What to Eat?
Once you have spent some time writing down what you are currently eating, you begin to see what you are not eating. Many of us just do not eat enough fruits and vegetables daily. The USDA recommended amount of a daily intake of these food groups is 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day and 2 cups of fruit a day. Now, you may be saying to yourself, that is a lot of fruits and vegetables to eat every day. But just imagine how many potato chips or cheese curls you are eating at one sitting, I am sure you are not just eating one cup of these. A good way to get in the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables is to replace your current unhealthy snacks with these healthier choices. So, let's take a closer look at what each of these food groups can do for your body!
Vegetables are one of my favorite snack foods. You can eat them raw, steamed or cooked. They can be eaten out of the can, from the freezer or fresh for the garden. Vegetables provide the body with important vitamins and minerals as well as helping to increase your fiber intake. According to the Mayo Clinic, a high fiber diet when combined with adequate water intake helps your digestive track work well and may even reduce your risk for heart disease and diabetes.
Fruit is what I call God's candy. I for one have a major addiction to sugar, especially white cake and icing. Love it!!!! But after eating this tast of heaven, I feel as if I have poisoned my body. The after effects are really not worth the moment the sweet flavor is on my lips. A great alternative is to eat a fruit like strawberries or grapes. Most fruit does contains sugar, so I suggest that diabetics be careful here and not eat too much, but we all need the nutrients they provide. The USDA says most fruits are low in fat and calories and are a great source of potassium, fiber, vitamin C and folate.
As you increase your fruits and vegetable intake, remember to mix up the colors and be brave. Try something new like a pomegranate or a baked sweet potato. Be careful though what you use to dress up these foods. For example, many people have a habit of adding salt to fruit and as we all know eating too much salt has been linked to causing high blood pressure. Eating too much salt is a learned behavior and we did not come into this world crying for salt. Therefore, we can unlearn it. Canned vegetables can also be high in sodium. So to reduce the sodium, pour the juice off and rinse. Then add water back into the can and cook as directed. Another example of adding unhealthy things to a healthy food is adding lots of butter and sugar to a baked sweet potato. One way to dress up a baked sweet potato is to add a very small amount of butter and cinnamon. I add small amount of artificial sweetener as well.
Let me encourage you to think about what you are putting into your body. Eating a healthy diet makes you feel good and increases your energy. Sticking with those foods found in nature and not processed ffod such as chips, is a very wise choice. The more energy we have, the more we can get done for the Lord. Thank you Lord for providing us with such a wonderful rainbow of colorful and delicious foods to eat.
In Christ,
Rhonda
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