75% of adults in America do not get an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. Of college students that percentage goes up to 95%
95%...CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?
So this got me thinking. I know that I have some very health conscious readers out there (ahem....can you say turkey bacon anyone ;) I truly say this with a tone of admiration. Ty and I are really trying to develop some healthy eating habits. We want to instill healthy eating habits in our kids and we want to not die at the age of 30 from eating nothing but cereal and pre-packaged desserts that have so many chemicals in them they have a shelf life of a bazillion years or so. So I am reaching out to my readership to ask for healthy eating suggestions that work for you and your family. You know, things like little tips or tricks that make the things you put in your mouth a bit more nutritious (or at least make you feel like it's more nutritious). Here are a few of the things we do so far.
- Substitute apple sauce for oil when baking
- Whole wheat flour instead of white
- LOTS of fresh fruits and veggies
- No soda pop
- Limited amounts of candy, sweets, and sugary baked goods in the house
- Trying not to buy pre-packaged\pre-made food products and cooking from scratch a lot more
- Trying to eat less meat in general and using chicken or fish when we do eat meat
I like to think that I have a readership of millions but lets be realistic...I don't know that many people. This means that if you are reading this and you are thinking, "I do (fill in the blank here) to be healthy" then you are obligated to leave me a comment with your thoughts. Blog stalkers, it's time to come out of your closets and reveal yourselves. The future of my families health is at stake! (How was that for manipulation!) Plus, if I get some good ideas I'll turn around and post them all so we can all share in the nutritious love. Thanks to anyone who shares.
8 comments:
Hello Chels! I work out! This helps me to eat healthy things because physiologically our bodies long for natural foods after releasing endorphins and the natural process of energy production takes place in our bodies. Anyone must be crazy (or pregnant) if they crave fast food after working out. The antioxidants in fresh fruits are necessary in our diet and exercise encourages that. (Coming from a Physical Education major and health and nutrition minor and an aerobics instructor. I may be a little biased but hey you asked!)
okay if you have heard anything about my husband he refuses to eat any fruits or veggies. He literally only eats meat and potatoes and corn...it's very frustrating making dinner, but one thing I do that he might kill me for is I puree zuchinni (spelling?) and put it in our spaghetti. You can't take it and it's a really good way to get in some different kinds of veggies.
We use ground turkey in place of ground beef...I promise most the time you can't tell the difference!
I use canola oil when I use oil.
I use frozen veggies. They are less expensive than fresh and they last longer so you don't waste money. Often frozen veggies are fresher than the 'fresh' produce. They are picked and frozen within hours instead of sitting in trucks and on shelves for days.
We NEVER use canned veggies - way too much sodium.
I don't think I can add much to your list. That is about all we do too. I also recently realized what Holly says about frozen veggies, and you really can buy bags of them at Walmart for pretty cheap. Even the "sugar snap stir fry" and the like is cheaper than buying all that stuff fresh.
Oh yeah, and green smoothies. Lots of green smoothies. And salads. I buy big tubs of fresh baby greens and organic baby spinach at Sam's--it's a pretty good deal there. Good croutons help too. Not with nutrition, of course, but flavor! I just picked up my favorite kind (Focaccia something or other) at Costco when I was in Utah last. And I've been experimenting with making my own salad dressings--cheaper and fewer chemicals.
I just read a great book by Michael Pollan _In Defense of Food_ and I've heard good things about _Food Rules_. I also love _The Culprit and the Cure_ by Steven Aldana. Amazing if you want to reevaluate your food choices. Here's a summary: Eat food. (as in not from a package) Not too much. Mostly plants.
Happy eating!
OK I won't grumble here about my family's shall we say lack of enthusiasm to my trying to be healthier. But one thing that wasn't on your list is I substitute non-fat plain yogurt for any kind of cream (sour cream, whipping cream, even some butter in cookies).
I think your list is awesome. And so are everyone's comments. We do the stir fry - a lot - with the frozen veggies. And we have no meat nights for dinner - we LOVE beans. Even Anna. We will snack on garbanzo beans and make homemade falafels (spelling?) and hummus. If I could get my husband to eat more fruits and veggies though, it would make me so happy.
Also, I love to exercise and my kids (well, Anna anyway) understand that it is important that we do it to be HEALTHY (I never want to mention weight to my children). Annabelle gets her drumsticks and pretends they are weights and she will do videos with me. It is pretty cute.
We buy packages of mixed nuts with raisins in them- $2 at Wal-Mart and eat a handful of those for a snack along with some cut up fruit. And going along with what Marie Rose said- Spaghetti Squash in place of spaghetti noodles is quite delicious. You can also you zuchinni or egg plant in place of noodles when you make lasagna.
Another good tip- that we don't always follow- is to not eat things that you wouldn't eat raw (excluding meat of course). So like potatoes or corn. The things you could eat raw have more and better nutrients. (but you don't have to eat them raw- just make sure that you could if you had to)
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