A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about real food, and transitioning to a healthier lifestyle. It's not something you want to just jump right into, especially when you are not the only person you are feeding.
Taking baby steps is the easiest way, not to mention probably the best method in making it a lasting change.
I think it's important to note that I started down this path close to a year ago (though I have always been a bit of a health nut), and I still want to improve our diet. I have learned to relax over time and have realized that even though I want this so badly, my family is not quite so gung-ho about it. That being said, I've tried out hundreds of different recipes (okay, maybe not hundreds, but it sure does feel like it sometimes), and have only found a good handful or two of keepers. I consider a keeper a recipe that 3 out of the 4 of us enjoy. Be sure to check out the Recipe tab to see the meals I've been able to convince my picky family to eat.
So here we are! The first part of making a transition into healthier living.
Taking baby steps is the easiest way, not to mention probably the best method in making it a lasting change.
I think it's important to note that I started down this path close to a year ago (though I have always been a bit of a health nut), and I still want to improve our diet. I have learned to relax over time and have realized that even though I want this so badly, my family is not quite so gung-ho about it. That being said, I've tried out hundreds of different recipes (okay, maybe not hundreds, but it sure does feel like it sometimes), and have only found a good handful or two of keepers. I consider a keeper a recipe that 3 out of the 4 of us enjoy. Be sure to check out the Recipe tab to see the meals I've been able to convince my picky family to eat.
So here we are! The first part of making a transition into healthier living.
One of the easiest adjustments to living a healthier lifestyle is to swap out anything made of refined white flour and white grains to whole wheat flour, and whole grains.
Make sure when purchasing the word "Whole" is included in the description and ingredients. Wheat bread is not the same as whole wheat bread - it has been refined, even though it doesn't have the bright white appearance.
White refined products are pretty much fluffy candy bars - they have hardly any nutritional value at all. The vitamins and minerals refined products are "enriched" with are all synthetic, which means your body has to work twice as hard to break down and digest them - thus sapping energy from your day.
Ruth Yaron, author of Super Baby Food has said, "The whiter the bread, the closer you are to dead" - and though it's a bit of a scare tactic (the only one in the book really), it has too much truth to it.
Make The Change:
-Don't let yourself get overwhelmed. Once you run out of something in your pantry, make a note of it for your next shopping trip, and make sure to choose a healthier whole grain variety.
This can add years to your life and help you lose weight. Whole grains have more fiber, and fiber forms bonds with fat in your body, and then gets carried out together after digestion. You lose about 7 calories per gram of fiber in each meal.
Make sure that you are comfortable with this dietary change, before moving on to the next step. If you have a family you need to feed, make sure to slowly adjust to the whole grain products so no one refuses to eat them. Doing a drastic switch typically does not fare well with anyone (especially children and husbands :) )
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