Healthy Foods

[izzy_razmovski]

I want to start eating healthier a lot more, being that its holidays & i have time off i was wondering what kind of healthier foods i could try. anyone got suggestions??

[Dominique]

Welcome to the community, @izzy_razmovski!

First suggestion: eat more veggies. Most people (me included) don’t eat enough of them, and it’s very hard to overeat them.

Second suggestion: read the e-book Understanding Healthy Eating, referenced in this other topic, or listen to the two free podcasts (also linked in the same topic) with the main author if you can’t afford the book. It’s a good source of information about what matters most and what matters least.

[Esya]

Could you give us a bit more of a background? What are you currently eating?

I could provide information on very healthy food, but it might be way far out of your comfort zone. For most people it is easier to get there by making changes over time that stick than to change their complete diet all at once.

A few things that make a big difference without knowing what you are already doing:

- Try to cut calories from your drinks. When I moved from drinking tea with sugar to drinking tea without sugar I quite easily dropped 5 kg in weight. Which leaves more room for calories you can get from your food and snacks.

- The least processing was applied to a food, typically the better. Ready made meals can be very high in calories and have lots of salt and sugar added to them. The more you use fresh products or base products (e.g. oil, butter, oats), the better you know what is in your food. Atleast check for added sugars on the product, which can be tricky as it can come in many names.

- Everyone agrees that vegetables are very healthy and that you should eat plenty of those. Apart from that there can be a lot of discussion of what is healthy and what is not (meat, dairy etc.etc.). I think you should not worry too much about that, as I think the previous point is way more important than this one.

[Dominique]

@izzy_razmovski: I see from your profile you’re 15. It’s great you’re already aware of the fact we are what we eat, to a pretty large extent! Many people your age are just happy feeding on burgers, candies, soda and other junk food.

Because you’re 15, what you eat at home is probably what your parents decided to put on the table. Hopefully, they’re well informed about what’s healthy and what’s not, but if it’s not the case, you may want to go shopping for grocery with them and try to influence their choices towards healthier foods (once you’ve found out what’s healthy and what’s less optimal). If you don’t currently spend much time in the kitchen, it’s also a great way to transition to healthier eating: a lot of healthy dishes involve some preparation from raw ingredients (as opposed to taking something out of a package and putting it directly in the microwave).

[CoachJay]

Here’s a few tips as a general guideline:

• Eat foods that provide you with high satiety levels.
  
• Incorporate fiber and proteins into each of your meals.
• Break your meals and eat every three hours which works wonders for your body.
  
• Drink water often, it boosts your metabolism and also results in eating less.
  
• Reduce the consumption of refined sugar as much as possible.
  
• Avoid artificial sweeteners like the plague (Aspartame especially).
• Skip all soda and juice drinks. Eat a fruit instead and drink water.
• Keep healthy foods around you so that when you’re hungry you don’t eat junk food.
  
• Eat fresh vegetables and fruits on a daily basis. Perfect for snacking!
  
• Avoid trans-fats as much as possible. (burgers, hot-dog, pizza, fries, etc.)
• Avoid processed foods as much as possible. (microwave food, canned, boxed, etc.)
• Go for whole grains bread and pasta, brown rice and whole wheat flours instead of the white ones.
• COOK AT HOME. It’s cheaper and healthier.
• Get good sleep! Lack of sleep increases junk food cravings.
  
• DO NOT diet. Eat healthy instead!
• Keep track of your calorie consumption. 100 Calories of fresh almonds is not the same as 100 calories of soda.
• Look around for motivation. Get your partner or friends to workout with you.
  
• Exercise and be ACTIVE!
  
• You don’t have to change your entire lifestyle in a day, make small changes and keep it steady.

[emili]

good for you for asking the question. My son is your age and we talk about it together. He is not a big fruit guy so I load him up with veggies and lean proteins. He does have a fondness for dessert so Friday and Saturday he can enjoy within reason but the rest of the time he has a 150 calorie restriction for dessert- which also doubles as portion control.. talk to your parents and see what options you have. there are so many choices out there for better eating...

[MagsOnTheBeach]

I have a 15 year old daughter, and one thing we have done since she was little is pick up a new fruit or vegetable at the store and look up recipes and give them a try.  We have had mostly great experiences, and it is fun.

I'd say if you are home, the best skill to learn is how to shop and prepare foods.  A couple great cookbook authors that have recently been healthy fast food or healthy simple but tasty food is Jacques Pépin with his books: Fast Food My Way and More Fast Food My Way.  I also love Ellie Krieger and many of her recipes are on the Food Network website and some have videos.  She tries to stick with 5 ingredients and make things yummy and healthy.  

If you don't ever cook, start with something easy like eggs.  Then progress to pancakes or crumpets. Another great skill is to learn to make a vinegarette for salads and marinading meats.  No need to ever buy a bottled dressing. Just have fun trying easy recipes with ingredients you have on hand.

My son was able to avoid the typical weight gain from college by learning to make quick veggie stir fry, oatmeal, eggs, spaghetti and more.  He cooked for his fiance for the first year since she never cooked and they walked through cooking together so now they can split the duty.

You have a whole lifetime to feed yourself, you can't go wrong with filling half your plate with vegetables, then having 1/4 of it rice, potatoes, pasta or other grain and 1/2 of it as a protein.  Have a piece of fruit 3 times a day and you are set!

Enjoy your holidays!!!