Does this meal make me look healthy?

Lately I've been using an iPhone app called The Eatery. Every day you're supposed to take a picture of what you eat throughout the day, share it, and then strangers rate it on a scale from 1 to 100 on its healthfulness. The idea behind the app is that through peer pressure and unbiased outside opinion (you can have your friends rate your food too), you will begin to rethink things about each meal you make for yourself. When multiple people are rating your food, even if there are varying opinions, the average score you receive supposedly is often very close to the meal's actual overall health.

Taking pictures of your food at every meal is pretty quick and easy, but being on your phone regularly can sometimes be stressful and distracting. Also, not everyone has an iPhone! This was a fun experiment, though I don't know if I'm going to stick with the app in the long term. It might be useful to track my food during weeks where I am especially stressed out or tired so that I am forced to think about what I'm putting in my body. However, I do feel like I have learned a few things about what makes a meal feel healthy, look healthy, and on how I personally judge other people's food differently from how I judge my own choices. Here are a few things I've started doing regularly after using the app.

Use smaller portion sizes for denser meals.
There are some things I do not feel ashamed to share that I snack on mindlessly or stuff into my face while watching an explosion-filled action movie, like big bowls of salad or a bag of baby carrots. There are other meals that often come in standard large sizes that I might mindlessly eat when I shouldn't, especially when it's take out. If your evening burrito doesn't fit on your plate, you should cut it in half and repurpose it later for a nice breakfast or lunch. I find myself using smaller plates, around 8" in diameter, and make sure my food only fits on that. If after 30 minutes I'm still starving (though I'm usually not), I feel like it's OK to eat again. If it's a snack, like almonds, I grab a handful and put the container away.

There's always room for more greens!
Leafy greens are extremely healthy and filling, and they look beautiful on a plate. Pairing a meal with a salad or even mixing a salad in with your bowl adds a delicious and refreshing snap to your dish. Why not throw in some extra broccoli? Add some sauteed kale as a side dish. The more green the better.

Think differently about how you fill up the space on your plate.
I love pairing opposing flavors, and I've found that I get better ratings when there's more fresh fruits and veggies on my plate. At least half my plate will be fruits and vegetables. I've tried to use both of these things to my advantage. Grapes pair great with sour foods, bitter greens like collards pair great with salty foods. Mango, cherries, peaches and other super sweet stone fruits pair well with spicy foods. Use a vegetable peeler to peel a zucchini into thin noodle-like strips and eat it raw where you would normally have pasta. Instead of dipping chips in your guacamole, why not use cucumber slices or celery stalks?

Always use whole grains.
These days there is a plethora of choices for breads and grains. The closer to the whole original grain you can find, the easier it is to digest and the more protein- and nutrient-packed it is. Sprouted grain breads like Ezekiel are great for sandwiches and toast. Wasa flatbread crackers for snacks and dipping, buckwheat (soba) noodles instead of pasta, quinoa and brown rice instead of white rice. Gluten-free fare also often uses whole grains that you may never have tried before or heard of, like spelt and teff, that are protein-packed and super good for you. Gluten free bagels, crackers and biscuits are usually easily found at your regular grocer.

How often you do really treat yourself? And what do you call a "treat"?
I'm not saying never to eat ice cream or pizza again, but when you start tracking your food you have to face facts. Are you really only eating pizza on Friday nights? How many times a week do you grab a giant mocha latte from your favorite coffee shop? Completely withholding treats from yourself can make you feel like you're depriving yourself, which makes lots of people give up or derail on an all-or-nothing train of thought. However, sometimes we kid ourselves about what we say or think or know we should do versus what we are actually doing. Try counting your treats for a week and see if reality matches your mind. If you can't give it up, there are healthier substitutes for our old habits. If you love cream in your coffee, have cream! But use a good fat like coconut milk or coconut oil instead. If you find yourself eating ice cream all the time, try one of the many non-dairy and fruit-sweetened varieties available. Save the real cream for Sunday morning if you have to.


Life's a bowl full of cherries! Enjoy rethinking your meals and experimenting with how you put them together. Until next time, keep it clean!