Eating Healthy

This time of year is always crazy for me and because of that my fitness activites go by the wayside rather quickly.  So since I'm not exercising as much I find myself watching what I eat a lot more extensively.  Especially so the older I get.  I can't eat what I use to be able to eat anytime, anyplace I wanted.  I am also a lot more aware of what is healthy and good for me.  Although I don't do a great job, I am consciously trying to buy and prepare whole foods more often then I did before. 

I grew up eating a mix of whole foods and processed box foods - but often times homecooked, from scratch meals with food from the garden throughout the whole year.  But there in my twenties when it was all up to me, I ate out a lot more and made the quick and easy processed foods - from the box type of meals.  Not that they are BAD for you just not as good for you as fresh produce and whole foods.

Here's what I've learned in just a little bit of researching:

Processed foods are produced using manufacturing methods to transform raw ingredients into neatly packaged goods, which have a longer shelf life. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), flavors, preservatives, hydrogenated oil, fillers, and artificial sweeteners are just some of the artifical ingredients used in processed foods. Usually, consumers can prepare them quickly without a lot of time and effort. However, they don’t offer much in nutritional value. 

Whole foods are grown in orchards, gardens, or greenhouses, are unprocessed and unrefined, and have a shorter shelf life. These foods are authentically flavorful, have vibrant colors, and rich textures. Moreover, they are full of the micronutrient vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber. Typically, they require longer preparation times.  (Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/022175.html#ixzz1ZrBc7zvJ)

Along with thinking about the difference in those two, I find myself thinking more about my balanced meals and getting the "right foods" and "right amounts" from the food pryamid food plate. 



Source



I vote thumbs up for this new interpretation of the food pyramid.  Definitely a much different way of thinking about the types and quantity of foods you need to eat at each meal and in my own opinion a better way to think about things.  I think this is easy for kids to understand and that is where healthy eating really starts.  If a child is eating a well balanced, whole food type of meal often growing up they are more likely to stick with it or come back to it when they get older.

Just my two cents for the day....all spurred on by my whole foods dinner tonight as I work towards my goals for the month.

QOTD:  What do you think about the food plate?  How do you measure up?  Does your plate usually look like the diagram?  What kind of foods did you eat growing up versus the foods you eat today?

Vitamins

With my new push on cross-training along with my running, I have also been taking a look at my diet.  I've been reading a lot of different blogs and am interested in how many are eating "clean" and not processed foods.  That is one thing I would like to work on more.  We do pretty good in the summer when I have the garden growing, but here in the winter I tend to cook up a lot of pre-packaged pasta, rice, potatoes and I don't like it.

I feel that "eating clean" would take too much time, it is so much easier to just toss things together and cook it up, rather than having to go through all the steps.  Plus I just don't have any idea where to start with easy recipes.  I hope that this summer I can actually spend some time on my summer vacation figuring things out and coming up with recipes that I can use through the school year.

I have been trying to buy more fresh veggies each week as well to cook with.  I haven't made it to the store this week but hope to make it there tomorrow after school to get some more lettuce, asparagus, broccoli and califlower.  I love cooking asparagus and my family made me hungry for that last weekend when they made it for Friday night dinner. 

One of my favorite "eating clean" bloggers is CleanEatingChelsey.  She always posts a lot of ideas and receipes.  Today she posted about an opportunity to win $100 Shopping Spree from Swanson Vitamins. Who doesn't like free stuff??  It can't hurt to try.  I browsed through their site and they offer a lot more than vitamins.  I would like to try some of their products since I've been really trying to be sure to take my vitamins each night and could use to stock up on a few. 


Have a blog? Want to win a $100? Check out the Swanson Health Blog.