About Our Recipes

The Health eCooks® recipe database helps people make healthy food choices when creating their personal eating plans. The Healthy Kids recipes for children have been designed to help children eat healthfully while still enjoying their favorite foods. The recipes are developed by professional chefs and hospital dietitians to comply with the dietary guidelines established by the United States Department of Agriculture (see www.ChooseMyPlate.gov).

All recipes meet the dietary guidelines of the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the guidelines set forth below.

Health eCooks® recipes have:
● Low saturated fat
● Low or no trans fat
● Fewer calories and less fat and sodium than counterparts served at fast food and other commercial restaurants
● Whole grain ingredients
● Lean proteins (proteins that contain less than 10g fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less
than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams per 100g)

Nutrition Facts

Registered dietitians calculate a nutrition analysis for every Health eCooks® recipe. Nutrition facts
include:

● Calories
● Fat
● Saturated Fat
● Cholesterol
● Sodium
● Carbohydrates
● Fiber
● Protein

Heart Healthy

The dietary guidelines listed below from the American Heart Association (AHA) are recommendations for a heart healthy diet. The AHA recommends “[adapting] this dietary pattern to appropriate calorie requirements, personal and cultural food preferences, and nutrition therapy for other medical conditions.”

● Eat approximately 5-6% of your daily calories as saturated fat
● Choose a diet low in sodium. Aim to eat less than 2,400 mg of sodium daily
● Include low-fat dairy products in your eating plan (low-fat dairy are products that contain approximately 3 grams of fat per serving.)
● Limit foods containing trans fat in your diet
● Choose lean sources of meat, poultry and fish.

Following the AHA guidelines outlined above, the Health eCooks® recipes designated as “Heart Healthy” contain ingredients that represent a moderate and reasonable proportion of the AHA daily recommendations. The recipes designated as “Heart Healthy” include:

● No greater than 6g saturated fat per serving
● Sodium no greater than 600mg per serving
● Low-fat dairy products
● Lean proteins

Diabetes Recipes

Each person’s diabetes eating plan is unique. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that people with diabetes eat a balanced diet of proteins, grains, non-starchy vegetables and fruits that models guidelines from ADA’s ‘createyourplate’ with special considerations for carbohydrate intake planning per meal.

● The daily diet recommended by the ADA includes: grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy
products, and varied lean proteins.
● Choose a diet low in sodium. Aim to eat less than 2,300 mg of sodium daily
● The ADA suggests a general range of 45g to 60g carbohydrates per meal.
● The ADA suggests a diet low in saturated (less than 10% of daily diet) and trans fats to reduce risk of heart disease.

Following the ADA and USDA guidelines outlined above, the Health eCooks® recipes designated as “Diabetes” contain ingredients that represent a moderate and reasonable proportion of the USDA daily recommendations and the ADA carbohydrate meal recommendations. The recipes designated as “Diabetes” include:

● Carbohydrates no greater than approximately 35g per serving
● No greater than 6 grams saturated fat per serving
● Low fat dairy products
● Lean proteins
● Sodium no greater than 600mg per serving

Gluten Free Recipes

According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, a food may be designated gluten free if:
● It does not contain rye, barley, wheat or derivatives of wheat such as durum, semolina, kamut,
farro, and spelt.
● It does not contain crossbred hybrids such as triticale (a cross between rye and wheat)
● It does not contain brewer’s yeast or malt
● There is a gluten-containing grain or an ingredient derived from a gluten-containing grain such as wheat starch, it must have been processed to less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten.

Following the Celiac Organization guidelines above, Health eCooks® recipes designated in the “Gluten Free” category are reviewed by a registered dietitian to ensure they are free of:

● Any ingredient that is a prohibited grain (wheat, rye, barley), a derivative of wheat, or any
crossbred hybrids
● Any ingredient that contains brewer’s yeast or malt
● Any ingredient that is derived from a prohibited grain and that has not been processed to remove
gluten to less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten.

Vegetarian Recipes

According to the Vegetarian Society, a vegetarian diet is one that does not contain any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish, or by products of slaughter. A Lacto-Ovo vegetarian diet includes eggs and dairy in addition to grains, pulses, nuts, seeds and fruit.

In keeping with the Vegetarian Society definition of a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian diet above, the Health eCooks® recipes designated as “Vegetarian” will not contain meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish, or any byproducts of slaughter. The recipes may contain the following:

● Fruits
● Whole grains
● Legumes
● Seeds
● Nuts
● Eggs
● Dairy products

Bariatric

The Health eCooks® Bariatric Recipe database contains recipes appropriate for most weight loss
surgery patients medically approved to eat solid food. Recipes designated in the “Bariatric” category
have:

● Less than 400 calories per serving
● High protein (with the exception of some side dishes and desserts)
● Low bulk
● Small portion sizes
● Low saturated fat
● Sodium no greater than 600mg per serving

Each person’s post weight loss surgery eating plan is unique. Patients should consult with their physicians for their individual guidelines.

Health eCooks® is a registered trademark of Baldwin Publishing.
Last updated: July 5, 2023