One Snarky Chica with Issues

About two years ago, I decided that I needed to start doing things to be a bit more healthy. One of the main things that I decided to do was to tackle my diet. I was eating a lot of processed crap including a lot of meals out at restaurants. When I decided that this was a change that I wanted to make in my life I really did not know where to begin other than eating more fruits and veggies.

So, that is what I started doing. I started buying more cans of veggies to eat with my deals and a lot of those little fruit cups that you can take in your lunch. While my intentions were good, I was still making bad choices. Pick up a can of veggies and take a peak at the amount of sodium. Shocking, huh? And fruit cups? Well, fruit does not naturally make high fructose corn syrup, now does it?

I knew that I needed a little help when it came to making wise choices with my food. I started looking up all sorts of stuff on the web so that I could become better informed. I looked at the USDA Food Pyramid info. I looked up what type of diets are recommended for people with health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. I looked up what type of foods the people eat that are the healthiest in the world. (Answer: Mediterranean diet) I signed up for newsletters on things like food, nutrition and fitness on sites like Lifescript.

So, with all of that info I started making more changes. I stopped buying those cheap freezer meals for lunches at work. Instead, I spent weekends making big batches of things like soups that I could take in my lunch during the week. I started looking for canned veggies that listed “low” or “no” sodium. And if that was not an option I bought frozen or fresh veggies. I kept my fruit buying to the product section. I started using more olive oil and less butter. And I kicked my Diet Coke habit.

The most important thing that I learned to do was to experiment in the kitchen. There was never a lot of variety in the recipes in my household. So, I started looking up healthy recipes and making it and seeing what happened. I also started experimenting with spices as opposed to sauces and other condiments. It seems like most condiments have either high fructose corn syrup (barbecue sauce) or a whole lot of sodium (soy sauce).

And you know what? I am still learning stuff about eating healthy! Just this past week I saw on a health centered blog that most bread that you buy has high fructose corn syrup! I was shocked! However, I did not think my bread would have it as it is called “Healthy Life” - but lo and behold it does. In fact, it is the second ingredient right after flour. Disgusting! But apparently you can get bread without HFCS at Trader Joe’s. Or there is always making your own. I am contemplating doing just that.

I also came across another great resource from a blog. It is a book called The World’s Healthiest Foods, Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating (Amazon link) by George Mateljan. It is a really thick book and was selling for over $30 when I looked it up. But I checked my local library and they had a copy of it that I checked out. I have not gotten through the entire thing yet, but it looks like a great resource. Lots of info on individual foods and what benefits they provide.

Links:

• USDA Food Pyramid info
• What Should You Eat? at the Harvard School of Public Health
• Diet and Nutrition info from the American Heart Association
• Lifescript - they have some great health newsletters
• Mediterranean diet info from the Mayo Clinic
• Eat Better America - great articles and recipes
• The World’s Healthiest Foods, Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating
• Diet Blog
• Building Nutrition blog
• The Office Diet blog
• Squawkfox blog - this one is not entirely food related but does have some great food posts.