Twenty Easy Tips To Eating
Healthier
1. Seek
out local markets. Farmers’ markets are becoming more and more popular in
communities all over the country. You can also look for local farms that sell
to customers directly. It is always the best way to by food knowing the person
who grew it or raised it or baked it, and having a relationship with them. As a
bonus, it will boost your local economy.
2. Learn
to read labels, and stop being embarrassed about it. I was a label reader ten
years ago in Southern Indiana and I got gobs of funny looks. How ridiculous is
that, that I should be seen as odd, because I cared about what I was putting in
my body?
3. In
the grocery store, look for foods with fewer than five ingredients. Take baby
steps, and don’t give yourself a hard time about buying a thing or two that
isn’t healthy. But seriously, if you stick to the less than five ingredients
rule, you will be shopping much healthier.
4. Learn
to cook! Anyone can learn to cook, there is the food network, there is
you-tube, and many classes are available for adults to take as well. If none of
those ideas are working for you, ask a friend who cooks to teach you how. I
volunteer and lead a 4H cooking club out of my own kitchen. Food that is
homemade is better for you, plain and simple.
5. Avoid
individual packaging! Most people don’t know that foods in smaller packages
contain more preservatives and coatings than those sold in larger bulks. I once
compared a regularly sized peanut butter cup to the miniature ones. The regular
size did not contain hydrogenated oil, and the miniature one did.
6. Speaking
of hydrogenated oil, do dot buy foods that contain anything hydrogenated, or
hydro-anything for that matter, I even avoid homogenized milk and replace it
with soy or rice milk.
7. Lighten
up on the meat. On this blog, I publish a lot of recipes that contain lesser
quantities of meat. A ton of protein is not required in a healthy diet, and it
can come from foods other than meats. Lessening the amount of meat that your
family consumes is easier on your wallet, and more ecologically responsible as
well.
8. Don’t
buy foods that contain MSG. Monosodium glutamate is basically a super-salt. The
chemical is much higher in sodium than actual table salt, and it tricks your
brain into enjoying foods that don’t actually taste good. EWWW!
9. Go
whole grains, all the way. If there is a whole grain option, buy it. Packaging
can be tricky, so read the labels to be sure that the item is actually made of all whole grain, not simply containing some whole grain.
10. Buy plain
items, rather than flavored ones. For instance: plain potato chips contain very
few ingredients, whereas flavored ones have a long list, which usually contains
hydrogenated oil. You can make dip at home right? You can also buy plain yogurt
in the large container and add fresh or frozen fruit to it to flavor it,
instead of eating artificial flavorings.
11. Distrust
any product that advertises itself as being, low fat, light, or diet. Not all
of them are bad for you, but many of them contain additional chemicals in
exchange for what they are advertising that they are taking out.
12. Avoid
sugar substitutes. I love diet coke, but I try to limit my consumption to
sharing one soda with my kids when we go to the grocery, which is about every
three days or so. I never let my kids have sugar free gum either. Sugar
substitutes are not healthy to consume in excess.
13. Seek out
dark colors. The darker the natural color of a food, the more vitamins and
minerals it tends to have. Almost all super foods are dark in color. Dark
berries are great for your health, as well as dark leafy greens, and vibrant
carrots and sweet potatoes.
14. Try to eat
natural sugars. When I lived in France, we ate a piece of fruit for dessert
usually five out of seven days of the week. We ate delicious fancy desserts a couple
of times a week, they were almost always homemade, and to be honest, I think
that we appreciated them more because we didn’t have them every single day.
15. Fresh is
always better…because, fresh foods only have one ingredient. Canned and frozen
foods are often more convenient, but you give up in health what you gain in
convenience.
16. If you
cannot pronounce it, question it. My family uses Isagenix, so I have to admit
that I consume many ingredients that I cannot pronounce. However, unlike at the
supermarket, these products are coming from a highly reputable company that is
dedicated to bettering health, and which I trust. I do not trust foods with unpronounceable
ingredients at the store, which are manufactured by companies that I know
nothing about.
17. Remember
that fat doesn’t make fat. If you are looking to lose weight, then
carbohydrates are what need to be avoided. Foods that are high in protein are lower
in carbs. Skim milk has four times as many carbs per serving as cream does. To
lose weight, avoid white foods like white breads, potatoes, pastas, and
especially sugar. Don’t forget that fruits are sugars; even tomatoes contain a
considerable amount of sugar as do peas and beans.
18. Don’t
disregard GMO’s. People are pushing for mandatory GMO labeling, and I believe
that we will make it happen, but in the meantime, do not ignore those products
that are certified GMO free. They are most likely better than the alternative.
This is the reason that it is so important to seek out local growers. I
certainly prefer asking the grower if something is GMO free, than relying on a
certification.
19. Never ever
put plastic in the microwave. I don’t think that microwaves are completely safe
to begin with, but I definitely think that they are unsafe when you cook foods
in them that are wrapped or placed in plastic of any sort. Studies have been
done that show this changes the chemical make up of the food that is cooked in
them.
20. Blanch
your vegetables! No cooked vegetable needs to be cooked past the point that its
color starts to dull. This is when the vegetable loses its nutritional value.
If you eat veggies raw, they are even better for you. I noticed that my son
will actually pick through a plate of broccoli to seek out the brightest, least
cooked pieces to eat first. Sometimes we believe that our kids simply don’t
like certain vegetables, because we don’t understand that we are over cooking
them.
Comments
Post a Comment