Make Healthy Meals

Doesn’t that just sound wonderful? I’m seeing a lot of it in stores. Ginseng added to energy drinks. Vitamins added to high sugar sweets. You know the routine.

Honestly, if you buy premade and processed foods for most of your meals, there’s only so much you can do to make unhealthy foods healthy. But there’s more you can do if you choose to make your meals and snacks at home from scratch.

Yes, that is a challenge for many a busy family. But the added control is quite worthwhile.

Let’s take a basic, not that bad for you but really doesn’t have much going for it meal like spaghetti. It’s good, but the pasta may not have that much nutrition in it, and cheap sauces may have high fructose corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients in them.

But if you switch it up a little, using whole grain pasta and better pasta sauces (or even making your own!), the nutritional value climbs. If you’re a fair cook, the taste will likely improve too. There is nothing like homemade sauce, and the truly ambitious will consider pureeing other vegetables to add still more vegetables.

Or you could just have a salad on the side.

How you cook the food also matters. Much of why french fries are so unhealthy has to do with how they are cooked. You won’t get that exact same taste with other cooking methods, but you can still enjoy potatoes in ways that are healthier for you.

Flavorings used can also cause many of these issues. Too much butter and oil make many foods unhealthy. If you get smart about how you flavor foods, they can be healthier. Use herbs and spices instead of high fat additions.

Even if you aren’t a child, you may be able to help yourself with some of your less healthy eating habits using the tips in books like Deceptively Delicious to improve the nutrition in the meals you cook. Not everything will be to your taste, but it’s a way to make your food healthier, whether for yourself or your entire family.

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