A Varied and Well Balanced Healthy Diet
It’s well known fact that having a varied and well-balanced diet is good for us. Eating the right foods is certainly one of the ways to keep yourself in good health.
A varied and well-balanced diet should include all the essential nutrients that our bodies need, to protect us from many of todays diet-related illnesses, such as heart disease and cancers of the digestive system.
Instead of buying those pre-packed or instant meals from the supermarket, which I hasten to add are full of additives and preservatives.
So to avoid the harmful contents of the so-called microwave dinners, make an effort to cook your own meals, this will in turn help you to keep a check on the calorie intake of you and your family.
Healthy Eating on a Budget
It’s good know that many of the foods that are good for us are the least expensive, such as chicken or white fish and high-fibre foods like cereals, grains, pasta and pulses.
Some of the more expensive foods, we should only consume in small quantities because of their high-fat content and these include such things as creams and many cheeses.
It’s a myth that eating healthy food costs more than the perhaps the more popular pre-packed foods that you find in your local store or supermarket . If you shop sensibly and wisely and purchase foods such as white meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, the cost is far cheaper than buying those quick fix convenience foods.
Can Healthy Eating be Adventurous ?
To get any benefit from food, firstly it must be appealing. Secondly, to eat healthly should be a pleasurable experience, not a punishment and last but not least there’s certainly no reason to give up any personal treats. If want to allow some slack in your diet to have those personal treats, then you must cut out something you can do without more easily.
One of the best ways to eat healthly is to cut out the high energy, low nutrient value substances such as sugar and replace them with foods such as wholewheat bread or fresh salads and I don’t mean just lettuce and tomatoes! There are vast number of raw vegetables that can be used as alternatives to the normal suspects found in salads and are equally as tasty and can be turned into perhaps more adventrous salads.
Here are a few ideas as alternatives for salads, try cabbage, carrots, beetroot, celery, courgettes and mushrooms, lightly seasoned and sprinkled with fresh herbs and a dash of vinaigrette dressing.
Stir fry is another way to cook vegetables if you prefer them hot rather than cold. Cooking vegetables this way means they maintain more of their natural goodness because the process of cooking is quicker.
A word of warning; using too much salt in your diet can often lead to high blood pressure and for some people it goes a little further with the risk of a stroke. My recommendation is to instead use spices, herbs and garnishes.
