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Fitness & Wellness

Realistic Ways To Eat Less Processed Foods

Is your finest china a Styrofoam container and plastic spoons your best cutlery? It’s time to make some changes and switch to a healthier eating style. You need to eat less processed foods, but it can sound like a tall order, especially if you aren’t a good cook. Here are a few realistic ways and you don’t need to have any culinary skills to make them. Start by buying fresh fruits and vegetables, wash them and prepare them as snacks. Keep your kitchen stocked so when you want a snack, the snacks will be ready for you to eat.

It doesn’t have to be all fresh fruit and vegetables.

Using frozen fruits and veggies can be just as healthy as using fresh. In fact, in most cases, even healthier. The processing, in this case, is okay, if the packaged fruits and vegetables are processed without any additives, frozen immediately and used within a specific time frame. They may have more nutrients than the fresh veggies that had to be picked early for shipping and may have been on the grocery shelf for a few days. Use frozen veggies as you would fresh ones when you cook them. Cook a batch of quinoa and toss in a mix of cooked veggies for a healthy, quick meal.

Cut out sugary drinks and switch to water.

Seriously, you’re probably paying a lot for that bottle of sparkling sugar water called a soft drink. Make a change and switch to water. You can flavor that water by putting slices of fruits and/or vegetables in the water and letting it sit in the refrigerator for several hours. The water picks up the flavor. There are a number of recipes for the infused water. Pick ones you like and you’ll switch off the soft drink in no time.

Do meal planning and prep.

Meal planning takes a little time but it’s well worth the effort. Once you get into the rhythm of doing it, it becomes easier and easier. You use one night a week, usually when grocery adds come out, planning the meals and making a grocery list. You spend the weekend making the meals. Meal planning also leaves few leftovers, since you can use them for other meals. The meals are frozen or kept in the refrigerator so when you get home from work, it’s just heat and eat.

  • Start adding extra veggies to all your meals. Are you going to have scrambled eggs for breakfast, toss in some red sweet pepper, onions or spinach. Making noodles? Add some broccoli, carrots or other veggie.
  • Even if you don’t meal plan, avoid adding processed foods to your cart when you go shopping. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make new creations when you don’t have the already processed foods available.
  • Do a switch with processed foods. If you love dessert, try a parfait of Greek yogurt, frozen of fresh fruit, half a ripe banana and walnuts or almonds. If you mash the banana into the yogurt and add the fruit and nuts, it’s like a pudding.
  • Make your changes slowly rather than all at once. You don’t have to give up all processed food at once or forever, for that matter. Try something new each week and gradually make changes, before you know it you’ll be eating healthy.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

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