eat healthy | Cynthia Eats

Many people face barriers in preparing healthier meals, including a lack of time and conflicting information about nutrition, and taste preferences.

Eating healthy. It’s something we all know we should do but it can seem like an impossible task. Often we feel so ingrained in our bad behavior that it’s hard to decide how to even get started.

I’m not an expert in the field and my eating habits are not perfect. I’m just a gal who’s trying to do better today than I did yesterday. I fall off the wagon just like everyone else and struggle to get on the right track again.

I have, however, picked up a few nuggets of knowledge along the way in regard to preparing healthier meals and I’d like to share a few of them with you!

Eat At Home (And Pack Your Lunch)

Americans love to eat out. It’s a fact. Studies show that we, on average, spend over 50% of our total food budget to eat food away from home 4-5 times per week.

Now, we all know the dangers associated with fast food but there are pitfalls at your local sit-down eatery as well. Restaurants are in the business of serving food that tastes good with little regard for how healthy it may be. The result is often an increased amount of fats and sugars compared to meals you would normally cook at home.

The bottom line? Those who eat more home-cooked meals are simply healthier than those who don’t.

And since you’re cooking dinner anyway, why not cook extra to pack for your lunch tomorrow?

Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables

The recommended amount of produce for adults is 1-2 cups of fruit and 1-3 cups of vegetables. (And, no, french fries don’t count.) This seems to be an area where many of us fall short. More than 90% of Americans don’t eat enough produce.

While a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are the optimal solution to good health, let’s be serious. We don’t all like every vegetable. Me? Not crazy about salads. Or at least that’s how I feel about the bowl full of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers but I love this Mexican Avocado Salad and this Orange and Beet Salad.

Vegetables can take on a whole new flavor profile when combined with a small piece of bacon, some soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, or a few nuts. Sometimes, they can even be the base for your entire meal!

Smoothies made with whole fruits and vegetables (not juice) are a great choice, quick to prepare and easy to take along for the ride to work. This is one of my favorites but there are plenty of other options out there, both “green” or “fruity”. Really, almost any combo of fruits and veggies works well in a smoothie so use your imagination!

So, maybe it’s not that you don’t like produce. Maybe it’s just that you don’t like the way you’ve been preparing it!

Lose The Cans And Bottles

Marinades, sauces, dips, soups, canned fruits and veggies…the vast majority of these pre-made items are loaded with sugar, salt, fat and all kinds of additives. And P.S.? They don’t taste nearly as good as what you can whip up in your own kitchen.

OK, OK, you’re right. I’m not going to ferment my own vinegar or soy sauce. It’s stinky and it takes months.

What I can do is make a few key items when I have the time and store them in the freezer for when I need to use them. Applesauce, cranberry sauce, barbecue sauce and tomato sauce are just a few examples of things you can whip up in no time!

Salad dressings and dips often don’t hold up as well to freezing but it’s easy to throw together just the amount you need for the meal you’re having. Blue cheese? Yes, please! Thousand island? Honey Mustard? Making these will leave you unflustered!

And this ranch powder mix will happily sit in your cupboard for a long time until you need it.

Plan Ahead

Make a meal plan. This doesn’t have to be complicated but it is important. It’s a fact that those who make a meal plan are more likely to have a healthier diet.
Hit the store. Make a list of everything you’re going to need to make those meals and go shopping for everything you don’t already have.
Prep, prep, prep. Prep all the food you just brought home from the store. Break the proteins down into serving-sized portions for freezing (so you don’t have to defrost 5 pounds of ground beef to make one meal) and pre-prep other items in advance (such as turning that head of broccoli into bite-sized pieces). It’s easier to prepare a meal after work if you’ve already done some of the work!
Cook for the future. Since you’re cooking anyway, why not make enough for another meal? Many of my recipes, such as this pepper steak stir-fry, make 2 or 3 servings that can be used for several meals during the week. I love to cook a whole meatloaf and then freeze individual slices to use later in sandwiches. Uncooked meatballs can be frozen (make sure the ground beef hasn’t been previously frozen) and then thawed in single portions to make sweet and sour meatballs or pasta.
Don’t be overzealous. This is a mistake I’ve made more than once. I mean, why not double this sausage and butternut squash skillet so it will last the whole week? Because I guarantee you’re going to be sick of eating it by day 3. Luckily, it freezes nicely so I was able to eat the rest a few weeks later.

Go Forth And Cook

The road to eating healthier meals can seem like a long and daunting journey but keep in mind that you don’t have to be good at this all at once. There will be missteps, missed exits and side trips. The important thing is to stick with it. Before you know it, you’ll be looking forward to preparing that healthy meal. I promise.

What strategies have you adopted to make things easier? Let me know in the comments below!

All my best,

Cynthia
cynthia@cynthiaeats.com

Life is busy. How can we eat healthy when we don’t have the time to cook from scratch? Here are a few tips on how to stock your pantry with time-saving items!

I like to cook my own foods from scratch. I’m a firm believer that cooking from scratch is really the only way to know the quality of what I’m eating. But, while we have a goal to eat healthily, we just can’t do it all.

It’s virtually impossible for us to make every single thing we want to eat. Sure we can put together a marinade for our grass-fed beef and pair it with some fresh vegetables for dinner. We can throw together a salad with homemade dressing or have a breakfast sandwich made from a fried egg atop a freshly baked biscuit.

But let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? When was the last time you brewed soy sauce because you needed a sprinkle or two in a stir-fry? Cooked up a batch of catsup so you could have a squirt to dip your french fries? Or made your own mayo because you were dying for an egg salad sandwich? Me neither.

And, let’s face it, sometimes life gets in the way. We’re busy. We get tired. Unmotivated. Did your spouse really forget to tell you that he’s invited the Smiths to dinner? Or perhaps your son shows up with half the football team and wants to know what there is to eat.

Now, if we wanted to, we could surely go ahead and plan for all these contingencies. We could cook, bake, mix and ferment then dehydrate, can, and freeze it all. The problem with that is the aforementioned life to which we must attend. That and the fact that our storage spaces and freezers are only so big.

So here are some thoughts on how to stock your pantry – with 17 foods to include and 7 foods to avoid.

What Are Processed Foods?

Before we tackle the problems that we face every day, I’d like to do a quick review on what, exactly, are processed foods.

Processed foods are any foods that have been modified from their original state. This means, of course, that the moment you pick a tomato off the vine, you have altered or “processed” that food. I only bring this up because I want you to realize that the simple act of food being processed is not an evil concept.

Foods have been processed since the beginning of mankind. This was usually done on a community or family level with food being hunted, raised or foraged while it’s abundant and then using various means of preserving it for use at a later date. When we cook fresh food in our own kitchen and freeze it for future use, we are also processing food.

It’s highly (or ultra) processed foods that we need to be on the lookout for. These are highly manipulated foods that contain many added ingredients and sometimes don’t contain any of the food it claims to be. Are you aware that some brands of coffee “creamers” are made from water, sugar and oil? Not a drop of dairy-related anything.

The Bad Guys: Ultra Processed Foods

First let’s get to the bad guys: those highly (ultra) processed foods. While the food industry works hard to convince us that fruit-flavored loopy things are good for us, one quick glance at the label tells us that it’s certainly nothing even a toucan would eat.

The secret to choosing healthier processed foods is no secret at all! A look at the label and ingredient list will tell you everything you need to know. Here are a few things to look for (and steer away from):

Low fat, low sugar and/or sugar-free. Foods naturally contain fat and/or sugar to varying degrees and this is what makes them taste good. It’s important to remember that neither fat nor sugar is a bad thing when enjoyed in moderation. As a matter of fact, a certain amount of both is necessary for your body to function properly.

When foods are manipulated to remove naturally occurring fat or sugar, these are usually replaced by the opposite thing (fat for sugar and sugar for fat) or artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame.

Artificially flavored or imitation. Translation: Chemical.

Any ingredient you don’t have in your kitchen. Or can’t pronounce. Or wouldn’t even know where to get.

Vegetarian fed chickens (or eggs). Chickens are not vegetarians and need the amino acid that are found in meat sources. Since chickens love bugs, a vegetarian chicken is surely not a free-range chicken. It’s a chicken that has been kept inside (away from bugs) and most likely fed a diet supplemented with a synthetic version of the amino acid methionine.

Healthy or Natural. These words could mean anything. Often it means that whatever the manufacturer started out with was healthy and/or natural (which most food is…when you start out) but it doesn’t mean it stayed that way.

Kid-friendly. When was the last time your kid picked the healthiest option on the table? While there are exceptions, most kids, when left to their own devices, will pick the sugariest, most artificially brightly colored option they see. Especially if it’s being presented by a cartoon character.

Fortified or enriched. This means that something has been unnaturally added to the product. It’s a label typically plastered on ultra-processed foods to make them seem healthier.

The Better Guys: Minimally Processed Foods

There are some products on the grocery shelves that are less processed and can be a good addition to your pantry for when life comes a’calling. The secret is, again, the label and ingredient list. Keywords to look for might be simple, organic, grass-fed or free-range but the real test is to read the ingredient label. Make sure that whatever’s in the package are things you would add if you were making it yourself.

Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:

Canned beans
Frozen fruits and vegetables
Canned pineapple
Canned tomatoes
Jarred spaghetti sauce
Canned tuna
Peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter)
Canned pumpkin
Frozen seafood
Packaged cheese (including sliced or shredded)
Unflavored nuts
Boxed pasta
Plain Greek yogurt
Cottage cheese
Bread (organic or from a local bakery)
Crackers
Dark Chocolate

When You’re On The Go: Surviving Road Trips

Consider these options before you grab a hot dog from that street vendor:

Pack drinks and snacks. Even if you plan to stop somewhere for lunch, having a snack under your belt will ensure that you’re not starving when you make the decision on where to eat. Try some granola, fresh fruit and a water bottle.

Convenience store. More and more convenience stores are making an effort to accommodate those of us who want to maintain a healthy diet. Many offer single serving sizes of cheese, nuts, hard-boiled eggs and fresh fruits and salads. Remember to check the ingredient labels to make sure you’re not getting more than you bargained for!

Grocery store. When was the last time you thought to stop at the grocery store for a quick snack? There’s no shortage of healthy snacks to be found here!

Skip the chain restaurants. Look for smaller “Mom and Pop” restaurants that are more likely to make their goods from scratch. If you’re traveling to unfamiliar territory, take the time to research restaurants in the area online. There are plenty of apps that review local places and let you know the best option.

One Last Thought

We have certainly been spoiled with the accessibility of a wide variety of foods that have become available to us over the last century. We can’t go back nor would we want to.

What we can do is strive to consume foods in their natural state, as much as possible, and adjust the amounts and combinations to most suit the needs of our own body.

The most important thing is to be kind to yourself. This is a learning journey and none of us is an expert. We can only do the best that we can each day and remember that life is meant to be enjoyed.