Healthy Cooking & Eating Tips

Healthy Cooking & Eating Tips

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of American adults are obese. Obesity can cause many health problems including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. The good news is that obesity can be preventable through fitness and eating healthy. Here are some tips on how to make healthier food choices.

Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips:

 

                                         

Frozen Food:

According to Fitday.com, many frozen meals contain 700 to 1800 mg of sodium. With the daily-recommended maximum of sodium being 2300, it can become difficult to stay under the maximum. This is especially important to know for those with high blood pressure. Also, 3 frozen meals a day will not provide enough calories for most people which if not handled properly can cause under-eating issues. Many frozen meals also do not provide enough fruits and vegetables to meet your daily nutritional requirements which can lead to vitamin deficiency issues.

Unhealthy Frozen Food Products:

Swanson Hungry Man: Many of their food products are high in calories, some even going over 1,000 calories.

Healthy Frozen Food Products:

Lean Cuisine: This brand of products contain 380 calories at most.

Weight Watchers Smart Ones: This brand of products contain 410 calories at most.

Other foods lower in calorie intake include Lean Pockets and Healthy Choice.

Unhealthy Restaurant Choices:

Steak N Shake: 7X7 Steakburger- This item is served from Midnight to 6 A.M. which is already a bad time to be eating. In addition to that, the 7x7 Steakburger contains 1,570 calories.

Steak N Shake: Nacho Fries- This item is also served from Midnight to 6 A.M. In addition to that, the Nacho Fries contain 1,180 calories.

Carl’s Jr.: Double Memphis BBQ Burger- This item contains 1,090 calories.

Carl’s Jr.: The Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger- This item contains 1,030 calories.

Burger King: Triple Whopper- This item contains 1,020 calories.

Bahama Breeze: Island Onion Rings- This item contains 1,910 calories.

Healthy Restaurant choices:

Mcdonalds Fruit and Walnut Salad: 210 calories

Arby’s Jr. Roast Beef: 210 calories

Arby’s Jr. Ham and Cheddar Melt: 210 calories

Chick-Fil-A Side Salad: 70 calories

Mcdonalds Fruit n’ Yogurt Parfait: 150 calories

Starbucks Seasonal Harvest Fruit Blend: 90 calories

Starbucks Smoothies (Flavors are Strawberry, Chocolate and Orange Mango: 300 calories (Contains 16 grams of protein on the Strawberry and Orange Mango. Chocolate contains 20 grams of protein.) Also contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron and Calcium.

Speaking of smoothies, here are some tasty and healthy smoothie ideas you can make with any blender. When making smoothies, I prefer using fresh fruit rather than processed fruit from packages and cans as it tends to tastes better, in my opinion.

Banana Clementine Creamsicle Smoothie:

Orange Strawberry Banana Smoothie:

Apple Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie:

Banana Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie:

Other Healthy Recipes:

Asian Chicken Salad:

Fried Rice:

Chinese Orange Chicken:

Asian Chicken & Broccoli:

Vegetable Stir-Fry:

Quick & Easy Steak Salad:

Vegan Macaroni & Cheese:

Spaghetti Bolognese:

Low Fat Frozen Strawberry Yogurt:

Banana Ice Cream:

Oatmeal With Applesauce:

Other health tips:

Drink lots of water. According to a recent article in USA Today, people drink 21 gallons of bottled water each year. 37 gallons of other water, which includes tap, sparkling, flavored and enhanced waters such as Coca-Cola's brand Vitamin Water are consumed every year, making water America’s most popular drink. There are many water brands available including Sobe Lifewater, Nestle Pure Life, Dasani, Aquafina, Glaceau Smartwater, Vita Coco, O.N.E. Coconut Water and Evian. My personal favorite is Ice Mountain.

Avoid sodas. 

Try juice as an alternative to sodas. Many juices include lots of vitamins. Orange juice is a great source for Vitamin C. Make sure to check labels on juices to be certain that they are 100% juice. Some juices are not 100% juice and have more sugar than actual juice in them, such as cocktail juices which are unhealthy because of the added sugar.

Avoid snacks like cookies, chips, donuts or candy. 

Try yogurt as an alternative to cookies, chips, donuts and candy. Some good yogurt choices are Yoplait, Dannon, Chobani and Stonyfield Organic.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are also a better snack alternative to cookies, chips, donuts and candy. Fruit is still sweet but it is much healthier and lower in fat than cookies, chips, donuts and candy. Fruits and vegetables also provide many different vitamins and offer many health benefits that can help with healing injuries, providing energy and fighting both acne and diseases. Some great options for fruits and vegetables include potatoes, broccoli, cabbages, cherries, grapes, watermelon and more.