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Posts Tagged ‘Healthy Food’

Some of the biggest excuses I hear about healthy eating, be it for health reasons, or to lose weight or gain muscle are – “healthy food doesn’t taste good,” (which is a serious problem because if your food doesn’t taste good, it’s very unlikely you’ll stick to the plan) “it takes too long to prepare healthy food”, and, “it’s too complicated.” These excuses are usually the result of thinking you need to slave over a hot stove preparing 6 course meals all day long. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Excuse #1 Healthy food is bland food

First off, the reality is that healthy foods aren’t the one to blame; it’s the cook who’s at fault. Healthy foods don’t have to be boring, or taste bad. Foods like rice cakes taste like cardboard because that’s what rice cakes taste like, not because all healthy foods do

The belief that healthy food doesn’t taste good will slow down your progress. Healthy food is like high performance race fuel for your body, while junk food laden with salt, sugar, fats, preservatives and the like are nothing more than camouflaged candy. You can say healthy food helps you perform like an Indy car, or a jet fighter, and junk food gives you the performance of a garbage truck! If you insist on eating junk and avoiding healthy food because “it taste’s bad,” don’t expect to win any races or competitions anytime soon.

Another point to keep in mind is the following, expensive restaurants don’t serve Big Macs – notice I didn’t say burgers. They have burgers alright; one’s made with top quality beef, nutritious bread and piles of veggies.

A tasty menu will actually make you look forward to your meals, and that’s critical.

You might be able to eat a bad meal every now or then and brush it off, but do you think you could do that every day? How about 4, 5, 6 even 7 times a day? Probably not unless you were in a POW camp and didn’t have a choice.

Simply put, tastier food makes it easier to stick to your nutritional plan. Stick to your nutritional plan long enough and it’ll become a lifestyle. By making it a lifestyle you’ll reap the benefits from eating healthy only gained from “sticking to the plan” for the long haul. Sticking to a healthy lifestyle for the long haul means your results will stick with YOU for the long haul – and I’d bet it’s safe to say that’s what you want.

Kirsten Hawkins, nutrition and health expert writes: “One of the biggest reasons that people slip off their diets and eating plans is BOREDOM. It’s very easy to look at the foods allowed on your diet and see it as restrictive and boring. Chicken four nights a week. Fish three times a week. Green leafy vegetables till they’re coming out of your ears. Who wouldn’t get bored? The answer is – anyone with a good set of cookbooks and a healthy imagination. Perk up your cabinet with spices and fill your refrigerator with fresh fruits and vegetables, then look for novel ways to combine them.”

Excuse #2 I don’t have the time to prepare healthy food

You may be saying to yourself “that’s great but I don’t have the time to cook.” The truth is neither do I, at least not 5 or 6 times a day. However, I do have time to cook once a day and will usually prepare multiple meals at a time.

Once you realize that most healthy foods don’t take much longer than unhealthy foods you’ll find you’ll have time for it too.

Most times it’s just as fast and even quicker. Usually you can take the same recipes and replace the ingredients with healthier choices. For example, swap medium ground beef for extra lean, butter with olive oil, brown rice for white, and presto, you have a healthy meal. It also helps to experiment with different types of foods and try things you are unfamiliar with.

Excuse #3 Too complicated

It’s also not that complicated. You don’t need to spend hours seasoning and boiling down dishes. The great thing is that healthy meals tend to be simple dishes that use easy to learn cooking methods.

Toni Tanner Scott, Personal Chef and Cooking Coach, writes, “To support your healthy eating plan, stock your pantry wisely, focusing on the kinds of cuisine you and your family prefer. Start with the basics: good olive oil, reduced fat/sodium broth, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, dry beans and lentils. Then if you particularly enjoy Tex-Mex, add good chili powder, cumin, and oregano and tomato paste. If Asian fare is always favorite, keep low sodium soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil on hand, along with longer grain rice… you’ll always be able to whip up a fabulous meal with some fresh lean meat and vegetables.”

All of this healthy good eating will cause you to feel and look better, which will make you want to stick to the plan even more. Also, consistently eating healthy and balanced meals that meet your caloric requirement will provide you the fuel you need to push yourself to higher levels and maximize the returns from each workout. You will also recuperate better and quicker from your workouts which means you’ll be in the gym sooner and reaching your goals faster.

If you’re serious about your health, your looks, your mental wellbeing, making the most out of the time you spend in the gym and actualizing your true potential, fueling your body is a top priority.

And it all starts with a tasty menu based on a rock solid nutrition plan and a proven system that will get you there.

Eating Time!

Learn the basics of cooking.

You really don’t need more than the basics, and they are very quick and easy to pick up.

Use the best ingredients you can get

Use fresh ingredients when you cook it’ll make your foods taste much better. Even the best chef in the world would be hard pressed to make a tasty meal with old, wilted and stale ingredients.

Stay away from wilted fruits and veggies, and make sure the colors are bright and/or clear.

While fresh organic whole foods are my first choice, using pre cut or pre mixed fruits and veggies, like a salad mix, is ok when you’re short on time.

As a rule of thumb, don’t use anything that has a strong odor or has a cloudy color.

Fresh fish doesn’t have a strong “fishy smell”. If it does, it’s more than likely going, if not already, bad. Same goes for other meats, stay away from strong odors.

Leftovers with a purpose

Cooking in bulk, i.e. making leftovers on purpose is a great way to keep the fridge or freezer stocked with ready to eat foods and meals.

If you’re like most people, you want to provide your family with the best possible food at the lowest prices. So much of what we see in grocery stores these days is based on quantity not quality. I was shocked to learn recently that there are only about 3-5 humongous food producers in this country supplying all of our groceries. That makes me think that we don’t have as many choices as we thought. You may see a huge assortment of brands but who or what company is supplying those brands?

We all assume to some degree that we will be getting healthy, wholesome food at our local grocery stores. Food prices seem to be at an all time high and the quality of our food in general seems to be diminishing. What can we do? How can you supply your family with healthy, chemical free, delicious food? Not only should we be able to get this type of food, but also it should be affordable for everyone.

It does seem that when you look for healthy alternatives for you and your kids, the cost is much higher than a cheeseburger at a fast food joint. But, you can’t feed your kids fast food all the time and expect them to grow up healthy and strong. Childhood obesity is at an all time high and type II diabetes is rampant! If you want your kids to avoid some of these horrible health problems then we need to get back to basics. Maybe this is a good time to look back in time for a solution. No technology, no smoke and mirrors, just good old-fashioned common sense.

Could you maybe, grow some of your own food? I’m not talking a full-fledged farm here, just a few healthy choices like some red, juicy tomatoes or maybe herbs or strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and more. Some plants can even be grown indoors year around if you live in a colder climate. Lots of plants can be grown in pots if you don’t have a piece of ground to plant in. If you’re lucky and you have even just a small backyard, you have the means to grow all or some of your own food for a small initial investment. All you need is the knowledge and the motivation (healthy food), and a few hours of time.

Let’s get back to our roots and our self-sufficiency and learn how we can grow delicious, healthy produce in our own backyards or front yards. Save money on your fresh food bill, deliver food to your table that is exactly what you want for your family.

The fact that you are on a diet does not mean that your food must taste like diet food. In the contrary! If you want to lose weight effectively and in a healthy way, with a high chance of preventing it from coming back, than you must enjoy what you eat. Because that’s the only way how you will continue to eat this healthy food.

The problem why many fad diets fail is simply that you can’t keep on eating like that. And even if a restrictive diet does help you to lose weight – as soon as you finish the diet and return to your old eating habits, you will almost certainly pick up weight again.

But if you make lasting changes in your lifestyle and start eating healthier instead of going on a diet, then you have a high chance that you will not only lose weight but also keep it off afterwards. A healthy diet and weight is a lifetime commitment, not a 6-weeks affair. Eat healthy and you will be healthy, that’s the secret.

Try these three low-fat dishes that don’t taste like low-fat at all! They are healthy and easy to make, filling, high in nutrients and low in calories. And they are not “diet meals” but something you can enjoy.

Spicy Vegetable And Mince Curry

Ingredients

2 tbsp. canola oil 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. crushed chili 1/2 tsp. turmeric 2 tbsp. lemon juice 700 g lean minced beef 600 g butternut, diced 500 g carrots, thickly sliced 600 g potatoes, diced 500 g sweet potatoes, diced salt

Steps

Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry cumin and coriander for about 1 minute, continuously stirring. Add turmeric, chili and lemon juice and mix well. Add minced meat and roast it briefly. Add the vegetables, mix well, cover and roast for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Season with salt and serve
Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

1 small marrow, cubed 1 tomato, cubed

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People strive to find recipes that provide delicious and healthy food. Health-conscious people focus on preparing low-fat dishes that are delicious and easily prepared. Chicken is an excellent source of protein and at the same time low in fat. Using healthy chicken recipes will significantly lower the blood cholesterol, thereby improving your overall health and fitness level. People love this versatile meat, which can be prepared in various lip-smacking forms.

Be it a healthy chicken salad or any other chicken recipe, choosing the right chicken for your dish is very important .If you opt for the cheap battery-reared chicken, you will get a greasy and stringy dish with a flat taste. These chickens are fed on a high-calorie diet that gives them a lot of fat but no muscle. On the other hand, choosing an organic chicken will give you firm and full-flavored meat. Organic birds are raised on a better diet and roam free under better and more humane conditions. This chicken will obviously cost more but will give you better taste and quality.

To further decrease the level of fat, you can trim off some areas, especially on the thighs, and enjoy a healthier meal. You should never leave raw chicken at room temperature. To prevent contamination, always wash chicken with cold water. Store it in the coldest part of the refrigerator and use within two days. Similarly, cooked chicken shouldn’t be left out for more than two hours. Frozen chicken can easily sit in your freezer for one year without any harm.

A little creativity in your kitchen can whip up new low-fat and healthy chicken recipes for your entire family. If you cannot find a particular ingredient, try replacing it with some substitute and see the all-new dish prepared exclusively by you. While preparing food, follow basic safety rules and avoid accidents in your kitchen. This will ensure you safely prepare tasty meals for everyday consumption focused towards a healthy and long life.