Well, that was easy!
I was starting to break out in hives at the thought of changing out products I normally. I don't know why I did that to myself... all that needless worry.
I have been eating healthy for years, and feeding my family the same way. Years I tell you. I started getting health conscience back in the late eighties right after the birth of my first son. After all, I was not about to feed anything unhealthy to my baby.
I adjusted how I cooked, which was not all that difficult being that I had not been cooking long. When I was single, there really wasn't a need to cook - I spent my time with my family and ate with them or I went out. So needless to say I had not developed many bad habits.
I stopped making fried chicken, fried anything for that matter, which was not a difficult task. After all frying foods somehow ended up being messy with all the splatter, and a hassle afterwards with the clean-up. So... that was a welcomed adjustment.
Since my early twenties was at the height of the workout frenzy with Jane Fonda showing up everywhere in her workout clothes and leggings to match, being health conscience was almost done for you. Living in Los Angeles was an added bonus... the skinny capital of the world... being healthy and being weight conscious became second nature.
Twenty-five years later my cooking has not only gotten better and healthier, but with the help of television networks such like the Food Network and the Cooking Channel (which I have been watching since they came on,) cooking has become an all time love of mine, as well as my five year old little girl (or rather my Sous Chef as Calley likes to be referred to.)
When it came to shopping this weekend, granted I had "the list" with me, it wasn't all that difficult. I even ended up putting the list down... I was reassured that I was already shopping healthy.
I use shopping as an opportunity to teach my daughter. I have taught my daughter to not only compare prices, but to compare nutritional values. Looking for things like the "white check mark" on General Mills cereals, white checks = whole grains, or looking for the "Zero Trans Fat" label, to mention a couple. And of course, we have had lessons in picking produce and checking expiration dates as well.
As I mentioned in the past, I do not buy tv dinners or processed foods. I will, however buy frozen organic fruits and vegetables, they end up being less expensive and stay fresh longer. I must add that the freezer is beginning to get a bit crowded... guess we need to start looking for a stand alone freezer. Wink, Wink.
Don't forget that when you are reading nutritional labels on foods, look at the portion amounts. Remember the labels are misleading. In order for the numbers to look good, manufacturers list the per portion values, as opposed to the whole container. Not only that, but what we may think a portion is to us, more times than not, it is not what the manufacturer has in mind. They want to sell their product as being healthy and listing "per portion" nutritional values helps their products sell, as well as making their nutritional numbers appear healthier.
In conclusion, while the list of 99 healthy foods that Dr. Oz provided was a great help, it proved to me that I was already doing the right thing for myself and my family. I will continue to read labels, include plenty of fruits and vegetables and stick to whole grains in my family diet..
Here's to another glass of water!
Stay healthy and Think Positive!
Blessings to you and yours.
Images courtesy of google images.
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