by Laurie Pielak

Created on: September 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 06, 2008

Diet is a terrible word. Change to Healthy Eating is probably a better way to word it. A good rule of thumb when shopping or in a restaurant or ordering take out is to think fresh where possible. Alot of foods these days are prepared for fast cooking. Avoid the colour white where possible. White flour, white breat, sugar. Fresh fruit juices with no additives, fresh vegetable, lean meats. Learn how to read labels. If something say's fat free, comare it to the regular brand and see just how fat free it really is. When at restaurants try to avoid rich sauces, as restaurants tend to do this alot. If your going to order something with potatoes, do not order a vegetable that comes with a sauce. Make a compromise. Order a meat dish with a lovely sauce if you like, but to compromise make sure your have a salad and steamed vegetable as a side. Ordering take out is a bit more of a challenge, but there are choices you can make. Pizza, order a thin crust, make sure you have veggies like mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, limit your meat as most is processed. Now you can have chicken, or choose ham. Order it without cheese, no fun I know, and keep handy your own low fat cheese so you can add it yourself. Don't be fooled by fast food's salads etc, as it has been proven that in most cases there are more calories in the salad then let's say a quarter pounder. So go for the quarter pounder, or if you do take the salad, don't use their dressings as that is where the calories hide. After a while you will automatically know what choices to make.

At a Grocery store with huge emphasis being on health these days, they have made things easier, as have suppliers. Choose brown breads, brown sugars, sweetners if you need sugar. Choose fresh vegetables and steam them with your meals or keep an ample supply of raw vegetables handy for snacking. Use a low fat spread instead of butter. Use a low fat milk if you use milk. Choose food that are non processed. If you have young one's put a fresh apple or banana, in their lunch box. Make their sandwiches using wraps or pita bread. Make it fun for them. Choose juices that are 100 percent juice and dilute it if you think it's to strong for little ones. Stay away from instore cakes etc, and if you must have them, try making them yourself. That way you know what ingredients are going in them. Make it a family fun thing. Make the change for your whole family.

Always keep a supply of fresh fruit on the table. I started doing this, and it's amazng how quickly it empties. If your cereal is a bit boriing, add fresh fruit to it instead of sugar. A quick breakfast is cereal, added fresh fruit and brown toast. Choose a jam that is preservative free and sugar free. Make your own with the fruits purchased from the store. Raspberry jam is one of the easiest jams to make. A nice dessert is low fat icecream and home made rasbperry jam that has been heated. Wonderful!

Make it fun, make it healthy. Try and try again to make healtier choices because as they say practive makes perfect. Your health is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your family, so treat your body with respect and feed it with the love and nourishment it deserves.

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