Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.  -Hippocrates

Healthy food is important for the prevention and treatment of chronic health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.  The UW Health family medicine team believes food is medicine and created this website as a resource to guide you to better health with an emphasis on increasing produce consumption. In the spirit of The Wisconsin Idea, we are working with partners throughout Wisconsin to create nutrition security for all – a vision that everyone in Wisconsin EATS Healthy. Nutrition security exists when a person has physical, social, and economic access to enough, safe, and healthy food that meets their needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life at all times.

WISCONSIN EATS HEALTHY

Fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables are a delicious way to make every bite count! Try to get 4-5 servings every day. Consider tracking your intake with an app like SMART 5-A-DAY which is rated E for everyone and is available in the Google Play store.

Snacks can help you meet your daily nutrient needs. They can keep your energy high throughout the day. Try a snack from each of the food groups! (en espanol)

Low Cost Snacks

  • Nuts + Dried Fruit
  • Crackers + Cheese stick
  • Apple or Banana + Nut butter
  • Raw Vegetables + Hummus or Yogurt Dip
  • Fruit + Yogurt
  • Roasted edamame or chickpeas
  • Trail mix
  • Pretzels + Hummus
  • Hard boiled eggs
  • Cheese cubes + Fruit (like apple or grapes)
  • Cottage cheese + Fruit or Tomatoes
  • Tuna packet + Crackers
  • Guacamole + Veggies or chips
  • Cucumber or celery + Cream cheese
  • Dehydrated fruit
  • Whole grain tortillas + Banana + Nut butter

Low Carb Snacks

Dips & Dressings

Packaged Snacks

Smoothies

Healthy desserts can provide additional protein and fiber to help you meet your daily nutrient needs.

Whole food, plant-based eating emphasizes a variety of nutrient-dense, minimally processed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and legumes, and nuts and seeds. It’s important to know how to plan delicious and nutritious meals using these foods, discover foods you truly enjoy, and build confidence in the kitchen. Making a plan before heading out to shop can help you get organized, save money, and choose healthy options.

A meal kit is a subscription service that provides recipes with pre-portioned food ingredients to prepare fresh and portion-controlled home-cooked meals. Some meal kit services also provide microwave ready heat and eat meals. Meals are typically available in several pickup locations and some services also provide home delivery options.

People are eating out more than ever. It is easy to eat more calories, sugars, and fat if you go out without a plan. Explore these ideas for healthy dining out (PDF).

Smoothies & Fruit Bowls

    • BeneBlends (Smoothies, Bowls, Juice) – Junction Rd, West Madison – Dairy Free, Gluten Free
    • Blended (Smoothies, Bowls, Juice) – Hilldale, Madison
    • Smoothie King  (Smoothies, Bowls) – Deming Way, Middleton
    • Tropical Smoothie Cafe (also toasted flatbreads, wraps, sandwiches, quesadillas) – Multiple locations

Salads & Sandwiches

Fish Options

Medically tailored meals are healthy, fully prepared home-delivered meals (usually 10 meals per week) customized for individuals living with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart failure, kidney disease, HIV, and cancer. These are most commonly covered for individuals with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, low income, and/or certain disabilities.

Water accounts for 60 percent of your body weight (about 12 gallons or 100 pounds inside a 160-pound person). Water is vital to your health as it keeps your organs healthy, prevents bad breath, keeps you cool when you exercise, helps your muscles and joints work well, and helps your body flush out toxins. There are a lot of creative ways to help increase water intake. Try these tips to start:

  • Find a water bottle you love
  • Drink a minimum of ½ oz of water per pound of body weight per day (80 oz for a 160-pound person)
  • Your urine should be light yellow and almost odorless – dark yellow urine with a strong odor means you aren’t getting enough water
  • Avoid high-calorie, sugar-sweetened beverages and replace with water
  • If you like flavor, consider a low-calorie addition like citrus zest, berries, or herbs
  • If you like carbonation (as contained in soda), consider calorie-free flavored seltzers
  • Eat fruits that contain a lot of water like berries, melon, oranges, apricots, clementines, plums, and peaches
  • Eat vegetables that contain a lot of water like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, and bell peppers

Improving your health starts with goals. Setting goals helps you focus on what is most important to you, and making a plan to reach those goals helps you take things step by step. Make lifestyle changes that stick (PDF) and consider some of the following resources to help you reach those eating-related goals.

Group Medical Visits offer an innovative and interactive approach to meeting your healthcare needs. Patients with common health goals are brought together and led by one or more healthcare providers in a supportive environment. Each 60-90-minute visit allows patients to share as information as they feel comfortable. Patients can share experiences while also learning how to incorporate key elements necessary to live a healthier life. Through hands-on learning, you will explore self-management skills to support lifestyle and behavior changes that directly relate to specific health problems.

Wisconsin has many different programs that can help you pay for food or childcare costs, obtain health care coverage, find a job, and more. Start out by finding out if you qualify by answering a few questions about your household, income, assets, and expenses on Wisconsin’s ACCESS website.

Health insurance companies are increasingly covering food is medicine benefits for individuals with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, low income, and/or certain disabilities. These benefits often include medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries, produce prescription coverage, community supported agriculture (CSA) boxes, medically supervised weight loss programs, and more.

  • Quartz
    • Medically Tailored Meals (Quartz Nourishing Meal Program)
      • After Hospital Discharge (or after discharge from a skilled nursing facility):
        • Patients with Quartz Medicare Advantage (HMO) or Dual Eligible (D-SNP or Medicare + Medicaid) can receive 20 nutritious frozen and microwave-ready meals from Foodsmart delivered to their home at no extra cost following discharge. The meals provide easy and accessible healthy eating opportunities during recovery. Prior to receiving the meals, patients develop a personalized food and nutrition plan with a Foodsmart Registered Dietitian (RDN) with support in either Spanish or English.
        • Enrollment:  Contact Foodsmart at (415) 855-2444, Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., or by email at foodscripts@foodsmart.com.
        • 1-page handout
      • Congestive Heart Failure:
        • Patients with Quartz Medicare Advantage (HMO) or Dual Eligible (D-SNP or Medicare + Medicaid) who have congestive heart failure (CHF) and are engaged in a Quartz Care Management program (Quartz In Control, Complex Case Management, Health Coaching, Virta) are eligible to receive 2 nutritious frozen and microwave-ready meals per day for 6 weeks from Foodsmart at no extra charge. Meals are delivered every 2 weeks. Prior to receiving the meals, patients develop a personalized food and nutrition plan with a Foodsmart Registered Dietitian (RDN) with support in either Spanish or English. Following 6 weeks of meal delivery, patients can opt-in to receive a medically tailored food box delivered monthly for 6 months.
        • Enrollment:  Contact Foodsmart at (415) 855-2444, Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., or by email at foodscripts@foodsmart.com.
    • Medically Supervised Weight Loss
      • Patients with Quartz insurance (Commercial, Medicaid, QMA, D-SNP, or SSI) and Type 2 Diabetes or a BMI > 30 may be eligible for medically-supervised ketogenic nutrition therapy for up to 12 months at no additional cost with Virta for the “reversal” of these chronic conditions. Virta provides unlimited health coaching, supplies for glucose and ketone monitoring, a smartphone app for tracking data, and other resources including recipes, grocery lists, meal plans, and more.
      • Exclusions:  Age under 18 or over 80; Type 1 diabetes; Pregnant or nursing; Diabetic ketoacidosis in past 12 months; Stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease or on dialysis
      • Enrollment:  Contact Virta at (844) 918-4782 or enroll online
      • 1-page handout
    • Quartz Clinical and Care Management Programs
      • Disease-specific care management programs for diabetes, hypertension and congestive heart failure; Health Coaching (topics include Healthy eating, Healthy weight, Lowering stress, Staying active, Quitting tobacco, How to take medication so it works the best); and Complex Case Management are available to help patients meet their goals. All patients with congestive heart failure need to be enrolled in one of these programs before receiving medically tailored meals through Foodsmart.
      • Enrollment:  Contact Quartz at (844) 403-1712 or enroll online for any of these programs.

Health insurance companies are increasingly covering food is medicine benefits for individuals with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, low income, and/or certain disabilities. These benefits often include medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries, produce prescription coverage, community supported agriculture (CSA) boxes, medically supervised weight loss programs, and more.

UnitedHealthcare

  • If you have UnitedHealthcare®Group Medicare Advantage, explore whether you have meal benefits in your plan by entering your group number here. Search the associated documents that return for the word “meal”.