A Few Simple Food Changes

Here are a few quick changes you can make to improve you diet without too much stress or hassle. You might be surprised on some of them, but trust me I have done my homework.

1.  Get rid of margarine and vegetable oils.  Replace them with butter, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil.

Why?  Because of the process used to make margarine and vegetable oils, known as hydrogenation, they tend to be higher in trans fats than other oils which can raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. Olive oil is monounsaturated fatty acids.  Which according to the Mayo Clinic are considered a healthy dietary fat.  Coconut oil is also free of trans fats and is great for use when cooking with high heat (fried chicken for example).  Butter does not have trans fat, but does have saturated fat, so it should be used sparingly.  Oils in general should not be used in excess, but choosing healthier oils is a good option.

 2. Say goodbye to iceberg lettuce. Replace it with green leaf or romaine lettuce.

Why?  Vitamin A.  Iceberg lettuce has 7% DV of Vitamin A, green leaf has 53% and romaine has a whopping 81%.  We usually eat salads to be healthy, right?  Then we should probably use a lettuce that actually has some vitamins in it!

3. Ditch the bleached white flour and white rice.  Replace them with whole wheat flour and brown rice.

Why?  Bleached flour goes through a chlorination process to make it whiter.  Wait...What?  Yep, bleached means bleached.  I don't know why this didn't dawn on me until just a few years ago, but when it did I decided never to buy bleached flour again.  Unbleached all purpose flour is barely any less white than bleached flour!  I really only use unbleached all purpose flour for pie crust.  Normally, I choose whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour.  Whole wheat contains the 100% of the whole kernel of wheat, making it a whole grain.

Brown rice is also a whole grain and can easily replace white rice.  To me it has a slightly nuttier flavor and is definitely hardier.  It also takes a lot longer to cook, so take that into consideration when preparing a meal with brown rice.
 
A few health benefits of whole grains include: possible reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, weight loss/descreased fat, and reduced risk of stroke.  These are just a few of the many, many benefits.  The nuttier flavor and courser texture take a bit of getting used to, but are completely worth it in my mind.

4.  Buy local when you can.  To include:  meat, eggs, produce and honey.  It helps the local economy and these products are often fresher and more nutritious.

5.  Grow your own garden and preserve your produce for the winter months. You know exactly what is on (or is not on) your veggies and gardening is amazingly gratifying.

6.  Make your own homemade food from scratch whenever you can.  It's easier than you think!
Here are some links of common prepacked foods that you can easily make from scratch.
Hot Cocoa and Whipped Cream
Granola Bars
Taco Seasoning
Salsa
Fresh Baked Bread
Delicious Whole Wheat Brownies


A few final thoughts on food.  If your great grandmother would not recognize it as food, you probably shouldn't eat it.  And if you are reading through the ingredients on prepackaged, processed food and you don't recognize an ingredient as food, you probably shouldn't consume it!

I hope that I have encouraged you to try these simple changes for increased health and well-being!