"By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better."           ~ John Wooden, former coach of the record-setting UCLA basketball team that won 10 national championships in 12 years, in Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

At the first team meeting, two weeks before basketball practice began each season, Coach John Wooden personally demonstrated to players how to put on their socks. This may SEEM like a trivial detail. But, it was important to Wooden, one of the most successful college basketball coaches in history.

Wooden knew success depended on more than learning and executing a few major plays. It's the small details taken together that build into something big, into success. Wrinkles, folds or creases in socks could lead to blisters. Blisters interfere with performance during games. Decreased performance equals fewer championships.

Likewise, if you're striving for success in making healthy food choices, consider the additive effect of small daily changes. Here are four strategies, plus a sample recipe, for a winning dietary game plan in the following areas:

1. managing weight;
2. increasing calcium;
3. eating more fruits and vegetables;
4. increasing fiber.

Success Stategy 1: Managing Weight

It takes an excess of 3,500 calories to gain a pound. Eat just 100 calories MORE per day than your body needs and you can GAIN about 10 pounds a year.

Put that process in reverse and LOSE ten pounds in a year by eating 100 calories LESS per day. It may take only ONE small daily food change to make that difference. Here are amounts of some foods that provide approximately 100 calories EACH. Reduce your diet by just this much daily and you may reduce your weight by 10 pounds in a year. For specific information about the calories in a food, check the Nutrition Facts section on the label.

• 1/2 of a 16-ounce bottle of a non-diet soft drink
• 1 tablespoon of fat (regular butter or margarine)
• 1 tablespoon of regular mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of regular salad dressing
• 2/3 small package of snack chips (based on a package size of about 1 oz.)
• 1/2 to 1/3 candy bar (1.5 to 2 oz. size)
• 1 to 2 cookies (calories can vary considerably, check label for specifics)

Success Strategy 2: Increasing Calcium

The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) recommends a "balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D" as one of the steps to help prevent osteoporosis. Depending on your age, the typical American adult needs between 1,000 and 1,200 mg of calcium a day. But, the average American may consume only half this much calcium daily, according to NOF.

Most experts agree food is the best source of calcium as there may be other factors found in food and a balanced diet that affect calcium use by the body. If you take a supplement, it may be best to use it for part rather than all of your calcium.

Each of the following foods provides about 250 to 300 milligrams of calcium or about one fourth of your daily calcium recommendation. Check the Daily Value (DV) for calcium on the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels for specific amounts; 250 to 300 milligrams would be equivalent to 25 percent to 30 percent of the DV for calcium.

• 8 oz. milk; if you enjoy chocolate milk, it provides only about 60 calories more per serving than unflavored milk. Check the Nutrition Facts panel on the label of the chocolate milk or chocolate flavoring for the exact calories.

• Oatmeal made with 1 cup milk instead of 1 cup water

• Individual 8 oz. carton of yogurt

• 2 pieces of "string" cheese

• 8 ounces of calcium-fortified orange juice

• 8 to 10 ounces calcium-fortified soy milk. NOTE: Recent research found for the brands of soy milk studied that calcium from calcium-fortified soy milk was absorbed at only 75 percent the efficiency of calcium from cow's milk. You may wish to increase your serving of soy milk by about 25 percent. (Heaney, RP, et al. Bioavailability of the calcium in fortified soy imitation milk, with some observations on method. Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 71: 1166-9)

• Smoothie made with a cup of milk or yogurt and thickened in the blender by the addition of 1/2 to 1 cup of small pieces of frozen fruit. Add about a teaspoon of sweetener or to taste. Prepackaged frozen blueberries, raspberries, cherries or mixed berries work great. Or, cut up your own fruit in small 1/2 to 1 inch pieces and freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

(NOTE: Next month's Food Reflections will discuss nutrition and osteoporosis in greater detail.)

Success Strategy 3: Increasing Fruit And Vegetables

The most recent U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 5th edition (2000), includes a a new guideline solely about fruits and vegetables: "Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily." Eating 5 or more vegetables and fruits daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, obesity, and some types of cancer. Some health professionals suggest we strive for 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. A serving is often a half cup.

About 40 to 50 percent of the U.S. population currently eats less than the minimum recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables according to the national 5 A Day for Better Health Program, jointly sponsored by the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and the Produce for Better Health Foundation.

Try some of these easy and enjoyable ways to get extra servings of fruits or vegetables into your diet.

• Whenever you have an opportunity to eat vegetables, take a double serving of one cup instead of a half cup.

• If you buy ready-to-drink fruit juice by the carton and often run out before you can make it to the store, try this: Buy an extra container of FROZEN juice. Keep it in the freezer so you never have to go a day without juice. Also, always be sure to buy 100 percent fruit juice. Three-fourths cup is considered a serving size of juice.

• Keep a variety of frozen vegetables on hand. Toss them into foods whenever possible to pump up the vegetable content. Add extra veggies to soups. Put frozen corn, peas and/or chopped green pepper in a strainer or colander and thaw under cool running water, then toss in salads.

• Buy some fruits with a longer storage life so you never run short. Fresh apples and oranges will keep a couple of weeks in your refrigerator. Also, check out the canned and frozen fruit section of your grocery store. Enjoy fruits in salads, as snacks and for dessert.

  Do a two-for-one play by using a flavored yogurt as a fruit salad dressing that also adds calcium. Another delicious two-in-one combo is topping lowfat or nonfat frozen yogurt or ice cream with fruit. As discussed in the calcium strategy section, serve smoothies made with milk and fruit.

• For more easy ideas, check the National Cancer Institute/Centers for Disease Control "Eating 5 A Day: Steps for Sure Success" at: www.5aday.gov/serving.html

Recommendations for dietary fiber intake for adults generally range from 20 to 35 grams per day; however, usual intakes average only about half that amount. Eating foods rich in fiber may offer protection against heart disease, stroke, diverticulitis, and diabetes. A fiber-rich diet also may aid in weight control.

Small changes that add together to meet fiber recommendations involve fruits and vegetables, whole grains and cooked dry beans. Check the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels or the USDA Nutrient Database (www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/index.html) for specific fiber content. Here are some approximates, depending on the food.

• Fruits and vegetables typically provide about 2 or more grams of fiber per half cup serving. Leave the skin for the most fiber. Juices, though good sources of nutrients, provide little fiber. Practice strategy number 3 to increase your fruits and vegetables and you'll also increase your fiber. Eating 5 to 8 servings of fruits and vegetables can add approximately 10 to 16 grams of fiber to your diet, depending on the fiber in each fruit and vegetable.

• Whole grains are another excellent fiber source. A slice of whole grain bread or a half cup serving of whole grain pasta or rice each provide about 2 grams of fiber. Many whole grain breakfast cereals contain 5 or more grams of fiber. Check the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label for more specific fiber information.

  The Food Guide Pyramid recommends a minimum of 6 servings from the grain group. Think WHOLE GRAIN and you'll add around 12 or more grams of fiber from 6 servings. Add that to your 10 to 16 grams from fruits and vegetables and you're at 22 to 28 grams of fiber. Or more, if you have a higher fiber cereal.

• Cooked dry beans (kidney, navy, garbanzo, etc.) generally add 5 or more grams of fiber per half cup. Buy the canned form and all you have to do is open the lid. For ideas on preparing dry beans, visit the Web site of the American Dry Bean Board at www.americanbean.org

Putting It All Together

While many nutrition educators teach according to the Food Guide Pyramid, Coach Wooden also used a pyramid. He created a pyramid of characteristics for success on the basketball court and for life in general. He called it "The Pyramid of Success."

Two essential building blocks that Wooden felt were the mortar keeping everything together were faith and patience. If you have faith in the power of continuously implementing small changes in your diet, and the patience to stick to it, you will have SUCCESS.

For Your Eating Enjoyment

Here's a quick-to-fix low-calorie, calcium-rich, fruit- and fiber-filled recipe from the National Cancer Institute's 5 A Day for Better Health Program Web site (www.5aday.gov/) that helps you achieve all four dietary strategies.

Strawberry Yogurt Shake
Serves 2

1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1-1/2 cups frozen, unsweetened strawberries

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

This is an official 5 a Day recipe, and provides two people with two servings of fruit each.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving: Calories, 136; Fiber, 2.6 g.; Cholesterol, 4 mg.; Sodium, 63 mg. Percent calories from: Protein, 15%; Carbohydrate, 76%; Fat, 9%.

Related Articles

Feel Full on Fewer Calories:
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Put in the Big Rocks First

You Can't Serve From an Empty Plate. So, F-E-A-S-T!

Kitchen Helpers

Cook It Quick

Special Thanks To . . .

I'd like to express my appreciation to my colleague, Linda Boeckner, PhD, RD, University of Nebraska Extension Nutrition Specialist, for her help and suggestions as I prepared this month's Food Reflections article.

Educational Resources Available from Our Office

FREE Nutrition and Osteoporosis PowerPoint presentation
Nutrition educators can download a free copy of a PowerPoint presentation on "Nutrition and Osteoporosis."

Pyramid Power: The Food Guide Game
Pyramid Power has received awards from the American Dietetic Association and the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Use Pyramid Power to teach youth and adults how to eat healthy according to the Food Guide Pyramid.

Don't Get Bugged by a Foodborne Illness (game)
Use this game to help youth and adults understand and use recommended food safety practices. Don't Get Bugged received an award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

COOK IT QUICK! Online Tips and Recipes
Cook It Quick offers tips on "Mix and Match" Meals; Cook Once, Eat Twice; Time-Saving Kitchen Tools and much more! PLUS, access online thousands of recipes. Sign up in the yellow box to receive e-mail updates when new information is added.

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