Getting Started
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Daily Menu
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Nutrition Tips
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Weight Management Tips
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Weekly Avgs
A Week of Easy Balanced Eating
The following menus incorporate Smart Balance 67% Buttery Spread as a ready-balanced
fat source, as well as other Smart Balance foods. They also include a palate-pleasing
variety of healthful ingredients from each USDA food group, to meet the nutritional and
energy needs of an average healthy adult body. Use them as a model for planning your
own meals, incorporating a variety of grains and cereals, vegetables, fruits,
lean protein sources, and low fat dairy foods.
Know your calorie needs
The portions suggested here will provide you with an average of 2,000 calories per day, balancing
fats at approximately 30% of caloric intake. If you wish to adjust your calories for weight loss
or maintenance, or if your calorie needs are higher than 2000 per day, be sure to review our
tips for Nutrition & Weight Management.
Please note that our 37% Light Buttery Spread is best used as a spread or topping.
Use our regular 67% Buttery Spread for baking, frying and spreading.
Up to one serving (14 grams) of Smart Balance Butter Blends can be used in place of Smart Balance 67% Buttery Spread
Increasing Calories the Healthy Way
Very active individuals
and men weighing more than approximately 160 pounds may require more than the 2000 daily
calories provided by our Food Plan menus. Healthy ways to increase caloric intake include:
• Doubling the serving size of at least one grain or cereal at each meal,
for example, 2 pieces of toast rather than one
• Increasing the serving size of protein sources (fish, poultry, meats) by 50%
• Using an extra teaspoon of Smart Balance 67% Buttery Spread at each meal, having one extra snack per
day, and/or increasing your servings of vegetables and other side dishes
• Enjoying an extra fish meal per week (salmon, sardines, tuna, etc.) to increase Omega-3’s
• Choosing cereals that contain more than 3 grams of fiber per ounce, or boosting
fiber content by adding a few tablespoons of a fiber-rich all-bran cereal to your favorite cereal
Common-sense Weight Loss and Management
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight doesn’t have to be a struggle. And it certainly
doesn’t mean denying your body the nutrients it needs to keep you feeling strong and healthy.
Even small changes of habit can make a real and lasting impact over time.
• Set a reasonable weight goal. In addition to being likelier to stay off, a weight loss
of 10-15% can produce dramatic health benefits including lower blood pressure and blood
cholesterol, and reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease
• A healthy and reasonable calorie goal for weight loss is generally 10 times your "goal"
weight (for example, 10 X 150 pounds = 1500 calories). Add at least 10% if you exercise regularly
• Keep a daily written record of what you eat and drink – you may be surprised by what you’re
actually consuming. Recording fat grams and/or calories if you prefer, but a simple list should
be enough to do the trick
• Enjoy some moderate physical activity every day – a 30 minute walk is fine. You’ve heard
it before, but we’ll say it again: exercise is the key to long-term weight control
• Substitute Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread on bread or toast and for light cooking;
substitute fat-free or reduced-fat salad dressings for regular salad dressings. Substitute fruit for desserts
• Take a cue from the Europeans, and avoid bread with meals that include potatoes, rice,
or pasta – chances are you won’t miss it anyway
• Choose water or a no-calorie beverage with meals. Watch your use of sweetened beverages
and sodas, and keep alcoholic beverages to a minimum
Nutritional averages per week, day 1-7:
1950 calories, 95 grams protein (~20% of total calories), 250 grams carbohydrate
(~50% of total calories), ~70 grams fat (~30% of total calories), 17 grams saturated
fat, 28 grams monounsaturated fat, 19 grams polyunsaturated fat, ~2,500 mg Omega-3
fatty acids (1000 mg DHA/EPA), ~10,000 mg Omega-6 fatty acids, 170 mg cholesterol,
3000 mg sodium (may vary according to brand selection and preparation methods), 36 grams dietary fiber
Vitamins and Minerals meeting or exceeding current Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI):
Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Zinc
Reducing sodium:
Substituting Smart Balance Lightly Salted Spread for regular Smart Balance
67% Buttery Spread in recipes and daily menus and choosing Smart Balance
Low Fat Low Sodium Popcorn for snacks reduces sodium content to ~ 2800mg