Wednesday, April 17, 2013

What is a good diet for someone trying to stay healthy?

Q. I want to go on a diet to be healthy, but I don't want it to have to be too hard. I work out a lot, and am very fit, but I feel that I am not making the healthiest choices when it comes to eating. What should I do when it comes to disciplining my food choices?

A. Thats great that your active and want to eat healthy :)
Go for natural, organic foods. Eat smaller portions more often rather than big portions less often. Avoid things like soda, diet soda or any diet drinks, artificial colors or sweeteners, too much sugar, overly processed foods. Remember to drink plenty of water. Green tea is great to =) As well as water with lemon which is cleansing, good for your skin, digestive system.

You can also try out healthier alternatives with food.
Examples:

- Replace fast food french fries with homemade sweet potato or regular fries (made with a touch of olive oil, salt)

- For chips, you could try natural sweet potato chips, pita chips, fat free popcorn, pop chips or a natural potato chip brand like Kettle. You can also make your own chips by thinly slicing potatoes or sweet potatoes, glazing with olive oil, sprinkling with salt (pepper, basil if you'd like - cinnamon goes well with sweet potatoes) & baking them.

- Replace candy with things like frozen grapes or banana slices, dried mango strips, dried blueberries/cranberries/cherries/papaya, raisins, etc.

- Try a veggie burger on a whole wheat bun, topped with some things you like.

- If you want soda, try cold sparkling water with lemon or mixed with 100 % organic fruit juice instead

- Replace white pasta with whole grain in pasta dishes + add veggies (for example adding baby spinach to pasta, grilled vegetables to lasagna, broccoli/grated carrot/spinach/kale to pasta salad, etc.

- For a creamy pasta sauce try tomato sauce with goat cheese mixed in, for a healthier dish

- Enjoy pizza, try it on thin multigrain crust topped with fresh veggies.

- For healthier treat options try things like: frozen yogurt, vanilla greek yogurt with berries & grated dark chocolate, whole grain baked goods, etc. Desserts are fine in moderation :)


Here is a list with some healthy food ideas :)

~ Greek yogurt or yogurt (nonfat) - Greek yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt
~ Eggs, cheese, cottage cheese (2% is fine), goat cheese, skim milk or goat milk, etc.
~ Vegetables
~ Fruit & Berries
~ Beans (chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, mixed beans, etc.) - full of fiber and protein :)
~ Veggie burgers (Amy's makes great veggie burgers)
~ Whole grain breads: multigrain bread, ezekiel bread, rye bread, whole wheat pitas, whole grain tortillas or bagels, etc.
~ Whole grain pasta or brown rice pasta, brown/wild rice, quinoa, buckwheat, etc.
~ Sweet potatoes or potatoes
~ Hummus
~ Oatmeal - great source of fiber, you can add toppings like: almond butter or peanut butter, nuts, fresh berries/fruit, raisins, dried fruit like cherries/cranberries/blueberries, cinnamon, skim milk or non-dairy milk, nonfat greek yogurt, jam, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, etc.
~ Healthy cereals (Kashi, Nature's Path Organic, etc..high in fiber like raisin bran)
~ Nuts, seeds, almond butter, peanut butter
~ Non-dairy milks like soy, almond or rice milk
~ Ground flax seed to add into a smoothie, top yogurt, etc.
~ Olive oil, good healthy fat, great for stir frys with lots of veggies.
~ Salmon & Tuna
~ Tofu & Tempeh - are great in sandwiches, wraps, on salads, etc.
~ Whole grain crackers
~ Whole grain waffles or pancakes
~ Dark chocolate


Website with great nutrition information, healthy recipes, meal ideas, snack ideas, etc
Building blocks for good nutrition:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values/building-blocks.php
Four pillars of healthy eating:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere/fourpillars.php


I hope this helps :)


Is this a healthy sandwich snack?
Q. i use "whole graine" bread.very little light mayo with mustard.I add lettuce,tomatoes,cucumbers,onion,and turkey 98% fat free.
Also what is a good healthy homemade dip
salad dressing i mean!

A. That's pretty healthy and sounds yummy. For homemade salad dressing or dip, you can mix caesar dressing and plain nonfat yogurt together -- about 2 parts dressing to 1 part yogurt. It makes the caesar flavor less intense, and cuts the fat a lot. You can substitute plain nonfat yogurt for part or all of the sour cream in most dressing/dip recipes, too, with good results. When my mom makes onion dip for parties, she uses 1 c low-fat sour cream, 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt, and a packet of Lipton onion soup mix. It's darn good!


I'm on a diet and need ideas on food i can take to work other than sandwiches?
Q. I want to eat more healthily. Have already cut out oil and sugary things from my diet but want to stop eating as much bread. Any ideas on healthy low cal food that could take to work as a packed lunch? Thanks!
I'm not on a specific "diet" just cuttin out the crap!
Happy birthday bettyboop!

A. You can make little home made california rolls. (sushi rolls)
Easy to make and delicious to eat.

You could have your sandwich ingredients made up in a lettuce leaf instead of bread.

If you have access to a fridge and microwave at work, try taking a lunchbox with your left over healthy dinner!

Eating rice cold is generally seen as a big NO NO, but actually its pretty tasty, and I have had pretty serious food poisoning before, but never because of the rice.
So you can make some rice salads, or have rice with a piece of lean meat, and some veges.

Always have a fruit bowl handy, dried nuts, rice crackers... all of which are good for when you get snack cravings.

Make some homemade muesli bars.

Eat flavoured tuna and rice.

South beach diet book has lots of non bread recipes





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