Are You Eating Well? A Quick Way to Measure

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To see how your current food choices match up with healthy eating and cooking, answer the 10 questions below and note your responses. Instead of an exact rating or score, you’ll receive a broad view of the way you cook and eat—a view that can guide you toward making some basic choices for better health.

1   How many servings of vegetables do you eat in a typical day? (A serving is 2 cups of leafy greens, 1 cup solid or cut up vegetables.)

A.   Four or more

B.   Two or three

C.   One or none

2   How many servings of fruit do you eat in a typical day? (A serving is usually one medium piece.)

A. Three or more

B. Two

C. One

3   How often does fish appear on your weekly menu?

A. Two or more times

B. Once

C. Rarely or never

4   When you shop for bread, pasta, and rice, how often do you buy whole-grain varieties?

A. Always

B. Sometimes

C. Rarely or never

5   Which of the following are you most likely to use?

A. Canola or olive oil

B. Corn oil

C. Butter or margarine

6   How often during a typical week do you eat out and order hamburgers, cheese-rich pizzas, or sandwiches layered with meat and cheese?

A. Not more than once

B. Two or three times

C. Four or more times

7   A dinner of 2 cups (12 ozs/375 g) of cooked pasta in a tomato sauce is how many servings of carbohydrate?

A. Four

B. Not sure

C. One

8   What kind of milk do you usually drink?

A. Fat-free milk or soy milk

B. 1 or 2%

C. Whole milk or none

9   What are you most likely to reach for when you’re thirsty?

A. Water

B. Fruit juice

C. Regular sweetened soda

10   What’s your usual snack?

A. Nuts, fruit, or carrot or celery sticks

B. Energy bars or other “healthy” sweets

C. Potato chips, pretzels, or cookies

If you count mostly A’s among your answers, congratulations. You’re well on your way to healthy eating.

If you count mostly B’s and C’s, your menu could use a tune-up. You’ll find plenty of tips and great-tasting recipes in the following pages.

If you answered with mostly C’s and few A’s, it’s time for some fresh ideas about good food.