Second Road Sign on The Healthy Way

Eat real food!  Do you have any idea what’s been done to our food to give it an extended shelf life?  Do you really want to eat old food?  Yuck.  Between processing and refining that strips out the nutrients and added chemicals which preserve it or add things you don’t need to it, there’s just not much real food left.  All those toxins are hanging out in our bodies.  Our livers can’t deal with all we throw at them so toxins get stored in fat cells and excess water is retained to help them.  No wonder it’s so hard to lose weight.

Real food is as God made it – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, meat, fish.  Our taste buds have been so over-stimulated that we don’t even know what real food is supposed to taste like anymore.  We expect our food to love us, comfort us, entertain us, excite us, etc.  What about nourish us?  Isn’t that important?  When did that go by the wayside and nobody noticed?

It’s only in recent years that a few people have started making the connection between what we eat or don’t eat and the state of our health.  Degenerative diseases are rapidly increasing because our bodies are breaking down faster due to lack of nutrients and too many toxins.  We are starving ourselves into sickness although with a full belly.

When did saving a few minutes of time become more important than feeding yourself and your family nutritious meals and having quality time together?  Are soccer, ballet, piano lessons, karate, book club, meetings of any kind, etc. more important than your health?  You won’t even be able to participate in them anymore if your body fails you, not to mention your mind and emotions which are also affected by what you eat.

I know I’m coming on strong here and you might feel offended.  Well, I’d rather offend you and make you think a little bit than to have you be ignorant and get sick.  It really doesn’t take that much time to fix a simple, healthy, tasty meal.  I do not like spending time in the kitchen.  It’s one of my least favorite things to do.  But I do care about my health and wellbeing so I look for ways to make it easier and simpler.  Read my previous blog about the salad cookbook I found. Most recipe books are way too complicated for the average busy person and non-chef.  You can also prepare food in larger amounts and freeze the rest for later.  Most meat dishes can be prepared in bulk and then divided.  Then all you have to do is make a big salad and dressing or some steamed vegetables and there you are.   If you think I’m exaggerating about what fast food does to your body then watch the movie “Supersize Me” and your eyes will be opened.

Our bodies do the best they can with what we give them and if we give them junk then our bodies become junk.  By giving ourselves superior nutrition and cleansing the toxins we are creating an environment for health, not disease.  So shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store and stay out of the middle aisles where all the boxes and cans are.  You’ll be glad you did!

Keeping It Simple

When I talk to people about needing to eat more raw fruits, vegetables and greens and how much they will benefit from them they frequently visualize boring meals of carrots, apples, and lettuce.  Fruits and vegetables don’t have to be boring.  We’re just in a rut, eating the same old things every day.  When I was growing up we had a salad every night but it was iceberg lettuce and tomato with a dollop of Miracle Whip salad dressing on top.  Ick!  Our vegetables were either green beans, green peas, or broccoli – all cooked to mush.  Fortunately, I wasn’t a picky eater so I ate it all anyway along with whatever meat was served.

When I first started trying to get more raw produce in my diet I would buy the basics then they would rot in my refrigerator.  I didn’t know how to make a tasty salad and was clueless about dressings.  Then I discovered the main meal salads that were starting to be popular in restaurants and a whole new world opened up.  Unfortunately, I am sensitive to chemicals and a lot of restaurants use chemicals in their seasonings along with preservatives so more often than not I’ll get a headache after eating out.

So that brought me back to my dilemma of needing to prepare better foods at home.  The other day I came across a book titled “Simply Salads” by Jennifer Chandler.  I looked through it and quickly knew I had to buy it.  Every recipe came with a picture (a must-have feature for me) and they were all simple using  just a few ingredients including prepackaged greens.  I was already buying prepackaged organic greens but was making the same old salads all the time. I also made the same old boring dressing all the time.

I sat down after buying the book and planned out a weeks’ worth of menus.  Some of the recipes include meat or fish with the salad and that works for my husband.  I just eat the salad.  Then I plan another vegetable side dish either raw or cooked.  I have tried the menu planning approach before and found that I rarely got past day one and also spent a fortune in the grocery store because there were so many ingredients.  I actually enjoyed the planning and was excited about trying the recipes.  I have now made three of them and they were great!

It doesn’t take as much work as you think to eat healthy.  It just requires getting some education and coaching about what changes to make and how to make them then being willing to be committed and responsible about what goes in your mouth.  You will feel so good once you get started.  Why don’t you try it?

First Road Sign on The Healthy Way

Not long ago someone asked me what was the most important thing to do for their health.  It didn’t take me long to come up with an answer.  If I was holding up the first sign on The Healthy Way it would say “Drink more water”.  Most people would admit they know they should drink more water but they have a million excuses why they aren’t.  Or they think that drinking all that coffee, tea, and soda takes care of it.  No way!  Any beverage with caffeine in it just causes us to eliminate more and get more dehydrated.

Our bodies use a lot of water every day.  Just normal activity requires three quarts of replacement water each day and a hot climate, strenuous activity and eating salty foods increases this requirement.  A heavy, dense cooked food diet is void of water to begin with and then when you add a lot of salt on top of that you’ve got a recipe for water retention, constipation, aches and pains, and many other health issues.  There are a lot of health problems that can be solved just by drinking more water so why not start with what’s easy and cheap.  Your body will thank you.

Eating a lot of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables will not only help with the water issue but give you badly needed minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients, and antioxidants.  Fruits and vegetables are almost 90% water and the healthiest thing you can eat.  They also give you much needed fiber to push things along in your colon that’s already suffering from too much processed food and not enough water.  Always remember that when you increase your fiber you need to increase your water.

By the time you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated.  Be proactive by drinking at least a cup of water every hour.  A good rule of thumb for the daily amount you need is half your weight in ounces.  For instance, if you weigh 150 lbs. you would drink 75 ounces of water.

So drink up and stay tuned for the next road sign.  Cheers!

Ann B Davis

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