Today's multicultural environment provides a variety of foods from which to construct a healthy diet. This list of recommended foods and brands are not only nutritionally sound choices, but in many cases convenient as well.

Foods on this list must:
1. Contribute important nutrients characteristic of the food type. For example, recommended fruits and vegetables contribute sizable amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium and/or dietary fiber.
2. Be low in total fat. This means less than 5 grams of fat per serving for most foods, and less than 35 percent of total calories from fat in meat-based foods.
3. Contain low to moderate amounts of sodium and/or sugar. Recommended foods have less than 4 milligrams of sodium per calorie, and less than 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of sugar per serving.

Fruits and Vegetables

• Baked or boiled potatoes (with the skin)
• Baby carrots, fresh carrots, frozen carrots
• Sweet potatoes, yams
• Broccoli and cauliflower
• Frozen vegetable combinations with carrots and/or broccoli
• Prepared salad vegetables, including spinach, shredded broccoli
• Citrus fruits (e.g. grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, tangelos)
• Bananas
• Lower-fat, lower-sodium spaghetti sauce (e.g.Healthy Choice, Ragu Light)

Fast Food

• Boston Market: One-Quarter Skinless White Meat Chicken Meal with low calorie vegetable and fruit
• McDonald's: Fajitas
• Taco Bell: Border Lights Taco or Taco Supreme, Chicken Breast Tacos or Burritos
• Wendy's: Chili
• Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwiches

Breads, Cereals and Grains

• 100 percent whole-wheat bread
• Wheat germ
• Whole-grain ready-to-eat cereals (e.g. Shredded Wheat, Oatmeal, Grapenuts, President's Choice Ancient Grains, Fantastic Foods Cereal Cups, Healthy Choice Squares, Quaker Corn Bran)
• Whole-wheat couscous
• Whole-wheat and yellow corn tortillas and fat-free tortilla chips

Protein Sources

• Legumes (e.g. pinto beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, navy beans, etc.)
• Low sodium, dehydrated soup cups
• Lean meats (e.g. beef round steak or roast, beef sirloin, pork loin or tenderloin, chicken or turkey breast)
• Fresh fish or frozen unbreaded fish (e.g. Gorton's Grilled Fish Fillets)

Calcium Sources

• Fat-free, sugar-free flavored yogurts (e.g. Dannon, Yoplait, Weight Watchers)
• Reduced-fat cheeses (e.g. Alpine Lace "Lo" cheeses, Healthy Favorites Swiss)
• Skim or 1 percent milk
• Evaporated skim milk
• Nonfat dry milk powder

Seasonings and Flavorings

• Mrs. Dash spice and herb combinations
• Fat-free sour cream
• Low-sodium salsa and dips (e.g. Newman's Own Salsas; Guiltless Gourmet salsas and dips; Garden of Eatin' Hot Habanero and Great Garlic Salsa, Black Bean Dip)

by Judy Fitzgibbons, M.S., R.D., L.D.
Tribune Media Services syndicated columnist.
(c) 2001 Tribune Media Services WebPoint(r)

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