You Are What You Eat: Maintaining A Healthy Diet
Nutrition is one topic that always seems to be on everyone’s mind, and why not? We all have to eat, after all. It can be hard to sort through all the information out there and figure out what really is healthy and what isn’t. This article will help you cut through the clutter and get the real scoop on nutrition.
Make sure you don’t try to force food on your child. If your child says they’re not hungry, don’t try to force them to have a meal or a snack. Likewise, you don’t want to try and force or bribe your child into eating certain foods. All this will do it create anxiety and problems.
Make sure when you are buying bread that you purchase something that says “whole wheat” and not simply “seven grain” or otherwise. Whole wheat bread is great for you because it is a complex carbohydrate, meaning your body expends energy to process it and it doesn’t rapidly get absorbed by the bloodstream. However, unless bread packaging specifically says “whole wheat,” you may not be choosing the right bread.
When you are trying to decide what to have for dinner, remember that you should have equal amounts of vegetable and grains on your plate. You will be able to get full without eating too much of the calorie-ridden grains. This is because a cup of grains has about 200 calories and the veggies have just 50 or so.
It is important to eat reasonable portion sizes when you are eating a meal. Your vegetables should be a larger portion size than the portion size of the carbohydrates. If you choose to put butter on your vegetables, you should only use it in moderation or avoid it all together.
Unless you are diabetic, avoid eating two to three hours before you go to bed. Do something to take your mind off food like putting away leftovers, washing the dishes, or cleaning your teeth. Finish your evening with a nice cup of herbal tea. This will help you to relax and get to sleep.
Mix protein and carbohydrates when you sit down to eat. You’ll still get energy from the carbohydrates, but the protein will ensure that there is something in your system besides sugar. Eating a mix of the two this way will keep your blood sugar stable and keep your appetite down.
You can give any meal a nutritional boost by adding more vegetables to it. If you are eating a sandwich, go ahead and put on some tomatoes, lettuce and other vegetables that would complement it. You can add many different types of frozen vegetables to most casseroles without changing the flavor.
So you see, nutrition really isn’t that complicated a subject to understand once you know the basics. Some solid information and a few simple guidelines will help you make your diet as healthy as possible while still tasting good. Just remember what you’ve learned in this article, and you can enjoy healthy, delicious food.