The Plan | Dash sedge

How does it work?

The plan is designed for you to follow a basic healthy diet, low in salt, sugar and saturated fats. It concentrates on mainly high protein meals, consisting of vegetarian sources such a lentil and pulses, as well as lean protein such as chicken and fish, limit red meat to once a week.

You can follow the 30 day plan which follows by day or adapt as you wish just follow the basic rules below

Try not to concentrate too much on calories but on nutritional values, of course keep an eye on your portions The handy hand guide is included here for reference.

We are all familiar with the healthy plate guide the dash plate has a few differences Just like the orginal the plate still acts as a great tool to help with visualization of a balanced meal.

Divide your plate into specific sections for different food groups in the right proportions. It will also be a great guide for portion control

Plate sections

1. VEGETABLES: Eat more vegetables—the greater the variety, the better. Potatoes are not considered as vegetables in this case. Use healthy oils such as olive oil or cold-pressed flaxseed oil for cooking, in salads, and at the table

2.FRUITS: Consume a variety of fruits, preferably of different colours. You can also make smoothies from them.

3. WHOLE GRAINS: Choose a variety of whole grains, such as whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, and brown rice. Try and keep away from processed grains like white rice and white bread.

4.HEALTHY PROTEINS: Prefer fish, skinless poultry, beans, and nuts; limit the intake of red meat and cheese; avoid bacon, sausages, and other processed meats.

5. LOW-FAT DAIRY PRODUCTS: Include low-fat dairy (but not non- fat) options in your diet to help maintain a balanced nutritional intake.

6. WATER: Drink water, tea, or coffee without sugar. Avoid sugary drinks. It is best to drink just plain water.

Basic rules.

Do not add salt to your cooking or add at the table
3 meals a day and 1 snack, if you don’t like the meal options for the day, you may change for any other within that category.
Keep meals to mainly vegetarian, fish and poultry red meat once per week
Drink at least 2.5litres of water.
Don’t worry too much about the calorie content, look more at the nutrient content of your food. however if you use your own recipes make sure they are low in salt, fat and sugar and high in protein (if you need calories a rough guide is 300kcals breakfast,lunch 400kcal, dinner 600kcal 1 snack around 200kcal)
Use low fat dairy but not fat free, to help with your cholesterol and saturated fats.
Include plenty of

Fruit
Vegetables
whole grains
lean proteins
dairy or alternatives
healthy fats
herbs and spices
nuts and seeds
high fibre foods
oily fish -if you are not a fan consider using omega 3 supplements

I have given the full nutritional breakdown for each recipe, please note this may be affected by many things such as brand or variety, and therefore may not be completely accurate

Presents

Dash

(Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)