GA Foods is proud to have a team of highly trained Registered Dietitians (RDs)! Our RDs create meals and menu plans for customers seeking frozen and shelf-stable meal solutions throughout the country. They ensure our SunMeadow® meals meet or exceed the USDA guidelines and that all meals are low in sodium, fat, cholesterol, and sugar.
- What nutrition question do you get asked most frequently?
A recurring theme is fad diets. People are always curious about the latest weight-loss crazes, such as keto, paleo, etc. They want to know what will help them lose weight, and fast. We need to remind them that anything promising quick weight loss isn’t the answer. When it comes to general nutrition, we want our clients to focus on lifestyle changes rather than diets. We also get lots of people asking us to make personalized meal plans for them.
- What advice would you give to anyone who wants to improve their health?
Moderation is key! If you have a craving, honor it! You'll be less likely to overindulge if you eat small portions of your favorite desserts. A good rule of thumb is 70/30 or 80/20 – 70-80% of the time. Stick to whole foods, such as nuts, berries, whole grains, vegetables, lean proteins, etc. You can allow 20-30% of the time go for something a little more indulgent. Above all, listen to your body and eat when you’re hungry, don’t restrict, and try to get at least a little movement in once per day.
- What’s your favorite go-to snack?
All kinds! It depends on the day. Some of our favorites are apples with peanut/almond butter, cereal, nuts, carrots with hummus, and yogurt with granola or fruit.
- What food fads should be avoided?
“Skinny” foods, anything with “detox” in the title, juice cleanses, and anything promoting weight loss. We also advise extreme caution when undertaking any “diet”. You should check with your dietitian and doctor first, to devise an individualized plan that works best for you.
- What is a common mistake that older adults make with their nutrition?
Nutrition mistakes tend to be fairly uniform across the board, but with older adults, in particular, we see a lot of dehydration. This population simply isn’t getting enough water! This goes hand-in-hand with another common mistake, which is the over-salting of foods. Salt pulls fluid and can quickly dehydrate someone before they even realize it. We do sometimes see imbalanced diets in this population as well.
We are proud of our Registered Dietitians who live the GA Foods’ core values of Touching Lives, Integrity, Trust, Ownership, and Commitment each day!
For more information on National Nutrition Month®, go here.
