What is an easy rule-of-thumb for ensuring relatively well-balanced daily nutrition?

Michael Pollan, author of __The Omnivore’s Dilemma__ has it down to three sentences:

“Eat food. Not too much. Plants mainly.”

@janbb just about sums it up.

According to my endocrinologist, ”Everything in moderation.”

Make sure you have a colorful diet.

(The colors, Duke! The colors!!)

Make sure half of your plate at every meal is filled with fruits or vegetables.

Staying away from processed foods is always a good way to go.

Speaking of colors…@shipwrecks is correct! When you pick colorful fruits and veggies, pick things deep in color. More nutrients.

Portion sizes are important, too. Yes, you can have too much of a good thing. A portion of chicken (for example purposes only) should be no larger than the size of a deck of playing cards.

Eat at least 5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. Make vegetables take up ¾ of your plate. Choose lean protiens in moderation. Choose whole grains in moderation and use fats sparingly.

To clarify Michael Pollan’s rule of thumb as quoted in the first quip, “eat food” means “eat real food.” You know, not crap.

Eat fruits/veggies with a more “wet” or “soft” texture as these usually have water and nutrients in them. Plus they help keep you hydrated.

My nutritionist said:

Eat four portions of green veggies daily
Eat one red, one yellow, and one orange vegetable daily.
Fresh or some dried fruit.
Eat complex carbs. only.
No sugar, no white foods except cauliflower.
67 grams protein. ( I get that from non-meat sources.)
No processed or packaged foods.
Occasional cheating OK.

As others have already stated -real food, vegetables, fibrous foods, and avoid processed foods. If you like meat strive to eat as close to natural as possible-free range grass fed beef, quality raised eggs, free range poultry, bison and avoid soda. High fat deep water fish and flax seed oil are also great for mood and the immune system.
The really hard part is doing it and wanting to do it.

edit: My Intern and my dermatologist both recommend 4000IU/daily of Vitamin D3, which should show up on blood work tests as 70 something per something.

I grind my own flax seed and eat c. 1 T/daily on cereal, in salsa, or in salads.

I would eat only wild fish and never anything farmed. Do you know that there are color-charts to choose what pink or orange the salmon will be after being harvested? Farmed scallops have some kind of lice.

Good for the flax seed oil, try it with cottage cheese-check out Dr. Budwig’s diet-http://home.online.no/~dusan/diseases/cancer/cancer_dr_budwig.html

@Garebo: Thanks for the link, but I am always suspicious of miracle foods and diets. I think cottage cheese and ground flaxseed is fine but in moderation..

How could you not-no reason for flax oil abuse.

So, my plan is a lot easier to follow. I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. And I am very healthy. If you learn to listen to your body, it will tell you what you’re hungry for, be it protein, vegetables, etc. I have a very well-balanced diet, because if I don’t have enough protein I get hungry for protein specifically, and then I go eat some. Today for dinner I was hungry for salad with tuna so I made a big salad with a ton of vegetables and some tuna. I find it’s not as satisfying to eat something I’m not hungry for.

Get a bowl of fiber every morning – add toast or piece of cheese. The rest of your meals should be half vegetables that vary, a quarter protein (mostly boiled) and a quarter carbs (whole grain) + lots of fruits, water and don’t consume sodas, sugary drinks or alcohol

Michael Pollan’s advice is sound. “Eat food” means eat real actual food, not fast food, not over processed food (Cheetos), not nutribars, but actual food you can look and identify with your eyes, food your grandmother would be able to recognize. “Not too much” means keep an eye on the proper number of calories you need to eat and stay within that (or simply don’t have second portions and make your first one smaller), luckily when you eat more veggies the fiber makes you feel fuller and there are less calories per amount of food. And “Mostly plants” means just that, eat fruit and vegetables as much as you can, choose an orange versus a fruit cup, an apple versus potato chips. Plants contain antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, water, and nutrients.

The reason you should avoid processed food is because each stage of processing generally takes some amount of nutrients out of the food whether purposefully or inadvertently, or adds in other less valuable content to bulk up the product. I believe in Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food” he talks about this in relation to white and whole grain breads.

Always eat breakfast, try to cover the three groups (carbs, protein, and fat). I usually go for a bacon and egg muffin sandwich and a cup of coffee with a fruit later on in the morning.

If it’s a simple guide you’re looking for, I highly recommending simply eating more fruit and veggies, and cutting as much liquid calories as you can as those aren’t as valuable compared to drinking water and spending those calories on something with fiber.

The Silverback Diet. Just ask any Silverback.

@lloydbird: That would be bananas and termites, I believe.

@gailcalled No, hugely more varied.
Thanks for calling. (-:

Eat foods of the Rainbow…
(but not just Rainbow Drops like I did for a whole day once)

small portions throughout the day consisting of complex carbs (whole grain foods, lean chicken/turkey breast) a few fish meals a week, apples/bananas here and there. And with lunch/dinner add your veges. Drink a lot of water, milk when you can. If youre hungry, eat some almonds or any nut of your preference