Diet Reflection

Abstract

This essay will explore the meal plans of a low cholesterol and high fiber diet and the restrictions that come along with it. There will be a section to identify what a patient with either one of these diets can eat at two restaurants in the area, Bartaco and Little Pub. As well as that, what a patient should eat at all meals, not just at these two disclosed restaurants. Lastly, the essay will speak about how to get a patient to adhere to the prescribed meal plan more.

Bartaco had a decent amount of options for someone on a low cholesterol and an abundance of options for someone on high fiber diet. A low cholesterol diet includes lean meats, fat free or low-fat options, olive oil substitutes, whole grains, fruits and lower salt amounts. Three of the best options on the menu for someone on a low cholesterol diet would be the tuna poke, rotisserie chicken, and the ceviche. The tuna poke is raw tuna with green and red onions, poke dressing, avocado, sesame seeds. The reason this is a good option for someone with a low cholesterol diet is because tuna is a lean meat which reduces the fat intake, this would help with keeping your LCL low. The poke sauce is very healthy as well, it has sesame oil, soy sauce, red peppers and macadamia nuts (“Ahi Poke Basic Recipe” 2001.) The only source of fatty intake is in the sesame oil, macadamia nuts, but all of these are healthy fats. They are better for you than per say butter or cooking with vegetable oil. At Little Pub there were far more options for a low cholesterol diet. The top three choices from Little Pub with someone on this diet would be the Santorini wrap, Napa salmon flatbread, and the peeking duck tacos. All these entries have a lean meat as the main aspect. The additives to these entries were vegetables and form of a whole grain tortilla or flatbread. These follow the restrictions of the low cholesterol. There is a lot of redundancy when you compare the menus; tuna and chicken are two options that are very available and eatable for this diet due to the lean nature of both proteins.

Next, the high fiber diet. This diet includes a larger quantity of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, grains, and beans. These foods keep you full longer and help the body use sugar. Bartaco had a greater amount of options for a high fiber diet; the cauliflower rice bowl. The rice bowl includes roasted bell peppers and the topping of your choice in this case cauliflower (which contain nuts). There are many sides you could put together to make a larger meal such as fresh pineapple w/ a chopped salad or plantains with guacamole and grilled corn, but the rice bowl provides the most fiber. At Little Pub you can get a variety of salads, hummus and flat bread and a sweet potato tostada. The tostada has an oven roasted sweet potato, kale, mushrooms, guacamole, black beans, corn, pico de gallo, and sour cream. A patient would receive much of the diet through “greenery” and some of the needed fiber through the black beans in this meal.

Both menus didn’t have any alternatives aside from some gluten free availability, but as far as accommodations for a low cholesterol or high fiber diet nothing was mentioned. These are two diets that accommodations aren’t need. The patient has to self-advocate and check to make sure he/she is making the best decision when it comes to food choices.

To help guide the patient for what they should be eating throughout the day with a low cholesterol diet I would recommend for breakfast an omelet or a low-fat yogurt parfait with fruit and oats or other nuts. For lunch and dinner, I would follow the outline spoken about in the first paragraph; sticking to lean means and fruits. For a high fiber diet breakfast, one should include oatmeal with pecans or a fruit smoothie. The same guidelines listed in paragraph two should be followed for lunch and dinner.

To increase compliance in a patient with any meal plan the patient must be interested in changing his or eating habits. To do this a nurse should explain how a diet plan would improve their over all health and the contradictions if they decide not to implement the plan. The more information a patient can get the better, but don’t over whelm them. Also, a nurse should take into consideration the economic influences that a patient might be under. For example, someone from a lower socio-economic background should be told that frozen substitutes for fresh foods are alright to use, even though fresh would be better. Lastly, encourage and support the patient in whatever strides they make towards their health goal. Being negative or nagging the patient would deter them from being proud or progressing in their health goals.

Lastly, I believe that the easier meal plan to follow is the high fiber because you don’t have to worry about what meats your eating the patient can add more vegetables and fruits into their diet and be ok. Whereas, in a low cholesterol diet the patient must ensure that the protein he or she is eating lean protein at all meals and continue their intake of “greens.” Lastly, the low cholesterol diet has tests to see if a patient is meeting the numbers for his/her health, which if they don’t make the range it can be detrimental to the patient’s progress.

Citations

Bartaco Menu. (2015). Retrieved September 19, 2018, from https://bartaco.com/location/westport/ Chan, J., & T. (2001, December 05). Ahi Poke Basic Recipe. Retrieved from https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12870/ahi-poke-basic/ Little Pub. (n.d.). American Restaurant and Bar, Comfort food, Burgers, Dinner and Lunch in Fairfield, CT. Retrieved from https://littlepub.com/fairfield/menus.php Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Hall, A., & Stockert, P. A. (2017). Fundamentals of Nursing. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.

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