If you don’t want to give up your favorite foods but are seeking a healthier lifestyle, consider revamping local grinds to conform with the new "MyPlate" nutritional formula.

It may be difficult to give up those plate lunches with double starches, but changes don’t need to be that drastic. Replacing white rice with brown and macaroni salad with tossed greens or steamed vegetables is enough for a good start, according to Carolyn Donohoe Mather, a Healthy Hawaii Initiative nutritionist at the Department of Health.

You’ll feel the impact of these small changes on your body immediately, and this will motivate you to keep going, she said.

MyPlate is a set of new federal guidelines intended to help folks balance their caloric intake. Rather than the food pyramid of the past, the new illustration of a plate holding food groups is intended to make it easier for people to know what to eat, and how much, Mather explained.

"It gives a nice, simple image that tells consumers how to balance their overall intake of food," she said.

Here’s how the plates are filled: Half of the plate should contain vegetables without a lot of additions, like butter or dressings, and fruits. The other half of the plate is divided between whole grains and lean protein with low-fat dairy on the side.

When including starchy vegetables in meals, such as Okinawan sweet potatoes, it’s best to eat smaller portions. The new guidelines also recommend fat-free or low-fat milk and lots of whole grains. Food high in fat, sugar and salt should be eaten sparingly.

Mather also suggests using smaller dinner plates and encourages choosing vegetables for snacks and fruits for desserts.

"Deeply colored fruits and vegetables have more nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals," Mather said. "A variety of textures and colors make a plate more eye appealing. We should be eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables."

ONE well-balanced plate that might work for the whole family is the healthy mini­pizza. Start with two slices of whole-wheat sandwich rounds, which are 100 calories a pair. Add tomato sauce and about 2 ounces of mozzarella cheese. Toppings might include broccoli, tomato, onion, and green and red bell peppers.

Mather suggests making healthier versions of favorite foods. A revamped loco moco, for instance, might comprise one cup of brown rice, one beef patty, one egg and low-fat gravy. Add one cup of greens on the side and a cup of yogurt with fresh fruit, and you’ve met the new nutritional guidelines.

What’s common to all MyPlate offerings is the focus on whole foods.

Incorporating whole foods is vital to successfully changing eating habits, Mather said.

Processed food contains added sugar, saturated fat and sodium and should be eaten sparingly.

"For example, American cheese is really processed compared to other cheeses," she said.

Mather encourages people to eat whole, or "real," food including fresh fruit, vegetables (raw or steamed), whole grains, beans, fish and lean poultry and meat.

"Eat beans and fish more often as your protein foods. And buy locally grown food. Support Hawaii farmers," she said.

"Avoid ingredients that your grandmother never heard of," Mather added. "Eat like your kupuna of long ago. If they wouldn’t recognize something as food, then you probably shouldn’t eat it, either."

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A brochure with the dietary guidelines can be found at www.choosemyplate.gov/downloads/MyPlate/DG2010Brochure.pdf

GET ON TRACK

» Make a list of reasons why you want to change your diet or activity level, and post it on the refrigerator or at work. Include things like: "I want to fit into my favorite clothes"; "I want to enjoy my kids or grandkids more"; "I want to climb the stairs without running out of breath."

» Find a partner who wants to improve his or her diet, and keep in touch often. Check in via phone, email or whatever is convenient. Take walks together. Make it fun.

» Look at the barriers to change in your life. If you can’t have a bag of chips or candy around without overindulging, then think about buying single-serving bags or not bringing that food item home in the first place.

» Admit that you have mixed feelings about changing your diet or activity level. Everyone does. While it sounds great to feel better and live longer, there are many things that make you eat the way that you do right now. You might really enjoy hanging out with friends and family over a familiar meal. Maybe life is so stressful, you just don’t have it in you to think about one more thing. Ask yourself: "What is good about keeping my life just the way it is?" You might be surprised at your answers. Until you face why you don’t want to change, it will be more difficult to stick with a new way of doing things.

» If and when you fall back into an old pattern, give yourself a break and realize that it’s a normal part of change. The people who are successful at changing their habits pick themselves back up and try again.

» Rethink your drink! What ever happened to drinking water? When you take in calories as a beverage, it doesn’t make you feel full, and might actually make you feel hungrier. Drink water, eat food.

» Try having taro or poi in place of white rice. Taro is a whole food. Or try brown rice — it will grow on you.

» When you have a plate lunch, choose either rice or mac salad but not both. One scoop is enough. Ask for a green salad or another vegetable offering.

Source: Carolyn Donohoe Mather, Department of Health nutritionist