Meal makeovers, part 2

This is the second in a three-part series in which three Cedar Rapids Healthy Food Examiner readers receive meal makeovers from a nutrition expert. Registered Dietitian Kara Behlke of Marion Hy-Vee is showing our readers how to make small, sustainable and healthy changes to their diets. Read along to get expert tips and tools to boost the nutrition of your own meals.

Last week

Our first meal makeover candidate, Marion resident David S., is partial to convenience food breakfasts that are low in protein and fiber but high in fat and sugar. Our expert gave him tips for making healthier breakfasts that are just as convenient for his early-morning lifestyle. She also showed him how to use Hy-Vee's NuVal nutritional scoring system to select more nutritious options from the freezer case. With this meal makeover, our expert says David will have more energy and feel less hungry the rest of the day.

Meet our second meal makeover candidate

Despite a busy life as a human resources professional and mom of a toddler, middle-schooler and high-schooler, Hiawatha resident Brandy L., age 41, takes time out for her health. She stops to read food labels before buying anything and hits the gym for five or six hours a week. She successfully changed her eating habits over the last year and now avoids processed foods, watches her carb intake, and allows herself only one diet soda a week as a treat. With these healthy habits now firmly in place, does she even need a meal makeover?

When we caught up with Brandy to find out, she gave a run-down of her meals the day before, noting it was a fairly typical day for her. For breakfast she had a skinny hazelnut latte, granola bar and banana, which she spread out over the course of a couple of hours. Lunch was carrots with ranch dressing eaten at her desk, followed by a snack of mixed nuts. For dinner at home with her family she had a grilled chicken breast, two tablespoons of low-fat cottage cheese and a slice of whole-grain bread with a little butter. She reports that she tries to have dinner before 6:30 p.m. each night and doesn't eat anything after 7:00 as a rule.

What the expert says
Behlke commends Brandy for all the good things she's doing for her health, but says there is still room for improvement. In fact, Brandy may have gone too far with the changes to her diet and be depriving herself of the calories and nutrients she needs for optimal health.

Behlke explains that a woman of Brandy's age generally needs at least 1,300 calories a day to maintain the basal metabolic rate. At anything less than that, the body goes into "starvation mode." When that happens, metabolism slows significantly as the body tries to reserve energy, making it harder to burn fat and maintain lean muscle mass.

Brandy would benefit from maintaining a food diary for a few days, Behlke says. She should track everything she eats and drinks for three days to a week, including at least two weekdays, and then review her food choices to see if she is getting enough calories and meeting her other daily nutritional targets. Behlke notes there are a number of free on-line tools and smart phone applications Brandy can use to keep track of calories, including the USDA's Super Tracker tool.

Read an overview of other on-line and portable calorie trackers.

Lunch seems to be a particular problem area for Brandy, Behlke says. Her body needs more than carrots to get her through the afternoon. She should include lean protein, whole grains and other fruits and vegetables for a more nutritious and balanced meal. If she isn't hungry enough to eat all of that at one sitting, she should break the meal up into several smaller portions spread out over the course of a few hours, like she currently does with breakfast, with an extra snack an hour or so before her evening workout. By turning lunch into a series of smaller meals, she will maintain her metabolism at a steady pace and her body won't be inclined to store food as fat.

To up her intake of vitamins, minerals and the other nutrients her body needs, Brandy should consider including some of the following easy-to-make options in her lunches:

Salad tossed the night before with mixed greens, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and sliced leftover chicken or hard-boiled egg.
Whole-wheat pita pocket stuffed with hummus and Greek salad.
Half a whole-wheat bagel topped with 1 tablespoon low-fat cream cheese and shredded vegetables.
Whole-wheat tortilla topped with broccoli slaw, 3 ounces sliced lean roast beef and low-fat dressing and wrapped to go.
Whole-wheat pita pocket with 1 tablespoon peanut butter spread inside and stuffed with sliced strawberries, bananas or pears.
Tuna salad (water-packed tuna mixed with light mayonnaise) with whole-grain crackers.
Apple slices with peanut butter yogurt dip made with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon PB2 (peanut butter powder), 1 teaspoon honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Microwaveable vegetable soups with whole-grain crackers or frozen Lean Cuisine entrées (Behlke cautions that Brandy should watch sodium content when selecting these convenient items and use Hy-Vee's NuVal nutritional scoring system to make the best choices).
Low-fat cheese sticks and grapes.

Behlke says Brandy should boost the nutrient level of her dinner by including low-calorie fruits and vegetables. The "My Plate" guidelines recommend that half the dinner plate be filled with fruits and vegetables. Instead of grilling that chicken breast, Brandy could slice it and stir fry it in heart-healthy olive oil with a variety of colorful vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, snow peas, and mushrooms. She also should switch up her proteins. If she eats only chicken, she won't get all the iron her body needs. She should include lean cuts of beef and pork and fish in her diet to ensure she gets a wide variety of nutrients.

Brandy's practice of not eating after 7:00 p.m. is a good habit, Behlke says. When one gives in to late-night cravings often the wrong kinds of calories are consumed. Eating right before bed also promotes acid reflux. On the other hand, Behlke cautions that Brandy should listen to her body. There may be times, especially after a vigorous evening workout, when it needs something more. In those situations, a protein-based snack, like a handful of nuts or low-fat cheese cubes, is a good choice.

The bottom line
By reading labels and avoiding processed foods, Brandy already is on a path to healthier eating. She needs to make sure she gets all the calories and nutrients her body needs to get her through the day and to fuel her workouts. If her diet is too restrictive, it will have the unintended consequence of slowing her metabolism, making it difficult for her to achieve her fitness goals. By eating a variety of proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables throughout the day, Brandy will keep her body's fuel tank on full all day long.

More about the expert

Kara Behlke is a registered dietitian at Marion Hy-Vee who specializes in food, nutrition and health communications. Her services include personal shopping assistance, individual nutrition counseling, community presentations and menu suggestions to help people achieve healthier lifestyles. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact 319-377-4803.

Next week: In part three of the Meal Makeovers series, we'll meet a lawyer and mom of two active teenage girls who wants to find healthier meal-time options but lacks the time and energy to do so. Can our nutrition expert help her get out of her rut?