Chapter 4: Nutrition and Diet
The next day, my best friend, Emily Mistle and I met up with a lot of my friends Sarah, James, Henri, Alex, Justin, and Max at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill to talk about nutrition and diet. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "You are just in time for us to talk about nutrition and diet," Alex told me. "By the way, what snack are you eating?" "Emily and I are eating yogurt," I told everyone. "My yogurt is the plain, low-fat type." "I am eating fat-free Greek yogurt," Emily stated. "These are all part of the dairy group," I informed everyone. "These types of foods provide calcium and protein to keep our bones strong." "But, it is always best to choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products since many dairy products can be high in fat, even though they provide good calcium and protein," Emily added. "Sometimes, I even use fat-free Greek yogurt for cereal instead of milk," I told everyone. Sarah and Alex had carrot sticks and celery sticks, which were vegetables. "I love carrots," Sarah told us. "They are orange vegetables, which improve your eyesight. As a matter of fact, many orange foods improve your eye power, such as cantaloupe, oranges, squash, sweet potatoes- you name it." "Celery sticks are yummy, and I learned that they are a "free" vegetable- meaning that I can eat as many of them as I want since they don't count in my calorie total," Alex informed us. "This is the case for other green vegetables, like cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, and kale leaves." "Fruits and vegetables are also good for us," I agreed. "Uh-huh," Emily chimed in. "A lot of my favorite foods include fruits and vegetables, like salad, for example." Henri and Max had whole-grain crackers and whole-grain cereal. "Wheat Thins are one of my favorite types of crackers," Henri informed us. "They give my body energy. Now, of course, when I had my support group, I tried Wheat Thins for the first time after trying Triscuits, another type of cracker which I didn't end up liking." "Whole-grain cereal gives my body a jump start for the day," Max added. "I work hard to buy many whole-wheat products every day, such as whole-grain bread, whole-grain rice, whole-grain pasta, whole-grain waffles, mainly from a brand I particularly like called Jimmy Dean's." "Emily's brother, Michael always buys us Van's frozen waffles," I told everyone. "I see that Max is eating Kashi Go Lean! cereal, which is one of my favorite breakfast cereals," Emily noticed. "We should always buy whole-grain products whenever we can," I told my friends, "since they give us more energy than regular white products." Finally, James and Justin had hard-boiled eggs and assorted nuts, which were forms of protein. "Hard-boiled eggs taste so yummy," James told us, "and they give me protein, which strengthens my body and muscles, as many other types of eggs do." "Assorted nuts are a tasty snack as long as they are plain and unsalted," Justin told us. "They give me other important nutrients besides protein, such as vitamin E, folate, and magnesium. My favorite nuts include walnuts, almonds, cashews, and of course, peanuts." "Now, if you were a vegetarian or a vegan, you would have to find your protein sources from other foods," James informed us. "Exactly, because nuts don't come from animals, unlike eggs, which come from chickens," Justin agreed. "We always make sure to eat broiled or grilled fish or chicken without skin since they are better ways to get protein," I told my friends. "I especially love all kinds of seafood, including shrimp," Emily told us. "Just as long as we have strong bones and muscles!" After our discussion, I went with everyone to get Chinese food in Squirrel Hill. "We tried to come here on the way to Kennywood our senior year," Alex told us, "but instead, we got food at the McDonald's near Kennywood on Hoffman Boulevard." "Do you think their chicken lo mein is any good here, Alex?" Sarah asked. "Since that is what I am thinking about having." "Absolutely, Sarah," Alex agreed. "That's what I might have, too." I ordered ginger sesame green bean stir-fry, Sarah and Alex both ordered chicken lo mein, James ordered a sweet and sour chicken combo meal, Justin ordered steamed dumplings, Henri ordered beef lo mein, and Max ordered chicken chow mein. We also got fortune cookies with our meals, and I looked at everybody's fortunes. "I realized that this was the second time we went out for Chinese food this weekend," I told everyone. "We went once with Carly and her parents, and another time with you guys." "That's right, Angel," Sarah agreed. It was getting late, so we all headed home. "Thanks for a great day, everyone," I told my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"