Healthy eating is a favorite topic for me because if our family can do it...anyone can!!
Again, balance is the key. We stay away from stict diets or very limited food choice diets. A couple of our biggest helps toward a healthy lifestyle are drinking more water and eating more vegetables.
Almost all we drink (my husband and I, you will be appalled at what the kids drink - sweet tea - all day long!) is water. Other than that spectacular coffee each morning, it is water all day. Before you think...I hate water and could never drink only water...let me share a few things. When I was a child, my mother liked soda and that was all she drank. She liked Tab and Fresca (anyone remember those??). As children we just drank what was in the house. I was hooked on soda and when I married and we couldn't afford soda all day long, I took to lemonade. When I decided to add more water to my diet, I hated it. It tasted awful and was just awful. But determined to drink more, I repalced my meal drink with water. Slowly, that became a habit. Then I would replace one time a day lemonade with water. Over a few years, water became my drink of choice. I add a lemon slice to it and LOVE it! Oh, and once you drink it for a while, you don't have to run to the bathroom so much!
Vegetables: It took a little planning and preparing but we increased our vegetable intake tremendously. The daily recommended fruit/vegetable amount is at least five servings. We begin our day with fruit and add some fruit to our breakfast. Adding a serving of vegetables to lunch and a salad and serving with supper gives us the total recommended amount. Since I like to exceed the goal -(!) I eat a serving of fruit for a mid morning snack and try to get two servings of vegetables for lunch and dinner. It is well worth the effort.
These are some simple ways to increase healthy eating and reap a multitude of healthy benefits!
Again, balance is the key. We stay away from stict diets or very limited food choice diets. A couple of our biggest helps toward a healthy lifestyle are drinking more water and eating more vegetables.
Almost all we drink (my husband and I, you will be appalled at what the kids drink - sweet tea - all day long!) is water. Other than that spectacular coffee each morning, it is water all day. Before you think...I hate water and could never drink only water...let me share a few things. When I was a child, my mother liked soda and that was all she drank. She liked Tab and Fresca (anyone remember those??). As children we just drank what was in the house. I was hooked on soda and when I married and we couldn't afford soda all day long, I took to lemonade. When I decided to add more water to my diet, I hated it. It tasted awful and was just awful. But determined to drink more, I repalced my meal drink with water. Slowly, that became a habit. Then I would replace one time a day lemonade with water. Over a few years, water became my drink of choice. I add a lemon slice to it and LOVE it! Oh, and once you drink it for a while, you don't have to run to the bathroom so much!
Vegetables: It took a little planning and preparing but we increased our vegetable intake tremendously. The daily recommended fruit/vegetable amount is at least five servings. We begin our day with fruit and add some fruit to our breakfast. Adding a serving of vegetables to lunch and a salad and serving with supper gives us the total recommended amount. Since I like to exceed the goal -(!) I eat a serving of fruit for a mid morning snack and try to get two servings of vegetables for lunch and dinner. It is well worth the effort.
These are some simple ways to increase healthy eating and reap a multitude of healthy benefits!
I do remember TAB. I remember it didn't taste very good. It had an awful after taste!
ReplyDeleteI try to drink plenty of water as well. I may still have a few tiny unhealthy snacks but I make sure I have plenty of fruits and vegetables as well.
Gina