Be mindful of your portion sizes!

Food can be enjoyed however one should consume the correct portion sizes.

This point was made by Nutritionist, Nicole Griffith who spoke to The Barbados Advocate on the side-lines of Saturday’s Cook-Off. This annual event was held on the final day of the Diabetes Association of Barbados’ Camp Pride at the Springer Memorial School.

“It is all about portion size. You can have anything that you want but you need to know what portion to put it in and how much of it to eat…”

She added, “You should not be eating a piece of meat that is bigger than the palm of your hand. Your plate should contain more colours as in orange and green than the white. When I say white, I am thinking about potatoes, pasta, and those kinds of things. So your plates should have more vegetables than carbohydrates and less meat than carbohydrates.”

During the week-long Camp, participants were involved in cooking classes among other activities. At these classes they learnt how to make healthier versions of appetizers and party foods which they like to eat without compromising the taste. These foods included pizza, roti, subs and chicken and chips.

These classes led to the day’s Cook-Off which saw the younger campers (Team A) coming up against the older campers (Team B). In the end, Team A won with 29 points while Team B scored 28.5points. The dish prepared by Team A was “grilled potatoes, fish and sautéed vegetables”. Meanwhile, Team B prepared “scalloped potatoes and carrots, sautéed vegetables and pan seared chicken.”

Griffith expressed a hope that the 4 to 14 year old campers would not only enjoy the food on the day but would create these and other healthy meals at home.

“Every year, I hope that they can go home and do something different and they can encourage their parents to do something different because at the end of the day the parents are the ones preparing the meals most times or the ones giving the money to purchase the meals.”

She continued, “I am hoping that they can make alternative or better decisions when it comes to selecting foods especially the ones who have diabetes. I am hoping they will make better choices when they have to select from their school’s canteen and fast food restaurants when they go out. [Also,] I am hoping they will make positive decisions and good decisions as it relates to their health and meal planning.”