Eating Healthy – the Gourmet Way
We all know we should eat healthy. What stops us? Sometimes we think we have to give up the best-tasting foods in order to do so. Simple, healthy gourmet food proves that theory wrong. Other times, we feel we don’t have the time or energy to cook our own healthy meals. Simple 30 minutes recipes, along with doubling recipes in order to build up a reserve of healthy freezer food, takes care of that problem. And sometimes we think eating healthy is more expensive. Careful shopping of in season produce and watching for sales on other foods, however, makes gourmet healthy foods budget-friendly.
Now that you’re free of excuses, here are some tips to make eating healthier a whole lot easier:
* Go whole grain. Substituting refined, white flour products like white bread for whole grain products is an excellent first step to healthier eating. When cooking, try multi-grain pasta if you don’t like the taste and texture of whole grain. And in rice recipes, always use brown rice.
* Buy in-season vegetables. They are cheaper and often more nutritious. Frozen vegetables can be a bit more expensive, but are frozen at their peak of freshness and are therefore even more nutritious than fresh grocery store produce. Frozen vegetables are also easy to add to stews, soups, stir fry, casseroles, and many other dishes. Try making one dinner each week a vegetarian meal; this ups your intake of vegetables and cuts back on expensive meats.
* Buy in-season fruit. Avoid canned fruit with added sugar; select canned fruits in water.
* Unless you’re feeding young children or a doctor has recommended you eat otherwise, select low-fat diary products. Just be sure to read labels, because some low-fat products are packed with unhealthy sodium. Also, cook with skim milk. (Powdered milk is skim, has a long shelf life, and is less expensive than fresh milk.)
* Choose lean meats, like round eye, top round, bottom round, top loin, top sirloin, and chuck shoulders. When selecting pork, choose the leaner cuts of ham, pork loin, tenderloin, and center loin. Consider lamb, too; it’s generally healthier than beef or pork.
* Select skinless poultry breasts. Avoid dark poultry meat. Turkey and chicken are healthier than duck and goose.
* Eat more seafood.
Recommended Healthy Recipes:
Seafood Pot-au-feu with Vegetables: A healthy blend of sole, bass, scallops, prawns, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms.
Roasted John Dory with Vegetables: Packed with essential vitamins and minerals, this easy to prepare dish helps you get your daily dose of vegetables.
Eggs with Fresh Mushrooms: For breakfast, lunch, or dinner, eggs are a healthy way to get protein.
Saddle of Lamb: Lamb is one of the healthiest meats you can eat. Try this recipe, which features a nice assortment of vegetables, on days when you’re craving meat.
