With the new year approaching it’s a great time to think about your eating habits, and perhaps make some changes. These are some ideas to help get you started.
1. Avoid prepared foods.
Pick your foods more from the fresh sections of the store, that is, along the outer rim. This gives you more control over the kinds of things that are in your foods, helping you to avoid excessive sugar, salt, artificial flavorings, colorings and so forth.
2. Buy more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Yes, I’m kind of emphasizing this. Both can be excellent for snacks. If it makes it easier, chop up some vegetables in advance so that they are as easy to snack on as chips and candy. Then keep the chips and candy out of the house and as far as possible from you in the office.
3. Find healthier recipes you can enjoy.
If you aren’t much of a cook this can be challenging, but there are a lot of relatively healthy things you can make fairly easy. A basic stir fry needs only a little oil, and you can add plenty of fresh or frozen vegetables once the meat is mostly cooked to make a fairly healthy meal.
4. Get good cooking equipment.
Cast iron frying pans are a favorite of mine right now. They don’t wear out like nonstick ones do, distribute heat beatifully, and can increase the iron content of your food, which can be a very good thing for you. They can even last a lifetime - my large cast iron frying pan belonged to my grandmother.
5. Try bringing lunch to school or work.
ReusableBags.com has some delightful lunch bags and drink containers. I especially like the Laptop Lunches box which makes it easier to have several different types of food along for a more interesting meal.
6. Drink more water.
Sodas add a lot calories and sugar to your diet that you just really don’t need. Reserve them for an occasional treat. If you can ease up on coffee, especially any gourmet varieties that have a large number of calories, you’ll save money and be eating healthier too. Get a good water bottle from the aforementioned ReusableBags.com. If you really need flavor in your drinks, juice is a bit better than soda.
7. Figure out your weaknesses.
We all have them. I’m a major chocolate fiend. I can somewhat control it by only allowing myself better chocolates. They cost more, but they are far, far more satisfying than cheaper ones, and so it takes less to satisfy the chocolate cravings. Try to find a way to do similarly if you have that kind of a weakness.
