Three Strategies For Eating Healthy, Without Giving Up Your Favourite Foods-Guest Post

I am excited to welcome Djanira Cortesaio from The Sunshine Table to Bump Life today.  If you are like me, you are always trying to make sure your kids, and frankly the whole family, is getting enough veggies in their diet.  Djanira has some awesome tips for us.  I, for one, am going to try the grating veggies into other foods…what a great idea!  Enjoy! -megan

 

We all know the benefits of following a healthy balanced diet, youthful looks, heaps of energy and a reduced risk of cancer and other diseases. And as mothers by preparing healthy meals we are teaching our children healthy eating habits that will last them a lifetime.

Many people worry that eating healthy means giving up your favourite foods. Luckily that doesn’t have to be the case. I’m a firm believer that you can have your cake and eat it. You just need to make a few small adjustments.

Here are my top three favourite healthy eating strategies, developed over the years allowing me to eat my favourite foods and maintain my healthy eating goals. An extra bonus is that these strategies also work beautifully for picky eaters.

1. Substitute Brown for White

Brown or wholemeal products are less refined than their white counterparts. Generally speaking the less processed a food substance the more it retains it nutritional value in terms of vitamins and fibre (constipation be gone!).

Go through your pantry and replace all your white sugar, flour, pasta, rice, bread, etc for brown or wholemeal versions.

2. Sneak More Veggies Into Your Favourite Dishes.

Studies have shown that eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day can lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Many of our most loved meals don’t traditionally have a high vegetable content, you can improve on that with the following tricks:

- Layer slices of zucchini, eggplant, carrot or spinach leaves in with your lasagne.

- Grate vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and into your favourite pasta sauces or chillies.

- Mash cauliflower in with your potatoes.

- Add pureed vegetables into soups, cauliflower, tomatoes and squash, make for a thicker more nutritious soup.

3. Switch to Healthier Cooking Methods

Often it’s not the ingredients but the cooking method that is adding unhealthy fats. Try oven baking vegetables such as French fries rather than reaching for the deep far fryer. If you do have to fry then consider replacing your usual oil for another liquid to sauté with instead. Experiment with different liquids, broth, water, wine and juice all work well and bring their own flavours to the meal.

Don’t make healthy eating a punishment for you and your family. You want to enjoy living a healthy lifestyle, not just learn to tolerate it.

By making a few of the small but mighty changes suggested above, you and your family can enjoy just about any favourite family dish without guilt.

Djanira Cortesão helps busy mums to be able to whip up healthy meals for their families in 20 minutes. They get peace of mind that their family is well nourished and will have fewer health issues, plus more time to spend doing the things they love. You can find easy recipes, shortcuts and tips over on her blog www.SunshineTable.com and sign up for her FREE mini healthy eating training on 5 ways to get your 5-a-day.