Eat your veggies. An apple a day . . . Eat 5 to 9 a day.

Choosing Healthy Foods

Kaiser Permanente promotes eating right as an important part of healthy living. Whether you are at home, eating out, or staying at one of our facilities, look for how you can choose foods that will help you thrive.

Healthy Picks Program

Yes, it’s important to eat your fruits and vegetables. Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Picks program also identifies salads, sandwiches, and even snacks that are healthier food choices. Check for the Healthy Picks green sticker on food offered in our cafeteria and vending machines. These items meet standards set by Kaiser Permanente dietitians.

So, go ahead. Make a salad. Choose an apple. Get a bag of low sodium nuts. You’ll be a step closer to keeping your body strong and your mind alert. Healthy Picks food choices help move you toward a more balanced diet:

Tips on How to Eat a Balanced Meal

• Pick proteins that are lean - fish, chicken, turkey, low-fat or non-fat cheeses and milk
• Instead of trans fat oils, choose foods that use canola, soybean, or olive oil
• Eat complex carbohydrates that are high in fiber - whole grain breads, cereals,
  pasta, and plenty of fruits and vegetables
  
• Choose fresh food rather than preserved foods, which contain higher levels of salt
• Eat smaller portions, and choose foods that provide lots of vitamins and nutrients with fewer calories such as fresh vegetables

Healthier Hospital Food

All milk served at our medical centers is from cows raised without synthetic hormones.
Also, Kaiser has started buying produce directly from small, local farms to serve our hospital patients fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables as part of their food tray. This is a pilot program involving 19 of our California hospitals.

When you eat unprocessed food, you avoid the sodium, fat, sugar, and additives that contribute to a number of health ailments. Serving farm fresh food in our hospitals is healthier for our members, plus the food tastes better.

All this fits with Kaiser's THRIVE campaign that links eating foods like fresh blueberries and broccoli with a healthier body.

Let Carole Bartolotto, a Kaiser Permanente Registered Dietician, guide you through your kitchen to identify unhealthy foods and healthier alternatives. This is a five-part series. Click here to visit "In The Kitchen With Carole".

Want a personalized nutrition plan? Kaiser Permanente members click here.

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