About The Colorful Plate

The Colorful Plate

Scientists are rapidly learning that diet and nutrition can play a major role in the cause as well as the prevention of cancer. Researchers estimate that as many as 35% of all cancers may be associated with poor diet and nutritional habits.

Adopting healthy eating habits is a step each of us can take to reduce our risk of developing certain types of cancers. This collection of recipes provides you with a variety of healthy choices and demonstrates how to modify your favorite recipes to meet the current dietary guidelines. The current guidelines, recommended by the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of Health and Human Services are:

• Reduce fat intake to 30% of calories or less.
• Increase fiber to 20-30 grams/day with an upper limit of 35 grams.
• Include a variety of fruits and vegetables in the daily diet.
• Avoid obesity.
• Consume alcoholic beverages in moderation, if at all.
• Minimize consumption of salt-cured, salt-pickled and smoked foods.

You may be wondering why we named this cookbook The Colorful Plate.Research has shown that a variety of foods from different food groups are essential for good health. When these foods are combined successfully, the result is a "colorful plate." The USDA Food Pyramid is a tool that can help people learn to eat a balanced, healthy diet without counting calories or other nutrients. The Pyramid consists of the six food groups and the number of servings recommended each day for the average person.

• 3-5 servings of vegetables;
• 2-4 servings of fruits;
• 2-3 servings of milk, yogurt and cheese;
• 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta;
• 2-3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts;
• Use fats, oils and sweets sparingly.

While using these recipes will not guarantee that you will never get cancer, changing to a healthy diet at any time from childhood to old age can promote better health and reduce cancer risks. When modifying your diet there are three things to remember: moderation, variety, and balance.

Nutritional Analysis

The nutritional analyses of the recipes in this booklet were performed using MasterCook Deluxe, Version 4.0.

Modified Recipes

The recipes in this booklet were submitted by faculty, staff and friends of The Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa. Many of the recipes may be considered healthy, low in fat and high in fiber. Several are healthy in one respect, such as high fiber, but may be higher in fat than is recommended. Those recipes are also shown as MODIFIED**. MODIFIED** recipes have not been tested, but they include suggestions for changes that decrease the fat content.