Healthy Eating Family Tip 1 July 30, 2009

[reposted]

Introduction

This series of posts on our Family Food Journal discusses healthy eating tips that may be more relevant for your family if you, like us, have a large young family (2 parents with 3 kids under 8 years old).  Also, it may speak to you if your family is dealing with food allergies, sensitivities, or dental challenges.  We have one child who was born with a cleft lip and gum/teeth challenges, another who is allergic to dairy, and everyone has had reflux and/or anemia.  We also have one spouse who is slender and has never been fat, and another who has been challenged with weight management and swelling/salt-sensitivity.

Tip #1

a.

First of all, tell everyone in your household to stop bringing junk into your home, especially the adults.

b.

Instead of fatty-salty-sugary snacks and desserts, make a purposeful decision as a family to get accustomed to eating healthier by experimenting and figuring out what works for you.  Stock up on whichever fresh fruit you already know you like.  Don’t just get anything because it is cheap.  Buy what looks fresh.

c.

If you don’t understand how to tell what produce is fresh and not over-ripe, ask the produce attendant or store manager to provide assistance and/or to point you to instructional reading materials that they may offer in their store for free.  Take the time to look on youtube and google for tips on buying, cleaning and preparing fresh produce.  For example, the channel called Expert Village features experts such as Christi Ferretti, giving excellent detailed advice and illustrations:

Educate yourself on purpose.

d.

Plan your meals and snacks in advance.  Read food magazines, look up recipes online, and watch cooking shows.  As you build your meal planning and preparation skills, you’ll begin to love your own meals at home.

e.

When you like your own food at home more, you will start to see that it is much easier to avoid the temptation of “fast” processed or canned foods with the added salt, preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup and toxins.  These things can also lead to “fast” death by cutting years off of your life expectancy due to too much weight gain.

f.

If you’re not used to eating fresh produce, then just try one to two new items every week and get your tongues used to different tastes.

g.

Learn to quickly (and safely) cut up various fruits and veggies and combine them in salads, as well.  You’ll discover that mixing them together will bring out new flavors for your palate to enjoy.  In future posts, I’ll share some of my favorite combinations.

h.

Also, there are very tasty ways to prepare fresh veggies as snacks.  Try out different types of natural and fresh dressings that have no added white sugar, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup and contain lower salt.

Future posts in this series will talk about specific snacks and types of dressings that work well for our family’s nutritional needs and preferences.

Thanks for stopping by.

Please leave a comment about what works for your family or to let us know how our suggestions have worked out for you.

Advertisement