lastly, fill the remaining one-fourth of your plate with grains like rice or quinoa.

Healthy snacks

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However, the average American doesn’t eat a very healthy diet. The Healthy Eating Index from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave the average American diet a score of 59 out of 100, using the most recent data from 2015 (3).

Healthy eating while you’re away from home and on the go can pose unique challenges.

You may be tempted to skip meals. It may also be hard to find out where to purchase nutritious foods, decide what you should pack in your lunch bag, and determine how to maintain a balanced meal while eating out.

This comprehensive guide explains how to maintain a nutritious diet while you’re on the go

.

To eat healthy, you need to get a variety of nutrients from the five food groups — dairy, protein-rich foods, grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Each food group offers a different, main nutritional benefit, so by combining the food groups you can get a spectrum of nutrients that support good health.

Examples of foods from each group are:

MyPlate is a nutritional guide and meal planning tool that helps people eat healthy. The USDA developed it based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

It recommends making at least half of your grains whole grains, varying your protein sources, and choosing low fat or fat-free dairy products.

To build a healthy plate — whether it’s for a meal or a snack — try pairing foods from at least two food groups to get a diversity of nutrients.

Healthy meal example 1: baked garlic butter chicken, stir fry vegetables, and rice

Healthy meal example 2: a cheese sandwich made with whole grain bread, cottage cheese, and sliced tomatoes

Pair a grain with a protein-, fat-, or fiber-rich food.

Your body digests mixed meals that include protein, healthy fats, and fiber more slowly than grains alone. This makes you feel full for longer, which can help support a healthy weight and blood sugar management.

Healthy snack example 1: an apple and nut butter

Healthy snack example 2: yogurt with dried fruit and nutshttps://technodzm.blogspot.com/?m=1