The New American Plate Cookbook offers an array of recipes as alternatives to the old meat-and-potatoes dinner plate.

Growing up in a meat-and-potatoes household, our dinner plate usually had a hearty portion of beef, pork or chicken, usually with two types of vegetables and a slice or two of white bread with butter.

Since then, guidelines for meal portions have changed as the proportions of the American public have increased; two-thirds of adults are now overweight and one-third is obese. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is seeking to make the public aware of an easy visual rule-of-thumb guide for the ideal meal called the New American Plate, which calls for fish, poultry, meat or lowfat dairy taking up one-third or less of the plate and the rest devoted to vegetables, whole grains and beans. With today’s unveiling of the USDA’s new plate icon replacing the controversial pyramid, the AICR has certainly proven itself to be ahead of the curve.

About one-third of common cancers worldwide could be prevented if everyone maintained a healthy diet and healthy weight and were physically active every day, according to an expert panel report called Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, published by the AICR. (In the United States, it’s estimated that 38 percent of breast cancer and 78 percent of endometrial cancer could be prevented with proper diet and exercise.)

“AICR developed the New American Plate to demonstrate how to put a cancer-protective, plant-based diet on your plate,” says Alice Bender, M.S., R.D., nutrition communications manager for AICR. “The research showed, and continues to show, that eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, with small to moderate amounts of fish, poultry or meat and lowfat dairy products, is the best overall way to eat to lower your cancer risk.”

While the AICR developed the plate more than 10 years ago, the cancer charity recently has been promoting its “Plates, Not Pyramids” campaign to give people an easy-to-remember visual cue when it comes to making healthy eating choices. “A plate as a model for healthy eating works because it is what Americans recognize and associate with meals and eating,” Bender says. The majority of the plate should contain at least one serving of vegetables, which is about one-third of a cup, as a source of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. AICR also recommends whole grains such as brown rice, barley, quinoa, whole-grain breakfast cereal, oatmeal and whole-wheat bread, as well as legumes such as lentils and kidney, garbanzo and black beans, because they are high in fiber and a good source of protein and the B vitamin folate.

A serving of meat should be less than 3 ounces, preferably poultry or fish. Because red meat and processed meats have been linked to colon cancer, AICR recommends limiting red meat consumption to less than 18 ounces per week — about six 3-ounce servings per week. Not only does the plate reduce cancer risk, but the calorie difference in a similar portion is noticeable — compare the 1,250 calories in a 9-ounce cheeseburger with special sauce with extra-large fries to a 450-calorie New American Plate meal of a cup of stir-fried vegetables, 3 ounces of chicken and a cup of brown rice.

“Our surveys show that millions of Americans don’t know about the link (or the strength of the link) between diet, weight and physical activity and cancer risk,” Bender says. “Many people believe that cancer just happens or that it is genetic and there’s nothing they can do to lower their own risk.” AICR offers recipes to fill your plate on its website and also has published The New American Plate Cookbook (University of California Press, 2005). Here’s a sample recipe:

Broccoli With Orange Herb Dressing
2 cups broccoli florets (or substituted with fresh green beans)
¼ cup diced purple onion
¼ cup diced yellow pepper
¼ cup diced pimento peppers
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
½ tbsp rice vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
½ tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/8 tsp dried marjoram
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Steam broccoli 2–3 minutes, or until bright green and just tender. Transfer to medium bowl. Add onion, yellow pepper and pimento. In small bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice concentrate, rice vinegar, garlic, parsley, marjoram, salt, pepper and cayenne. Toss with vegetables. Serve at room temperature or cold.

NUTRITION SCORE (per serving)
59 calories
61% fat
Fat 4 g
Carbs 6 g
Protein 2 g
Fiber 1.6 g
Calcium 26 mg
Iron 0.7 mg
Sodium 13 mg

For a look at plates that have built-in portion guides, read “Safe at Home Plate” in the March/April issue of VIVmag. And tell us: What do you think of the USDA’s new icon?

Tags: AICR, Alice Bender, American Institute for Cancer Research, New American Plate, Not Pyramids, Plates, portion control plates, reducing cancer risk, The New American Plate Cookbook