Post by Alena on Dec 27, 2006 20:20:43 GMT -5
The old adage "You are what you eat" is extremely true. Whatever energy you put into your food goes into your body and affects your health and how you live.
Regardless of one's food preferences, one can eat healthy and balanced meals--thus assuring that they too become healthy and balanced. If one prepares food with this in mind, a simple meal can become a very fulfilling source of nourishment. The term "soul food" was invented for a reason!
A lot of us live very busy lives and rarely have the time to cook. I am vegan but I work crazy hours and am not always at home with the time to prepare a meal. Nonetheless, I have perfected the art of 15 minute meals keeping the ideas of balance and nutrition in mind--not to mention TASTE.
Often when people think of healthy food, they think of food that tastes like cardboard--this is because we live in a culture that does not know what "healthy" food is and thinks that ketchup is a vegetable serving (you can thank Reagan for that!). Eating healthy does not have to mean sacrificing flavor or enjoyment of the meal.
Here are some quick tips on eating balanced and healthy:
1) Drink lots of water. The FDA recommends eight glasses of water a day, and if you exercise and/or if it's hot outside you need to drink a bit extra. If you don't like water or it gets too boring for you, drink tea instead.
2) Balance out your meals with fruits and vegetables and don't overdo the starches and proteins. Our culture is protein-crazy because it is convinced that we need to revolve our meals around protein items--and the lo-carb craze is contributing to this. The key is BALANCE. Jedis thrive on balance, and hence our meals should also be balanced!
3) Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're no longer hungry. This sounds like simple wisdom but too often in our busy lives we ignore it. It is best to eat slowly and decide later in an hour you can eat a snack versus rushing through too big of a meal and overeating.
4) For an even blood sugar level and increased metabolism, eat several small meals as opposed to small amounts of large ones. This will also prevent that afternoon slump when normally your blood sugar takes a dive at work and you start to fall asleep!
5) Ignore fad diets; they're all imbalanced and unreasonable.
6) Take a multivitamin daily. This will ensure that you are getting the proper nutrients in your diet. This is ESPECIALLY important for vegetarians or vegans.
7) Remember that ANY diet--low carb, vegetarian, vegan, Atkins, high protein--can be unhealthy if unbalanced! The problem is often not the diet but the way in which it is carried out.
If you eat the right things--and things which you enjoy--you'll feel good and be healthy. Remember that there is a strong mind-body connection and if you "feed" it properly you can turn it to your own benefit!
~Alena
Regardless of one's food preferences, one can eat healthy and balanced meals--thus assuring that they too become healthy and balanced. If one prepares food with this in mind, a simple meal can become a very fulfilling source of nourishment. The term "soul food" was invented for a reason!
A lot of us live very busy lives and rarely have the time to cook. I am vegan but I work crazy hours and am not always at home with the time to prepare a meal. Nonetheless, I have perfected the art of 15 minute meals keeping the ideas of balance and nutrition in mind--not to mention TASTE.
Often when people think of healthy food, they think of food that tastes like cardboard--this is because we live in a culture that does not know what "healthy" food is and thinks that ketchup is a vegetable serving (you can thank Reagan for that!). Eating healthy does not have to mean sacrificing flavor or enjoyment of the meal.
Here are some quick tips on eating balanced and healthy:
1) Drink lots of water. The FDA recommends eight glasses of water a day, and if you exercise and/or if it's hot outside you need to drink a bit extra. If you don't like water or it gets too boring for you, drink tea instead.
2) Balance out your meals with fruits and vegetables and don't overdo the starches and proteins. Our culture is protein-crazy because it is convinced that we need to revolve our meals around protein items--and the lo-carb craze is contributing to this. The key is BALANCE. Jedis thrive on balance, and hence our meals should also be balanced!
3) Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're no longer hungry. This sounds like simple wisdom but too often in our busy lives we ignore it. It is best to eat slowly and decide later in an hour you can eat a snack versus rushing through too big of a meal and overeating.
4) For an even blood sugar level and increased metabolism, eat several small meals as opposed to small amounts of large ones. This will also prevent that afternoon slump when normally your blood sugar takes a dive at work and you start to fall asleep!
5) Ignore fad diets; they're all imbalanced and unreasonable.
6) Take a multivitamin daily. This will ensure that you are getting the proper nutrients in your diet. This is ESPECIALLY important for vegetarians or vegans.
7) Remember that ANY diet--low carb, vegetarian, vegan, Atkins, high protein--can be unhealthy if unbalanced! The problem is often not the diet but the way in which it is carried out.
If you eat the right things--and things which you enjoy--you'll feel good and be healthy. Remember that there is a strong mind-body connection and if you "feed" it properly you can turn it to your own benefit!
~Alena