Good eats

Food and nutrition are a significant part of a healthy lifestyle. When I get busy, not only does my workout time suffer, but my eating habits also go. Here are some ways that I try to keep myself and my family eating properly.

- Whole grains – These things are showing up everywhere: breads (tortillas, english muffins, bagels), pastas, cereal, brown rice. Why are they so good for you? They armen’t as processed as their “white” counterparts and more of the nutrition is left behind. It also takes longer for your body to digest whole grain foods so you feel full for a longer period of time. If you can’t stomach an entire serving of whole grain pasta, try mix regular pasta with whole grain or whole wheat pasta. Kashi products are a personal favorite and we eat their cereals, crackers, and granola bars. We’ve also discovered Tostitos makes a multigrain chip that’s actually rather healthy if you need a chip. We served these at my son’s birthday party last weekend:
http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/tostitos-multigrain-chips.html

For other info on whole grains, take a look at this site:
http://vegetarian.lovetoknow.com/List_of_Common_Whole_Grain_Foods

- More fruits and veggies – I love the spring and summer because more fruits and vegetables are in season. In a pinch though, I keep frozen vegetables on hand, the kind without butter or seasoning. This way I can control the amount of salt and fat that is added. I’m always adding frozen corn to my soups and chilis too and I’ve been known to add some chopped spinach to a chicken quesadilla. I also steam lots of broccoli and carrots and then season them with a little bit of salt or not at all. I found that the whole carrots actually taste a lot better than the little ones. As a side note, I’ve heard that the USDA has revised their fruit and vegetable recommendation by saying half of your plate should be fruit and vegetables. That’s a big part of my plate that I know I’m not getting.

- Healthy snacks – Yogurt w/some low fat granola and fruit dumped in. Yoplait now makes a Greek yogurt now that has less sugar than their regular yogurt – I dig it. The Organic Stoneyfield vanilla yogurt is also a favorite. A Nature Valley granola bar also works for me in a pinch – 2 bars at 7g of fat but you get some grains at the same time. Low fat cheese and Kashi crackers is another popular option at home.

- Lean meats – We try to eat ground turkey and chicken more than ground beef. I have a great recipe for turkey meatloaf which I’ll share later. Of course I enjoy a good burger but I just try not to do it as often. Pork tenderloin is also an easy option as well: season with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast @ 425 for 20-22 minutes.

I think the bottom line for us is that if I don’t buy it, we don’t eat it which means, I need to buy more of the healthy stuff and leave the other foods at the store. Someone once told me that if you buy the majority of your food from the perimeter of the store, you’ll do pretty well. If you think about it, that’s where all the fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products are. I know when I eat better, I feel better.

What are your healthy food tips?