Everyone wants to eat healthier but it’s often difficult to figure what that means. Everyone, it seems has a different view of what constitutes “health eating”. Well, you can’t go wrong by eating more whole organic foods. These are foods that have been grown without added hormones, pesticides or other additives. Even the Whitehouse has got into the act by changing the food pyramid to a plate. The plate really makes a lot of sense because we do eat on a plate, not a triangle.
You can see the new Food Guidelines here: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
Notice how fruits and veggies are half your plate and portion control is the keyword of the food plan. Making veggies and fruits half your plate is a perfect way to get more whole foods into your diet. Even if you have especially big plates (plates have grown in size by over 20% since the 70’s!), eating half, raw whole veggies and fruits will make you healthier. A forth of your plate is whole grains, so fully three quarters of your meal should be whole foods. The last forth is for lean proteins.
You can also use the site above to create a food plan for you based on your age, weight and height. While the government seems to have issues getting a lot of things done, one thing is certain; the USDA website is an awesome resource to help you eat right. If you want to skip certain additions such as meat and dairy just substitute other foods that have the missing nutritional ingredient. Example: 1 serving of spinach has 255 milligrams of calcium. You can eat healthy by always remembering that food is a source of nutrition, and if you cut out one group you need to replace the nutritional components with something.
Some quick ways to get more whole foods into your diet are:
Hide it – Grate a carrot and add it to your spaghetti sauce, or stuff some leafy greens into your morning fruit smoothie. In addition use whole grain pasta, and dairy that has no added hormones in your smoothie.
Eat your fruit – Fruit is full of fiber and is good for you, eat it, instead of drinking it. Drink water instead of fruit juices, diet sodas or even milk. Plus, it has the added benefit of being hydrating and filling you up more than just drinking the juice.
Have a raw night – Make one or two nights a week, “raw” night and only eat raw whole foods such as salads with a lot of veggies, fruits and nuts. Use fancy wine vinegars to season your salad instead of fatty dressings.
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