It’s difficult to change your eating habits, even when you want to. Even as a stay-at-home mom with the luxury of time to plan for meals, shop and prepare them I find it difficult! There are, however, some very easy things you can do to increase your daily consumption of high fiber foods, fruits and raw vegetables. Here are some easy options:
Replace whole wheat or white bread, buns and tortillas with whole grain options.
Replace white rice with brown or wild rice.
Replace crackers containing flour with crackers made from whole grains like triscuits or Scandinavian style crisp breads like WASA brand.
Sprinkle toasted wheat germ on pastas, casseroles, yogurt.
Cook old-fashioned oatmeal at least twice a week. Add an apple while cooking to sweeten it so you don’t need to add any sugar. Double the batch so you have enough for the next day’s breakfast. This is a great replacement for highly processed foods like breakfast cereals, bagels, muffins or donuts.
Cook wheat berries or quinoa to freeze. Add it to pasta salads, burritos, or sprinkle onto veggie salads.
Add some cruciferous veggies to your standard salad mix, like arugula, chopped kale, spinach, red cabbage, parsley or chard. Eat a salad every day.
When making salad dressings replace half the olive oil with flax seed oil.
When eating pasta place some spinach and chopped kale on your plate. Top with your pasta. The heat from the pasta will wilt the greens while you get an extra daily serving of anti-oxidants.
Top entrees with chopped fresh parsley or add lemon wedges when flavors dictate.
Replace a red meat entree with mercury/lead-free fish at least once a week. Take the challenge - only buy grass fed organic free-range beef. I bet the price tag will help you cut down on the amount you consume!
Several times during the week wash and cut up fresh veggies like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red, green or yellow peppers, snap peas, cherry tomatoes. If they are ready to eat you are more likely to grab them in place of chips or crackers. Serve with hummus rather than a sour cream based dip.
Only steam or lightly stir-fry vegetables. There are over 10,000 phytonutrients and live enzymes in them that are destroyed during the cooking process, along with the fiber.
Replace canned fruits and veggies with fresh or frozen ones. The heat process during canning kills any enzymes and much of the nutrition and fiber, not to mention that most cans are lined with chemicals which leach into the food you consume.
Replace commercially squeezed and home squeezed fruit juice with fresh fruit. Most commercial juices are pastuerized, destroying the enzymes. Even home squeezed juice is mainly sugar without the fiber necessary to help your body maintain a healthy glycemic index.
Only buy dried fruits that are organic and do not contain sulfites. Even then be aware they are mainly sugar.
Replace any products that contain additives, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors, hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. There are almost always organic brands of these same foods.
Shop at stores like Whole Foods if you don’t have time to read the labels but be aware that even Whole Foods sells non-organic items.
Replace lunch meats and sausages containing nitrates with natural, uncured meats. They don’t last as long but you can freeze them.
Replace potato chips with tortilla chips.
Stop drinking or cut back on soda, coffee and tea. These rob your body of the calcium you need to maintain good bone density. The countries consuming the highest quantities of soda, coffee and black tea are the same ones with the highest rates of osteoperosis-related bone fractures, despite the availability and practice of taking calcium supplements.
Replace that martini with a glass of red wine.
Remember that even tiny changes you make in your diet can begin a positive trend in your lifestyle. You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel!
