Do you find yourself in the drive-through line at your favorite fast food restaurant all too often? Fast food restaurants have become a rampant substitute for cooking at home. More often than not, lack of time is the reason most often given for frequent visits to fast food restaurants. Couple that with the endless blare from nearly every major media outlet touting the latest in diet and wellness advice, and it’s enough to program the number to your favorite pizza delivery joint on speed dial. Forget the noise and get back to basics. Eating healthy does not require an enormous budget or the services of a personal chef. Follow these back to basic tips to jump start your heathy eating regime. There’s no better time than today to get started!
Your body will begin to feel the difference in healthy eating in a few short weeks. Copious amounts of added sugars and sodium can wreak havoc on our systems. The metabolism is just not designed to process these additives. Bloating, high blood pressure and weight gain are just a few of the side effects. Plan to spend a few hours on the weekend planning and shopping for healthy meals. Select simple proteins such as lean meats, fish and poultry to prepare alongside of fresh seasonal vegetables. Avoid purchasing processed food with ingredients you’re not familiar with or can’t pronounce. Grilling or broiling meats and steaming vegetables is the healthiest route to retaining as many nutrients and adding as little fat as possible.
If your kitchen is not fully stocked with cookware, take advantage of the deals offered by Groupon coupons and check out the value and selection of cookware offered at Overstock. New cookware and cooking gadgets can always serve as extra motivation to get cooking. While the quality of food selection is important, quantity of servings is equally important. Protein portions should be roughly the size of your fist and vegetable portions should be roughly the size of an open palm.
With ingredients purchased and meals planned in advance, it will be much less tempting to hit the drive through. Don’t forget to make a selection of healthy snacks to add to your new healthy eating options.
