New Year Eating Tips: Every Bite Counts

Jody Long
Registered Dietitian
MWHC Diabetes Educator
YMCA Cycle Instructor

Are you someone who set goals for editing your eating this year? Are you ready to initiate some healthy eating habits? Then hurry on over to the My Plate website for some worthy and free assistance! Prefer a phone app instead? No problem, check out Start Simple with MyPlate App.

MyPlate is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) with the 2020-2025 theme of “Every Bite Counts.” I think both are spot on! Small changes in your eating habits really DO matter and make a difference over time. MyPlate encourages healthy eating with focus on nutrient-dense food and beverage choices while limiting intakes of added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium, all while doing so in a budget-conscious way (did I mention this is FREE?)

Here are a few highlights of the offerings:

1. Start Simple with MyPlate - using a Balanced Plate model, this provides basic information about the food groups and the importance of their nutrition provisions. Here, you can click on each food group for information and guidance.
2. My Plate Plan gets you a personalized plan designed with YOU in mind. It’s based on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. You can get a two-page printout of this with weight loss or weight maintenance plan. If you’re using the MyPlate phone app, the goals dashboard can be used for creating goals for healthy eating. If you’re not sure how to set goals, choose the option for MyPlate to pick some goals for you! There are fun opportunities to earn badges and participate in challenges, too.
3. My Plate Kitchen is full of healthy recipes that are delicious! There are My Plate Kitchen Recipe Videos for instructions and demonstrations on the recipe offerings. You can save all your favorite recipes and create cookbooks, too! I really enjoy the sweet and tangy flavors of the Apple Tuna Sandwich recipe and have this for my work lunch often.
4. My Plate Shop Simple features cost-saving opportunities with links to local farmers' markets and SNAP EBT savings as well. Here, too, is more specific budget-friendly recipe offerings.

MyPlate offers options for more learning via quizzes, email updates, and even an opportunity to connect via MyPlate on Alexa for daily tips. As a Registered Dietitian, I’m very impressed with the extent of all these free resources and I think you will be, too. Remember, every bite counts and MyPlate can be your one-stop shop for initiating healthy eating habits.

Stay tuned for some heart-smart tips on healthy fats in February.