You have a lot of power with each bite you choose!  Have healthy eating be a priority in your life to help prevent disease and trim your waistline.  Here are 10 tips to keep in mind:

1. Cook at home more often: Preparing food at home rather than dining out is a great way to manage exactly what you are eating, while saving money. You can stay in control of your nutrition and meal portions and maximize your budget. Plus, sharing home-cooked meals is a great way to spend time with your loved ones. For those who complain that they don’t have time to cook, it just requires a little planning ahead – use Organic Liaison’s menu planner to cook meals in advance and have a home-cooked meal ready to go!

Other ways to get the most out of cooking at home: Stretch your leftovers throughout the week. Freeze meals to eat later, or make soups and stews that last, like Kirstie Alley’s Green Soup™ – the recipe yields up to 23 servings. Host a dinner party and challenge your inner chef by tackling new and exciting recipes. Organic Liaison offers a great collection of organic recipes for you to try out.

2. Eat REAL food: Go back to nature.  Processed foods have infiltrated grocery store shelves to such an extent that most people forget to think twice about the groceries they buy.  Who wants to eat something that could probably withstand a nuclear blast anyway.  So read all ingredient labels carefully and look for foods with ingredients that are easy to pronounce.

3. Buy ORGANIC: Our goal at Organic Liaison is to encourage others to eat healthy, organic foods – made without the use of chemical pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, artificial growth hormones, genetically modified organisms, additives, preservatives, etc. Organic food is more nutritious and naturally better-tasting, without that sticky coating of pesticide residue. Plus, conventional, non-organic farming methods contribute to soil and water pollution, thereby endangering the environment and the welfare of farming products and animals.  By consuming organic food, you are also supporting organic, environmentally-friendly farming. So, BUY ORGANIC! Look for 100% Organic labels or organic certification from the Department of Agriculture to ensure that the food you buy is truly organic.

4. Eat a wide variety of foods: Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and protein contain all the different vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. While Organic Liaison’s Rescue Me™ helps to replenish your body with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you lose during weight loss, you still need to eat a variety of healthy foods in order to maintain a balanced diet. This means adding COLOR to your food plate. Shop for a good mix of seasonal organic fruits and vegetables. Choose high fiber whole grains, greater than 3 grams of dietary fiber to get the most nutrients and satisfaction per chew.  Look for lean cuts of protein, like organic chicken breast, turkey, and wild fish.

Eat fruits and vegetables twice per day: Aim for 2 fruits per day and veggies at lunch and dinner.  The American Cancer Society recommends eating a minimum of 2 fruits and 3 vegetable servings per day.  A serving of fruit is 1 small (2 inch diameter) fruit, 1/2 cup cut up fruit or 1/2 cup of 100% juice.  To get more sustainability, eat your fruit rather than drink it, more often.  A serving of vegetables is 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked.  Fruit is more caloric, 60 calories per serving, so go for about 2 to 3 fruits per day.  Vegetables are so low in calories, 25 calories per serving, have as many veggies as you want.

6. Be mindful of your portions: It’s easy to eat more food than your body needs, especially if you like to eat out.  Learn to eyeball your portions, so you can approximate how many ounces of meat or cups of pasta are on your plate.  When at home, measure out ingredients when you cook to determine how much you are eating. This will keep you aware of what your actual food consumption reality is and you’ll have more leftovers to enjoy another day.  If you’re at a restaurant, split the meal with a friend, or eat half of the plate and take the rest home for later.  Not only will you lower your calorie count, but you will save money!  For help with managing portions, use Organic Liaison’s Daily Journal to record your daily food consumption and stay within a healthy calorie limit.

7. Eat breakfast: You may have heard this before, but we will say it again: breakfast is important.  Break that Fast-Breakfast gives you that necessary boost of energy, to start on the balanced eating track. Plus, studies have shown that people on diets who eat breakfast are more likely to lose weight overall!  So, enjoy a satisfying morning meal and use the Organic Liaison Daily Journal to stay aligned with your recommended caloric needs each day.

8. Drink plenty of water: In order for your body to stay properly hydrated, drink at least 1.5 liters (64oz) of water every day. (Prevent the waste of plastic bottles by using Organic Liaison’s glass bottle.)  Get most of your calories from food rather than beverages.  Add some “free food” flavoring into your water by squeezing some juice from an organic lemon, lime or orange.  Get that spa water feel by adding some sliced cucumbers.  Sparkling water is great too, make a juice spritzer with a splash of 100% organic juice.  Keep juice to a maximum of 4 ounces per day.  Flavored sparkling waters with natural essence of flavor is great too.  For both hydration and a pick-me-up, reach for a hot cup of organic green tea – loaded with antioxidants.

9.  Make every eating time count: No need to skip meals to lose weight.  Keep your metabolism up by eating within an hour to an hour and a half after waking and every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day.  Although skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner might seem like a good way to cut calories, it is harmful to your body in the long run! Cutting meals will make you even more hungry, which can easily result in overeating. Furthermore, not eating enough can SLOW DOWN your metabolism, definitely not conducive to creating leanness!  Do it the Organic Liaison way, eat 6 times per day!

10. Substitute with healthier options: Eating healthy is not about barring yourself from enjoying all the foods that you love – it’s about making smart choices so that you get the nutrients your body craves, while still satisfying your taste buds. Identify which ingredients may be substituted for a healthy alternative so that you can still eat the dishes you like. If you like ice cream, try frozen yogurt instead; use low-fat cheese in your salad; switch from regular to skim milk; go for whole grain instead of white pasta, and so on. Good choices make a difference, and the little improvements in your diet will add up quickly, going a long way towards reducing your overall fat, sugar, and salt intake, for a healthier lifestyle.

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For regular tips and advice on nutrition, fitness, diet, health, and weight loss, register for a free Organic Liaison account today!

Photo: ReneS’ Flickr photostream/Creative Commons
Photo: dimnikolov’s Flickr photostream/Creative Commons
Photo: House Of Sims’ Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Tags: advice, cooking, Daily Journal, diet, eating healthy, eating right, Healthy Eating, kirstey alley, Kirstie Alley's Green Soup, menu planner, Nutrition, organic farming, Organic Foods, Organic Liaison, organic recipes, organic vegetables, processed foods, Rescue Me, tips

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Posted: Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Category: Health and Well-Being, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Organic Foods, Tips and Advice, Uncategorized