Choosing Healthy Foods Easily

We all know how important it is to eat a healthy, balanced diet. But eating well takes more than simple knowledge; it takes dedication, commitment and hard work.

We all know how hard it can be to stay away from the drive-thru on the way home from work. Knowing what you're putting into your body can make it easier to make the right choices.

Vegetables

Your mom was right; vegetables are essential for building a healthy body. The earth provides us with a huge assortment of delicious vegetables that should be the basis of your healthy diet. As a rule, you should eat no less than 2 cups of fresh vegetables every day. Choose a variety of vegetables, including dark, leafy varieties like broccoli and spinach. Sweet potatoes are a delicious alternative to white, and carrots make an excellent snack. Chickpeas and dry beans including kidney, lima and pinto beans are packed with beneficial nutrients. Meeting your daily vegetable requirements is easy when you reach for a fresh spinach salad instead of French fries, or grab a bag of baby carrots instead of chips.

Eating Grains

When you consider that the average slice of bread contains just one ounce of grains, it can be a little daunting to think of satisfying your required intake of six ounces per day. An easy option is choosing whole grains and multi-grain alternatives wherever possible. Most breakfast cereals contain about one ounce of grains per cup, but whole grain choice can up the ante. Adding whole wheat pasta, rice and bran to your recipes also contributes to your daily intake, and reaching for a handful of whole grain crackers or popcorn is a sensible way to satisfy your snacking urges.

Pass the Fruit!

There's no excuse for choosing fat and sugary snacks when you keep fresh fruits on hand. Just two cups of fruit per day, or the equivalent of one banana and one apple, can meet your daily requirement. Snacking aside, fruits are perfect accompaniments to virtually every meal. Slice a banana onto your peanut butter sandwich. Try sliced berries on your French toast, or grapes and mandarin wedges in your salad. Frozen, canned and dried fruits can work in a pinch, but fresh varieties are the best dietary choices. Fruit juice (not fruit punch) can also boost your daily intake, but these are loaded with sugars and should be limited.

Don't Skip Dairy

Your teeth and bones need calcium to stay strong and healthy at any age. Growing children from two to eight years of age require the calcium intake of about two cups of milk a day. Older kids and adults should boost the amount to three cups per day. Cheese and yogurt are also excellent calcium-rich options. If weight is a concern, choose low-fat milk and dairy products. Even those who suffer from lactose intolerance can incorporate calcium in their diets, with a good selection of lactose-free products on the market. When choosing dairy products including milk, cheese and yogurt, go for the low-fat options. If you are lactose intolerant, there are lactose-free and calcium-fortified products on the market.

Meat and beans

The food guide suggests that we eat five ounces of protein-packed meat or beans every day. This doesn't necessarily mean that sitting down to a ten-ounce strip loin or a half-pounder at the burger joint is a wise idea. Remember, you should be choosing healthy foods. Meat should be baked, grilled or broiled to prevent grease from spoiling your diet. It's easy to vary your protein intake with options like nuts, peas, beans and fish.

Trim the Fat

Fat is an important part of your daily diet, but you can certainly have too much of this good thing. You can use butter and other high-fat foods, but do so in moderation. Too much of this type of fat can send your weight and cholesterol levels soaring. Rather than frying your foods in butter, margarine, shortening or lard, try sauting them in vegetable or chicken broth. Pass the butter, and reach for seasonings and fruit juice to add flavour to vegetables.

Smart eating begins with smart shopping. Many processed foods are loaded with fat, salt and additives. Try to stay within the fresh produce and meat aisles at your supermarket. When you do purchase pre-packaged foods, check the ingredient labels and nutrition facts before you buy. This will help to reduce your intake of saturated fats, trans fats and sodium.

Once you begin to make healthier food choices, you'll begin to notice a change in all aspects of your lifestyle. Fueling your body with a nutrient-charged diet will give you energy and a brighter overall outlook. Those evenings of lying on the couch after consuming an eight-slice pizza will be behind you, as you begin to enjoy evening strolls after your healthy dinners. It's not always easy to choose healthy foods, but your efforts will be rewarded with a lifetime of good health.

Article Source: http://www.new.citynewslive.com

Author Ambrose Hutson enjoys writing for a variety of well-known Internet sites, on health news and heart health subjects.
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