Pantry Raid: Room to improve

It’s not all gloom and doom in Elizabeth and Tim McCreary’s pantry, but registered dietitian Lisa Gibson found plenty of room for the couple to improve.

What the McCrearys are doing right: Making home-cooked meals with ingredients such as skinless chicken and brown rice is a good start to eating more healthfully, but they need to be consistent and watch their portion sizes. Instead of nachos made with fried chips and gobs of cheese, Gibson recommends upping the nutritional value by using fresh corn tortillas, cutting way back on the cheese and adding nonfat refried beans, lean ground turkey cooked with salsa, plus lettuce and tomatoes.

Where they need improvement: In addition to eating more fruits and vegetables and getting their portions under control, the two should choose better snacks. Elizabeth can tame her dinner appetite, Gibson says, by eating every few hours and making sure snacks and small meals contain healthful proteins and carbs such as peanut butter or hummus with carrots and celery. Tim needs to curb those caffeine-fueled energy drinks and the mega-servings of nuts. Both could add more whole grains to their diet, especially when Tim acquiesces to his wife’s gluten-free needs. Quinoa, brown rice and buckwheat are good bets for both.

When going out to eat, Gibson recommends checking the menu’s nutritional information if it’s available and making healthful choices based on that. As most restaurant portions are huge, the couple can easily split a meal.

— Jeannine Stein