Healthy Food

By Becki Andrus

Most parents make the mistake of feeding their children unhealthy food, this is not such a great thing to be doing because it can be very harmful to your child's health. Feeding your children harmful food will teach them bad eating habits that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. There are also a lot of misconceptions as to what foods are thought to be healthy for children and whether they actually are. Feeding your children as many whole foods as possible is the best way to go. By reading this article you will learn what is good for your children and what you can do get them healthier!

Children and adults are different in many ways but we should still all be eating the same types of food. Just because your child is young doesn't mean its okay to fill them with hot dogs and Mac n Cheese. Children need nutrient dense foods just like adults do.

The best nutrient dense foods are whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a package of fruit snacks or a glass of juice counts as a serving of fruit because it sure doesn't! These treats are filled with processed sugars and usually have high amounts of high fructose corn syrup in them. They also rarely contain real fruit. It is best to just stick to the basics like apples, carrots, bananas, etc. You can't go wrong giving your child whole foods that are nutritious. Most of them taste pretty good too!

If you are a mom you know that kids love going to the grocery store. All the big aisles and colorful foods. Take them with you the next time you go to buy groceries. Let them pick out what color of apples they want or which head of lettuce they like the best. This is such a great way to get them excited about what they will be eating.

It is so important to start teaching them about good health at a young age. The good habits they learn when they are young can stick with them for the rest of their lives! Getting them excited about eating whole fruits and vegetables now is so great for them. You may come across a few food items that they may not like because, lets be honest, how many of us liked spinach when WE were kids? It's okay if they don't like certain fruits or vegetables. It can be hard to teach kids how to like certain healthy foods. So if in the end they absolutely wont eat it just give them another healthy food choice to substitute the one they don't like.

It is never to soon to teach your children healthy eating habits. By using the information from this article you can start now! Show your kids how important it is to keep ourselves healthy by eating the right nutrient dense foods and eating less processed sugar filled foods. Make a goal to start teaching them now!

By Todd Mohr

If eating healthy food is important to you, there's a simple way to accomplish this. Generally, simple food is healthy food. Items that don't have a long list of ingredients, nor a label to put that ingredient list on, are generally healthier. Lettuce doesn't have a label that says "lettuce". There's no need for an ingredient label. While I was researching the cuisine in France, I found this principle in place everywhere I went.

Then, if you take direction from France cuisine, you can really assure you're eating healthy food by practicing "terroir" (tare - waa). Terroir is a French term that literally means "earth", but has come to denote all things that are produced locally to where you live. As it was explained to me, terroir is "the sun, the soil, and the love of the farmer".

Pascale Mierve, owner of L' Epicerie Fine, and multi-generational grocery and spice dealer explains terroir in such an elegant way. "You have to respect the seasons," he tells me. "You should not eat a tomato in December, you eat potatoes in December."

What France cuisine has taught me, and Pascal is verifying, is that eating healthy foods means eating not only what is grown or produced locally, but what is produced seasonally also.

The most nutritious, most flavorful items are the simple foods, those that come from within a few miles of your home and don't have an ingredient label. Eating healthy food shouldn't be the secret it is because if you eat local and seasonal, you'll always be eating healthy. I hope that you will take the lessons that I've learned from studying France cuisine and begin eating simpler, fresher ingredients from your local farmer too.

By Andreea Grad

When you are actively starting to take care of your health, food is one of the main areas that need to be addressed, but for a lot of people it becomes a struggle to cook home-made food. For some of us the day begins all over again when we get home, so time becomes an issue.

A question that gets asked frequently is how can someone cook a healthy meal in 30 minutes or less.

One way is to cut down on the steps required for cooking. Preparing some of the food ahead of time, like sauces, marinades, dressings, that you can make in a few minutes and store for the whole week, or precutting the fresh vegetables you are going to use, storing them in the refrigerator or freezer for quick access, will speed up the process and save you money.

To minimize the time you spend on cooking and preparing the meal consider some simple menu planning. This is going to pay off in more time for you to relax at the end of the day, more time with your family or doing what you enjoy most.

The first thing to do is to part the week in two or three consecutive days chunks. Then decide what the largest meal of every day will be... meat based or vegetarian. Knowing what the focus is you will know how to do your shopping.

Things to always have available are fresh greens, stir-fry vegetables, potatoes, onions, garlic, cabbage, a few cans of beans and lentils, some noodles, brown rice, basmati rice, quinoa. As for meat, frozen seafood keeps great as well as frozen chicken.

Condiments can make a world of a difference in a meal. Think what you enjoy eating out and bring some of that cuisine at home through spices.

One other trick that many people overlook the "rollover" technique. The idea is cooking something in a larger quantity than you would normally do, and store it for future use in various combination.

For example, cook a large pot of quinoa and have some as a side to a stew, and the next day as a fried quinoa with some vegetables (remember the precut ones above), and for lunch have some leftover stir-fry in a sprouted grain tortilla with some hummus (remember the already made dips and sauces you have ready) or beans.

Or... make a pot roast and store it in the refrigerator. That day serve some as a side with some sauteed greens and some sweet potatoes. The next day have it in some fresh tortilla tacos with some cabbage, lime, avocado, cilantro and tomatoes, or as an addition to the stir-fry in that sprouted grain tortilla, and so on.

Now that you have a strategy on how to cook a home-made meal quickly and creatively, you can enjoy the benefits of eating fresh healthy food, have fun with the family, and witness your health shifting at all levels.

For delicious recipes and tips for more energy and better health visit http://cookingyourhealth.com.

By Allie Moxley

Seafood and health go together like peanut butter and jelly go together. They are unsurprisingly a great and delicious combination. Not only is fish naturally full of great nutrients and vitamins for your body, but also, if the fish are managed correctly, they are pure and grow naturally. Fish is also delicious and tasty, so you can enjoy eating it, unlike some bland diet foods.

The number of nutrients and vitamins found in fish is one of the main reasons seafood and health is a natural match. Fish like salmon have high levels of Omega 3 oils, which is a fat that is good for you and has actually been proven to prevent a number of diseases. Minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc are all found in various seafoods, providing a lot of health benefits such as strong bones. In addition to these nutrients, vitamins C, D, E, and A are all found in seafood. Each of these vitamins supplies different health benefits for strengthening the body and preventing diseases. For example, vitamins C and E are antioxidants that strengthen immune systems.

Another reason that seafood and health go together is if the fish are raised naturally. Managing the fish in a way that they can grow freely and naturally guarantees that they are not contaminated and therefore stay full of nutrients, vitamins, and flavor. If fish are raised far away from populated areas they do not risk coming into contact with garbage or toxic chemicals. They are able to feed on natural food that is meant for them. They can swim and live in clean and clear waters, which means they are able to grow to their natural potential. Fisheries that have regulations when it comes to the management of their fish are sure to produce healthy seafood for your dinner plate. If you are serious about your health it is important to look for sustainability labels when purchasing seafood. You should be able to take full advantage of all the health benefits that seafood has to offer, as well as all of the delicious flavor and meat that seafood provides.

By Michael E Lee

There have been some new changes to come about recently to the rules of the types of foods we should eat everyday to keep us healthy. In addition to these rules there are a couple of strategies that we each should follow everyday that would enhance these rule changes as well. Lets' review these new rules and strategies now.

1. You need to eat fewer calories. I know that you have heard this before, so you are going to hear it again. Try to stay around 2000 calories per day. This will help you maintain a healthy weight.

2. You need to get more of your food from a plant source. Try to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and cooked dried beans and peas. We got to be more like vegetarians if we want to live a long life.

3. You need to eat more fish as part of your diet. Instead of just 2 servings per week as it was recommended in 2005, you need 4 to 5 servings per week. Fish is good for your heart as it has omega-3-fats that can reduce the risk of heart disease.

4. Turn to low-fat dairy products which are lower in saturated fat and is also link to heart disease. Also new research has found that when you replace high fat dairy products with low or nonfat you can lower your blood pressure too. I will say that you can use dairy products to get the calcium your body needs as a bone-strengthening mineral that your body loses as you get older. However, for those of you who do not believe in drinking milk, you can get the calcium your body needs from beans, broccoli, leafy green vegetables, collards, and kale. One note, spinach does not like to give you it calcium very easily like other plants, so do not rely on it too much.

5. Lower your consumption of added sugars and solid fats. Too much sugar has been a main cause of diabetes and solid fats like butter have added calories to your mid-section with few if any nutrients that your body needs.

6. Also you need to reduce your sodium intake and refined grains such as pasta and white bread. If you want to eat these foods as many people do, substitute them with whole wheat as they are widely available in many products now.

7. Cut back on eating lean meats, eggs and poultry. You can still eat these items but try to have them once a week for lean meats and poultry and twice a week for eggs. Also, keep the portion sizes small as well.

8. Cut out drinking sodas and non-100 percent fruit juices and drink 8 cups of water per day instead. On average our bodies are made up of 70 percent of water. Water is instant energy and all your body is doing is going through all the other liquids to get to the water, so why not cut out the middleman.

9. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night is another part of your healthier life style that needs to be highlighted too. This is a concept that has not been talked about a lot, but needs to be added to your overall health plan.

10. Last but not least, Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. We need to get 2 1/2 hours per week of moderate-intensity or 1 1/4 hours per week of vigorous-intense aerobic physical activity or a combination of both. You also need to add muscle-strengthening exercise that is moderate to high intensity 2 or more days per week.

Add all these things up and you will be well on your way to a longer and healthier life.