Keep your Eating Healthy and Simple

January 26, 2012

Keep your Eating Healthy and Simple

Avoid These Items in your food

Salt
Sugar, substitutes, “corn” sugar, fructose, sucrose, etc.
Nothing Processed (i.e. flour, pasta, rice and sugar)
Nothing Fried or Breaded
Simple carbohydrates

Know what is good for you and what is bad for you. We all know more than ever about healthy eating and the Internet has bombarded us with tons of information. There is no excuse to not know what is bad. However, the truth is, like cigarettes that we know can kill and cause cancer are still smoked more than ever. What if food had the same warning labels...it won't stop anyone from eating fat, salt, sugar or chemicals used to preserve food. Goes to show you that the mind, food addiction and how people process this information does not guarantee any success.

Ask the person who was just diagnosed with diabetes if they knew too much sugar was no good, or ask the person who was just diagnosed with high blood pressure or cholesterol, if they knew that too much salt and fat were no good. I'm not saying don't eat salt or sugar, I'm not even saying diet or take extremes, what I am saying is, become aware of the volume of these products you take in every day.

Probably one-fifth of the population, because of genetic predisposition, may be increasing their risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) by having a high intake of sodium. People who have a high intake of sodium have a high incidence of hypertension and stroke. High blood pressure is rarely seen in those who consume less than 1.2 grams (1200 milligrams) of sodium per day.

Look for These items in your food

Whole Grain or multi grain breads and pasta
Natural seasoning (garlic, onion, pepper, basil, cilantro)
Vegetables and fruits: Raw, lightly steamed, or juiced
Organic lean meats, fish, chicken
Foods that are not processed
Bake, steam and grill

Know the food

A banana is a banana…an apple is an apple
Most of us actually do know the food we are eating. However, it is easy to get disillusioned by the labeling on foods...just because it says it has banana does not mean its actually banana. It takes many preservative to "add" real banana, and most likely if its a processed product it has banana pulp, flavor, and food coloring to serve as the replacement for actual banana.The key here is to identify the ingredients within the products or meals you're eating.

Know the source of food Can you tell what you’re eating and distinguish it's source of flavor. Spinach is the leaf, Potato is the root.
The simpler it is to identify the foods your eating raises the chances of it being healthier for you. If you have foods that can be seen such as a bowl of steamed broccoli instead of cream of broccoli chances that is going to be healthier. The less the vegetable is cooked the better. So a nice light stir fry in olive oil or steamed vegetables that are still crisp and crunchy are going to be healthier.

Know the content of food and ingredients.

Understand the ingredients, seasonings, sauces, and other added ingredients

If you enjoy food as much as I do, then you love to try new flavors and spices. The key thing here is to able to taste the food as well as each spice. Food that is over spiced or has too many ingredients tend to cover the actual taste of a food. Fish tastes fishy, broccoli taste like it looks (like a tree or plant), and beets taste like dirt. The adding of spices and sauces or cooking the food into another form is to make the food more eatable. The choice here is to attempt to avoid over spicing food, and avoid hiding the flavor of food. Knowing the ingredients in food helps to reduce the amount of fat, calories, sodium and sugar.

know your food. Know what you are eating, identify the flavors don't be overwhelmed by them.

Know where your food comes from

Processed foods and pre-packed foods come from a factory. Fresh whole foods, locally grown raw vegetables and organic meats are best. Cook your own food

Buy Fruits and vegetables from farmers markets

Buy meats, fish and poultry from butchers, and local fish markets.

Read all the labels

Locally grown foods and farms are a better choice than brand foods processed long distances away from where you live. While some fruits and vegetables do "travel" well in containers remember that usually they are picked before they are ripe and ripened in transit. Poultry, fish, beef and pork can all be purchased as close to the source as possible with a conscious effort.

Learn to understand the difference between portion and serving size

Spread out your meals throughout the day

Never punish yourself for eating healthy

Add healthy alternatives to your daily routine

Juicing all natural Fresh Juice Drinks
Protein shakes
Natural low salt bean and or vegetable soups
Reduce portions
Snack healthy: nuts, fresh cut fruit or granola