Sunkist Launches "Meal Makeover" Initiative to Emphasize How Following Dietary Guidelines Can Help Reduce Calories, Fat and Sodium Intake

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunkist Growers wants consumers to know that small changes can make a big difference when it comes to better food choices. As a USDA National Strategic Partner, Sunkist has launched "MyPlate Meal Makeovers" to emphasize how following the Dietary Guidelines can help consumers reduce their daily calories, fat and sodium intake.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55546-sunkist-launches-meal-makeover-initiative

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120425/MM89753 )

Through a series of "before and after" photos, the Sunkist® Meal Makeover program is an easy way for consumers to visually assess what small changes can be made to significantly improve the nutritional quality of every meal – whether prepared at home or purchased at a restaurant.

"Sunkist is always looking for ways to help promote healthy living, and the Sunkist Meal Makeover program does such a great job of illustrating what a difference it can make when you follow the recommended guidelines," said Gina Widjaja, Advertising & PR Manager for Sunkist Growers.  "We hope consumers will benefit from the before and after plates and use them as a guide for making better food choices and adding more citrus into their daily diet."

MyPlate inspires us to build healthy meals with healthy choices.  At a glance, it symbolizes the importance of choosing a variety of foods from all food groups, focusing on making half your plate fruits and vegetables.  The Sunkist Meal Makeover program incorporates these concepts and recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines so that all of the meals are higher in essential nutrients, including potassium and dietary fiber.  Most impressive is that all made over meals are also significantly lower in calories—by as much as 1000 calories.

A total of 6 sets of before and after photos were developed by Sunkist illustrating everyday breakfast, lunch and dinner meals.  Sample meals include waffles, tacos, fish, Chinese take-out and more.  Consumers can view calorie and nutritional information with each before and after photo at be www.sunkist.com/healthy/myplate-makeover-meals for easy comparison.   

In addition to this latest initiative, Sunkist recently launched the "Peel off the Weight & Feel Great" healthy citrus calendar, which provides 31 nutritious Sunkist® Citrus Recipes for consumers to incorporate into their daily diets.  The new healthy citrus calendar is available at http://www.sunkist.com/healthy/calendar/ and includes links to the full recipes and photos online.   For these and more healthy living programs and recipes from Sunkist visit: www.sunkist.com/healthy

About Sunkist Growers

Sunkist Growers is a cooperative of family farms.  Since 1893, the thousands of citrus growers in California and Arizona who are member-owners have developed the most diversified citrus marketing anywhere and created an international market for fresh citrus and citrus products.  Sunkist is a trademark of ©2012 Sunkist Growers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.  Visit www.sunkist.com for more information.

SOURCE Sunkist Growers