We love food!
Sometimes, we want food that is healthy and other times we want to splurge, or cheat. Knowing the difference between healthy and unhealthy choices may not be as easy as it seems.
Here are five common food items that will help you refine your daily food choices.
Some of the foods on this list are a “no-brainer”, but some may surprise you.
1.Frozen Meals: Yes, this includes any kind of TV dinner or “pocket”. These are generally loaded with salt, preservatives, and a bevy of artificial ingredients. With some exceptions, these things are nothing more than unhealthy filler foods.
Instead: Prepare meals yourself and freeze for later. You control what you put into your food. By cooking at home, you are virtually guaranteed to cut your caloric intake in half without the preservatives and artificial ingredients.
2. White Breads: Chlorine and Bromide. Sound tasty? If you are eating white bread, you are eating foods that have been treated and bleached. Plus, this process strips the bread of virtually all nutrients.
Instead: Wheat or whole-grain breads. The closer to whole-grain, the closer to natural ingredients.
3. Margarine: Trust us, this is good news. You can have butter. Margarine and other spreads are basically trans-fats and preservatives, with some industrial chemicals mixed in during the extraction process.
Instead: BUTTER!! This should have just made your day. The often vilified spread can actually be good for you. Butter contains CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) which has been shown to fight cancer and diabetes, as well as help promote weight loss.
4. Fast Food: There are few worse things you can put in your body than a combo meal. The average value meal contains around 850-1300 calories and 500-1500 mg of sodium, as well as a slew of preservatives and trans-fats.
Instead: Prepare your meals in advance for fast food at home. Now, there are two very common arguments: Too expensive or too time consuming. If you are buying food for say, a week in advance, you will be surprised how much money you can save. In doing this, you can also make meals in advance and freeze or keep in the fridge for later in the week. A little preparation can save you time, money and pounds.
5. Microwave Popcorn: You know that old rule that says, “If you can’t pronounce it, you shouldn’t eat it”? If this is the case, you really shouldn’t even be holding the bag. The chemicals in this nuke-warm fake-butter bag have been known to cause a wide variety of health issues; including: Infertility, thyroid disease, immune system problems and even cancer.
Instead: Pop your own. You can buy your own popper for around $20. Once you have done this, buying kernels by themselves quickly turns out saving you money.
The real bonus is how much better it tastes! You control how much butter and salt you add. Or even create recipes all your own. Try roasted garlic popcorn, or cinnamon sugar. Amazing! What are you eating that you now want to quit?