Too often, busy schedules pose a barrier to healthy eating. But, with a little planning and not much time or effort, you could make all of your meals healthy ones.
Choose easy recipes that don’t require lots of pans and complicated preparation such as spaghetti, marinated pork, chops and barbeque beef. Find at least seven you’d like to prepare.
Choose one or two places in the home at which to eat. Make each meal a special occasion. Only eat at these places, and never eat while standing.
Don’t ever eat a meal to toe-tapping tunes. Researchers have found that diners who listen to classical music take three bites a minute versus five bites a minute for rock music. They also enjoy their meal more thoroughly, and feel more satisfied.
To be truly enjoyed, eating requires full attention. Turn off the TV, and put away that reading.
Relax your facial muscles, and satisfy your chewing urges by chewing slowly. It takes fifteen minutes for your brain to communicate to your stomach that it’s full.
Choosing to eat meals on smaller plates can fool the eye, which relates to tricking the brain into thinking that it’s devoured a plateful.
Discover flavored vinegar to add flavor without the calories. Use a tablespoon of vinegar to thin down, and extend your favorite dressings.
Add salsa to just about any food. It perks up the taste buds with little or no fat. Dip vegetables in it, spoon it over scrambled eggs, baked potatoes, and add it to salads.
Keep olive oil in a spritzer bottle and add it to salads, vegetables, and even popcorn.
Soy is packed with powerful antioxidants that interfere with free radical damage. This is the basis for how fast we age. Soy is another reason to turn to a more vegetarian-based diet. Unlike animal proteins, soy beans don’t spew scads of damaging free radicals through your body to age your cells. Soy also prevents heart disease and diabetes. Japanese, who eat the most soybean in the world (thirty times more than Americans) live longer than anyone. Soy is also reported to cut breast cancer rates and to lower blood cholesterol.
Complete your meal by steaming some fresh vegetables or tossing a quick salad. Grab some vegetables and chicken for a quick stir-fry. Buying pre-cut and pre-cooked ingredients will save you prep time. You also can add canned water chestnuts, straw mushrooms, and other Chinese vegetables available at most grocery stores. Herbs and spices can add flavor and excitement to the simplest meals. Buy and store cilantro, rosemary, thyme, cayenne pepper, ginger, and any other favorites that add zest and zing.
When you desire something sweet, don’t grab that candy bar. Try a natural sweet like grapes, blueberries, or strawberries. When fruit just won’t do, go for a jelly bean. At only six calories each, these fat-free sweets are one of the modeling world’s favorite snacks.
Don’t let lack of time or energy deprive you of nutritious meals. Remember, you are what you eat!