Channel: Lee Health

Category: Education

Tags: dining outsave moneyfruitcooking mealsmy platevegetablesmeals to-gonutritious mealsmeals at homecookbookhome cookingingredientscookingbutterportion sizesclinical dietitiansaltoverall healthhealthy cookingcalorieslean proteinusdasodiumwhole grainmyplatepreparing home mealsrestaurantsmeals

Description: Extra salt, butter, and calories—you may not have ordered them, but they're usually the added ingredients that usually come with dining out. "Dining out comes at the cost of having a lot more added fat, a lot more added salt, and just a lot more calories since the portion size at restaurants may be more than what we would prepare for ourselves at home," said Lee Health clinical dietitian, Noel Konken. Cooking more meals at home can keep you in control of the ingredients. "Not only do we save money, and also have better nutritious meals, it's also an opportunity to have more time as a family, cooking that meal together," said Konken. When deciding what to cook, she recommends using MY PLATE to keep your meals healthy and full of nutrition. "The USDA has the MyPlate which definitely shows what a plate should be looking like at our meals. We have half of our plate as vegetables or fruit, a quarter of our plate as a lean protein source, and then the other quarter as a whole grain option," she said. Cooking with a variety of seasonings and spices can help you add flavor to your meal while limiting unhealthy ingredients like salt and sauces. "Investing in a cookbook is a great way to kind of start to experiment with different cultures of foods," Konken said. Cooking healthy, trying new recipes, and limiting the number of times you dine out can cut back on your spending and improve your overall health. View More Health Matters video segments at LeeHealth.org/Healthmatters Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care. Visit LeeHealth.org