My mother has always been strong on healthy eating. Eating a well-rounded meal was always a
must in our home.
We would have a meat/seafood/poultry serving, veggies and almost always a serving of rice.
Breakfast would include a fresh fruit juice of some sort and almost always an egg. I wasn’t too
fond of the routine growing up but today I look back with gratitude and find myself doing
everything my mother did for my kids, to ensure they eat healthily.
You don’t have to switch to certain foods to eat healthier. You can actually just make your
favorite food healthier!
Here are 7 ways to make your favorite food healthier.
1. If you love tacos, don’t stop eating them completely. Make changes. Swap flour tortillas with
wheat tortillas and make them at home with a tortilla maker. This way you know exactly what
you’re loading into your taco.
2. Use a Lean Mean Grill to get your poultry and meat ready. This is a great alternative to having
a fried chicken dinner. The grill takes off the fat, yet leaves your entree tasting succulent and
delicious. Ceramic cookware, ceramic pots, and ceramic pans are also a good option for healthy food.
3. Not everyone likes boiled vegetables but what if you hid them in spiced rice? Boil 1-2 cups of
basmati rice with 2 cardamoms, 2 cloves, 1 bay leaf and salt to taste. Once the rice is cooked,
throw in your finely cubed boiled veggies seasoned with salt and pepper (I use carrots, beans,
corn, and even broccoli and cauliflower) and serve the rice up with your grilled chicken/meat.
4. Save time and all those nutrients by making your favorite casserole, lasagna, 1 dish meal in
a crockpot/slow cooker. You will be amazed how flavorful the results are and yes, so much
healthier than sautéing and frying. (If you’ve never done slow cooking before, pick up
a cookbook to help start you off.)
5. If your children love those little boxed juices, try introducing them to freshly blended fruit
juices using the fruit that is in season. (Fruit that is in season tend to be sweeter so you don’t
need to add any sugar to the juice) You can even do veggie shakes with a juicer. Better yet,
invest in a Ninja blender to whip up those refreshing thirst-quenchers and more!
6. For sandwiches, we’ve now switched to organic, multi-grain wheat bread instead of white
bread. It took a while getting used to the change but we’re now used to the change. And yes, we
do find our sandwiches seem more filling!
7. For snacks, we try to make sure we opt to munch on dried fruit, nuts and fruit instead of
processed treats. To keep us from being tempted with crispy chips and chocolates we’ve just
stopped stocking our pantry with the same all together! You will find our canisters filled with
healthy munchies instead!
I have learned to experiment by substituting & not so healthy; food with healthier alternatives and
have even learned to throw in healthy veggies into dishes that would ordinarily not have veggies
in them.
