Eating For Health

Almost everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are good for you.   But many people have no idea how many fruits and vegetables you need each day.   Many of my students say it is important to eat healthy but then have trouble defining what that means.   One thing “eating healthy” means is that you eat fruits and vegetables every day.   And there is a minimum you should eat.   Do you know what that number is?   Easy to remember, “5 A Day”, every day.   Early on in teaching I told my students to eat 5 fruits and veggies a day.   Then one student ate 6 fruits and veggies and told me they had to cut back.   I was puzzled, and asked, “Why are you cutting back on fruits and vegetables?”   She told me because I taught them “5 A day” and 6 must be too much.   So now I very carefully say, “at least 5 A Day”, as eating more than 5 is good for your health. The next question is – how many fruits and how many vegetables?   Can it be 4 fr...

 This  week my husband saw an interesting slide show on MSN health and fitness, 35 simple tips to help you lose weight and keep it off too!    They have some great suggestions.    Their focus: We're not talking about drastic measures here, but quick and easy changes you can make in your daily life to help you achieve your weight loss goals.   If you want to see all 35 tips, click the link.   Here are a few they highlighted:      Don’t give up your favorite foods – how often do you hear someone say, “I ate a cookie and blew my diet.”   Nonsense, as Joyce Meyer says, “ eat the cookie ”.   But don’t eat the whole box.   MSN recommends limiting the number of times you eat your favorite or junk food to once a week and eat less of it than you normally do.     Opt for Whole grains – so many people forgo the whole grains when they are such a healthy addition to your diet.   My relatives are now into Ezek...

Many of us will be hitting the road this summer.   Trips to the beach, trips to the mountains, trips to visit far off relatives.   Packing some snacks is a great idea, but what are some healthier choices?   Or if you didn’t bring or run low on snacks, what are some healthier snacks you can purchase on the road? Pack some healthy snacks for the road:   Fruit – apples, oranges, bananas,small boxes of raisins, dried fruits whole grain crackers like Triscuits,   Wheat Thins trail mix made with nuts and fruits granola bars (look for whole grain bars). Popcorn – buy some 100 calorie single servings, pop it and store in a baggie. Nuts – we pack a small can of lightly salted mixed nuts.   A handful makes a great snack. Celery sticks and some peanut butter (Jif to Go – makes peanut butter in to go cups Cereal – choose whole grain cereals, pack a baggie of Wheat Chex mixed with raisins, or some Cheerios Water – bring some bottled water and so...