Happy healthy plates!

As promised, here are a few examples of MyPlate meals, or as Neal calls them–“happy-healthy plates”.  The March Challenge of the Month is to make your own MyPlate meal and send us a photo of your creation.  My examples aren’t perfect, and yours don’t need to be either.  In fact, I usually incorporate dairy and fruit into my meals and snacks earlier in the day, so at dinner, they are sometimes missing.  The important thing is to think about what you’re eating, consider your food proportions (make room for those veggies!), make it colorful, and have some fun.

The MyPlate Icon:

Example 1: Greek turkey burger on a whole wheat bun, roasted asparagus, salad, strawberries, and skim milk.

Example 2: Grilled steak, broccoli, bruschetta, and mandarin oranges.

Example 3:  Lunch time! Turkey and cheese sandwich, apple slices, cucumbers, and baby carrots.  Featuring our new MontanaMeals To-go plates—pick one up at your next employee Wellcheck!

Example 4: Chicken pad thai, edamame, and salad.

Example 5:  My favorite.  Pork chop, wild rice, brussel sprouts, strawberries, and milk.  Thank you Sara Jay from MSU-Bozeman for this beautiful entry!

Now it’s your turn!  Your meal doesn’t need to be anything fancy; I’ve made plenty of MyPlate meals using simple, convenient food items.  You can even try making a healthy-happy plate the next time that you’re at a restaurant.  With many restaurants serving oversized steaks and heaping piles of mashed potatoes that together take up 95% of the plate, that might be a true challenge!

CS