If you can’t pronounce it,
don’t eat it. Read your food labels. See how many chemicals are in
processed food. Throw away anything that looks like it belongs in a
laboratory.
Sift out white flour. This
includes the obvious, like white bread and rolls, but also cake and pancake
mixes, most pasta, instant noodles, many cereals and baked goods. Replace
them with whole grain alternative – buckwheat pancake mix, rice or corn
noodles, whole or multi-grain breads or cereals.
Have an oil change. Get
rid of those plastic bottles of all-purpose vegetable oil. They aren’t doing
anything good for you. Replace them with small quantities of olive, canola,
sunflower or flax see oil, and keep them in dark bottles in your
refrigerator. Oil goes rancid very quickly, so store it carefully and use it
quickly. (The same goes for nuts.)
Do your heart a favor.
While you’re upgrading your oil, think about substituting unsalted butter,
hummus or mashed avocado for that tub of margarine. The process of turning
oil into a margarine spread creates trans-fatty acids, which the body cannot
process.
Spice it up! Herbs and
spices lose their potency within about a year. How old is that tarragon at
the back of your spice cabinet?
Veg out. Make it easy to
add plenty of fruits and vegetables to your meals. Have on hand a variety of
fresh, frozen and tinned produce so that you can easily boost a dish’s
nutritional value.
Have a snack! Put
tempting, healthy foods at the front of the cupboards or in the fridge. Raw
nuts, dried and fresh fruit, rye crisp breads, plain yoghurt, hummus and
fresh vegetable sticks are some good choices.
Bean there, done that?
Dried or tinned beans and legumes are low-G.I., nutrient-dense, high-fiber
foods that add a powerful punch to most meals. You can sprout mung beans or
lentils to add crunch and nutrition to salads, puree chickpeas or garbanzos
to make hummus, add beans to soups, stews, casseroles or other dishes.
Are you too sweet? Sodas,
fruit juices and many processed foods are loaded with sugar. And chemical
sweeteners trigger the release of insulin just like ‘real’ sugar. Make a
move towards natural sweeteners, like honey, barley malt and stevia. Your
pancreas will thank you.
Experiment! Are you in a
rut? Most people tend to eat the same ten foods over and over again. Tickle
your taste buds and introduce new flavors. Try a new vegetable or
seasoning. Eat a wide variety of foods in all different colors and
textures, raw and cooked. Nutritionally you’ll be covering the bases better,
and you won’t get bored!
Jennifer Clare, author of
The No Sweat Guide To Fitness and the founder of
Stop Weighting. Do you need a coach to help you stop yo-yo dieting? Is is
time to get that weight off of your mind?
The
Top Ten Ways To Spring Clean Your Pantry
Jennifer Clare, author of
The No Sweat Guide To Fitness and the founder of
Stop Weighting. Do you need a coach to help you stop yo-yo dieting? Is is
time to get that weight off of your mind?