So, my family and I have started trying to eat healthier. A lot healthier than I've ever tried to eat! This info is just a snipit of the vast amount of information I have ascertained to this point. We call it Traffic Light Eating which is taken from a book called Eat Healthy Feel Great by Dr. William Sears. These are easy guidelines to help our kids know what kinds of food help our body and what kinds don't!
Green-Light Foods are as follows:
Fruits and vegetables
vegetable oils(olive and flax)
legumes/beans
nuts and seeds
whole grains and sprouted grains
pasta
fish or meat and poultry(no nitrates)
homemade soups
soy products, tofu(Non-GMO)
eggs (cage-free/no hormones)
organic dairy products
healthy treats(not hydrogenated)
*These foods are okay any time.
Yellow-Light Foods are okay to eat on occasion. They are as follows:
(*Without harmful additives!)
*pies and cakes
*white bread
*candy
*cookies, pastries
*frozen yogurt
*fruit drinks
*canned soups
*sodas
butter
fast foods(some!)
Red-Light Foods have no nutritional value and are not good for your health. Take heed:
hot dogs(most)
nitrate-containing meats and cold cuts
packaged foods w/ hydrogenated oils
pre-packaged foods(lunchables)
marshmallows
punches and drinks with added colorings
fast foods fried in hydrogenated oils
cotton candy
doughnuts
crushed ice drinks and diet sodas
If you can hang on just a bit longer I have some generic guidelines for choosing good foods.
Read labels. If you can't actually purchase some of the things in that ingredient list, don't buy it.
If you can make it, don't buy it.
Smart words:whole wheat/grains, unrefined, no hormones, organic, free range, residue free, and the American Heart Association, Smart Choices and Olympic Labels
Low fat usually means more sugar.
Think nutrient rich, not calorie dense.
Cokes, sugar, and processed foods need to be a "treat" not a habit.
Stay away from enriched flour. All the nutritional value has been stripped.
Stay away from partially hydrogenated oils or shortening, otherwise known as transfats.
The less processing, the better for you.
White flour, white sugar have been processed and bleached to become white.
Use real maple syrup and unsweetened honey instead of processed alternatives.
Instead of fruits and vegetables loaded and covered with chemicals and additives look for organic fruits and vegetables
You can find organic, whole grain, and transfat free foods at Walmart and other regular grocery stores. I could go on and on. Sorry it's so freaking long but hopefully it didn't take too long to read.
Did you know that cancer feeds on sugar? We don't know why everyone's getting it but we can eat differently to slow down what seems inevitable...
4 comments:
mmm, i love this post. we have recently started eating healthier and leading an overall healthier lifestyle. its fun! like i was telling you the other day, ive started making my own bread each week (in the bread maker, which is so fast and easy!), it only has whole non processed foods in it and actualy has some nutritional value. weve also just planted a vegetable/herb garden so we can feast on those organic healthy vegis any time. it is fun once you get into it and start feeling better!
Yah, I've also been abstaining from all sugar during Lent and I've found that I'm not any more satisfied when I have sugar on Sundays(which is not a part of the Lent season). I'm still making some homemade choc. chip cookies tonight!
We try to follow these rules at our house too. Sometimes it's hard to eat cheaply and still be healthy, but we're learning to find the balance. I've found that I've had fewer headaches and stomache problems since we've incorporated more organic foods into our diet (and since I stopped eating meat, but I'm not advocating that choice for everyone). It's scary the things we can put in our bodies without realizing it. Great post, Jen!
For this girl, it's all about health and wellness in all areas and living a life of abundance that I feel that God had called us to. If we don't have our health, it doesn't matter how much time and money you have, because you can't truly enjoy either. If you have time and health, but not money, life can be good, but you are still missing out on so many other blessings in life. I'm truly striving to have it all; HEALTH, WEALTH, and then the TIME to spend the precious days that God has given me in a way that glorifies Him and allows me to be bathed in as many wonderful experiences as possible. Eating healthfully is a great start! Hmmm...maybe even better is not think of those refines sugars and sodas as a "treat." I mean...are we really treating ourselves by putting it into our temple? Hmmm...cookies!!!! :0)
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