You are welcome.
Today I thought I would start something new over here on That's What She Said. Over the past couple years Daniel and I have made an effort to eat healthier. Most of the stuff we have done seems like pretty common sense stuff, but before we started making a conscious effort to be a little healthier, they weren't really common sense to us at all! So, just in case you all are interested, once a week I am going to post three to five simple things you can do to extend your life expectancy!
Haha. That was a little joke there. Doing one of the random three things I post wont make you life 10 years longer or anything, but it WILL make you just a little healthier. And heck, if it DOES make you live longer, let me know. I will write a book.
Oh, and just as a disclaimer, I am not a nutritionist. I am not an expert in anything health related. I am a research freak and I am just sharing a few things that our family has found helpful in being a little more healthy!
1) Drink 100% juice. When purchasing juices, stay away from anything that is made from less than 100% juice. Those juices have unnecessary sugar and not enough nutrients. I just don't understand the point of buying a juice that is only 30% juice and the rest water, sugar and "natural flavoring". Why not just buy the real thing? It is better for you and it taste a lot better too! So next time you are at the grocery store try to stay away from the "fake" juices and look for the ones that advertise 100% juice! (I know that Great Value, the walmart brand, carries quite a few 100% juices and they are VERY tasty.)
* Honestly, it is best if you don't drink juices at all and get your daily servings of fruit from actual fruits, but we have not cut out juices in our diet, so I am not about to preach to you about avoiding juice. I did think I should mention the fact that eating an apple is actually better for you than drinking a glass of juice. :)
2) Cut out the junk food. You know what I am talking about. The Pringles, Doritos, Fritos, Chex Mix... all of the pre-packaged snack foods. As wonderful as they taste (mostly due to all the MSG), there is just no good that can come from keeping those items in your pantry. When we decided to stop buying the junk snack food we honestly thought it was going to be ridiculously difficult. But you know what? After a week or two we didn't even miss those things! Instead of bringing out a bag of chips to munch on, try a handful of blueberries, or a cup yogurt, some peanuts, or string cheese. They are healthier AND tastier. Chips (and other bagged snack foods) will fill you up and then leave you hungry again in a short amount of time (again, its the MSG), but the more natural foods will leave you more satisfied. Try it! I swear, if my husband can go from eating Doritos several times a day to eating yogurt and rice cakes (and loving it), you can too!
3) Eat fresh fruit. Canned fruit is probably the worst type of fruit you could eat. Well, chocolate covered fruit is probably a little less healthy than canned, but not by much. The syrup is very sugary and the fruit contains less vitamins and minerals. And quite frankly, it just doesn't taste as good as fresh fruit. Don't believe me? My husband swore up and down that he did NOT like peaches, until I gave him a fresh peach. And then he thought he died and went to heaven! Pretty much all he had eaten was canned peaches and he had no clue how wonderful the real things were! So when at all possible, go for the fresh stuff. But if you aren't always able to do fresh, frozen is the next best thing. (Zachariah eats frozen mango chunks for lunch almost daily!) It doesn't take long to thaw and the fruit still keeps most of its nutrients!
Ok folks! That about does it for today. Again, these are very simple things to do, and I feel a bit silly even posting about them, but if one person realizes that there is a difference between 100% juice and the juice they are purchasing, then I consider it a successful post! :)
Happy healthy eating (or drinking)!
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