"Healthy eating is defined as the daily consumption of foods from the six food groups in their correct portions."

A dinner spread with salmon, salads and vegetables

This post and a series of others to follow will focus on the components of the diet that we consume here in the Caribbean as well as how to use the available information to correctly plan the meals you and ultimately your families will consume. I will attempt to make this information as simple as possible for my readers who do not have a heavy science background.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Nutrition from the University of Technology here in Jamaica. This degree program although very well rounded still skewed towards very highly technical scientific courses, and I had to complete a research thesis to be awarded my degree.

Our research thesis was to determine if people would jeopardize their nutrition and use their limited funds on phone credit and of course, almost all our respondents denied doing so. However, while analyzing our data, we noticed a pattern, most of the respondents said that they had a balanced diet, but were unable to identify the components of a balanced diet. They figured that their ability to eat at appropriate intervals and not being 'hungry' meant that they had a balanced diet.

Healthy eating is defined as the daily consumption of foods from the six food groups in their correct portions. In order to achieve this balance, you will have to first be taught this information. Below is the diagram used in the Caribbean of the six food groups we eat in the region.

The CFNI Caribbean's Six Food Groups, a guide to meal planning and healthy eating

For a healthy individual, you are recommended to consume three meals per day: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. These meals should consist of at least 3 of the 6 food groups that we have here in the Caribbean. Your requirements will change based on many things, e.g. pregnancy, illness, increased physical activity, reduction in physical activity, etc. So someone living with diabetes should have three additional snacks in addition to the usual three meals per day.

1. STAPLES	2. FOODS FROM ANIMALS	3. LEGUMES
Bread Bammy Biscuits Noodles Cornmeal Breakfast Cereals Breadfruit Sweet Potato Irish Potato Green bananas Yams Rice Pasta	Chicken Ham Liver Fish Shrimps Cheese Goat Beef Pork Egg Milk Yogurt	Almonds Dried Peas and Beans Green peas Baked Beans Peanuts Textured Vegetable Protein
4. VEGETABLES	5. FRUITS	6. FATS & SUBSTITUTES
Cabbage Cucumber Lettuce Okra Tomato Carrot Pumpkin Onion String Beans	Grapefruit Orange Banana Guava Mango Papaya Watermelon Apple Peaches	Margarine Avocado Ackee (Jamaican) Peanuts Olives Butter Oil Salad Dressing Lard Shortening Coconut

To prepare a meal, we usually automatically combine foods from different food groups. However, we sometimes combine two different foods from the same food group, e.g Fried Ripe Plantains, and Bread (two staples), or we have only two food groups e.g Bread and Butter (staples+fats). The rule of thumb is that your meal should have at least three food groups. Here are some common meal combinations that we consume in Jamaica.

Breakfast :

Callaloo(Veg) and Saltfish (FFA) + Green bananas and Dumplings (Staples) + Orange (Fruit) + Milo with Milk (FFA)

Lunch:

Stewed Chicken (FFA) + Rice and Peas (Staples and Legumes) + Steamed cabbage and carrots (Veg) + Orange Juice (Fruit).

Dinner:

Vegetarian Stewed Peas (Legumes) + Steamed white rice (Staples) + Steamed cabbage and carrots (Veg)

As you can see, we are able to put together balanced meals while using regular affordable foods that are readily available, which makes eating healthy a matter of knowledge and not finance. In addition to having three balanced meals, you can add two extra snacks to round out your day. These snacks can be a handful of cashews, some grapes, a banana, etc.

In my next blog entry, I'll address the issue of portion control and answer the question, How much food is too much?

What are some popular food combinations that you have in your country?