Summer 2005
The Defense Commissary Agency's new initiative - "It's Your Choice, Make it Healthy" - focuses on making sure commissary shoppers have information to guide them in making their food selection decisions.
So what does this mean to you as a commissary shopper? Would it be helpful to have concise messages available to remind you of exactly what qualifies as a "whole grain" product when you're selecting bread or cereal, or how you determine if a dairy product meets the guidelines for "low-fat" or "non-fat," or which cuts of fresh meat qualify as "lean?" Shelf signs are being developed right now by a joint-services team of nutrition professionals for almost every food category in the store. Watch for these to start appearing in the coming months at the commissary where you shop!
Would you appreciate the opportunity to tour the commissary with a nutrition professional who can break down all the information on a product's nutrition label into comprehensible terms, answer healthy choice questions specific to your personal circumstances, and clarify any points of confusion you might be dealing with? Such tours are most definitely part of our plan!
Would you like to taste a new product before committing your hard-earned cash to a whole package of it? We can easily handle that! Look for healthy food fairs and product sampling opportunities to occur at your store regularly. Be sure to stay tuned as this initiative is rolled out. These are just a few examples, but there's a lot more to come.
A synopsis of The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 is available in the pamphlet "Finding Your Way to a Healthier You." For all the details, you can download your own copy from HealthierUs.gov/dietaryguidelines, but its major points are a good place to start:
Find your balance between food and physical activity. Calories do count - if you consume more than you expend, you will gain weight. Cutting back by as little as 500 calories a day and adding just 30 minutes a day of physical activity could be all the adjustment a person might need. Could the time spent shopping the commissary for healthier food choices count toward that 30-minute requirement? It certainly could!
Get the most nutrition out of your calories. If your current eating habits lean heavily toward sugared drinks, salty snacks and high-calorie processed, packaged foods, introduce better choices by starting with the healthy foods food you love. For example, if you like fresh apples but you normally go for apple pie instead, calculate how many apples it would take to reach the calorie count of a slice of pie before deciding which you'll have. Having all the facts before you will usually lead to better decisions.
Make smart choices from every food group. Read the following excerpts from the "Finding Your Way to a Healthier You" pamphlet for clear, concise and easily applied advice on making every bite count. Mix up your choices within each food group.
Know the limits on fats, salt and sugars. Read the Nutrition Facts label on foods. Look for foods low in saturated fats and trans fats. Choose and prepare foods and beverages with little salt (sodium) and/or added sugars (caloric sweeteners).
Focus on fruits. Eat a variety of fruits - whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried - rather than fruit juice for most of your fruit choices. For a 2,000-calorie diet, you will need two cups of fruit each day (For example: one small banana, one large orange and one-fourth cup of dried apricots or peaches).
Vary your veggies. Eat more dark green veggies, such as broccoli, kale and other dark leafy greens; orange veggies, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and winter squash; and beans and peas, such as pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, split peas and lentils.
Make half your grains whole. Eat at least three ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice or pasta every day. One ounce is about one slice of bread, one cup of breakfast cereal or one-half cup of cooked rice or pasta. Look to see that grains such as wheat, rice, oats or corn are referred to as "whole" in the list of ingredients.
Go lean with protein. Choose lean meats and poultry. Bake it, broil it or grill it. And vary your protein choices, with more fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.
Get your calcium-rich foods. Get three cups of low-fat or fat-free milk - or an equivalent amount of low-fat yogurt and/or low-fat cheese (one-and-a-half ounces of cheese equals one cup of milk) - every day. For kids age two to eight, it's two cups of milk. If you don't or can't consume milk, choose lactose-free milk products and/or calcium-fortified foods and beverages.
The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of nearly 275 commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Shoppers save an average of more than 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial prices - savings worth about $2,700 annually for a family of four.
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Kay Blakley is Europe Consumer Advocate of the Defense Commissary Agency. She may be contacted at kay.blakley@deca.mil.