Here is how my appointments go. I have someone come meet me in my office and we talk about who they are, what they do for work and then how they eat. I get a lot of comments like, “I need to start eating clean” or “I just don’t like eating salad all the time and I know that’s what I need to do” or one of my favorites is “That’s a BAD food”. Let me address these for those of you who I have not had the pleasure of talking with in a one on one meeting.
“Eating Clean” has always made me kind of chuckle. I guess it’s more semantics than anything, but as long as you’re not eating your food off the floor or out of the trash, it’s probably clean. I get it, it’s a good buzz word and it can be a call to action. It may even get people to get in the mindset to eat better and be more health conscious, but when people are beating themselves up and breaking themselves down because of “Clean eating” I take issue. This leads me right into the comment “That’s a Bad food”. I want to clear something up; food is not inherently good or bad. The only bad foods are those that are moldy, poisonous, or cause an allergic reaction within a person. All food serves a purpose, and if I have to pick having any food (that is not moldy, poisonous, or causes allergic reaction) over someone being hungry or starving, I will pick “bad food” rather than no food any day. Then there is the eating salad every day to be healthy comment, the namesake of the blog this month.
I want to confess something; I do not enjoy eating salad every day! However, if I change my way of thinking, I do eat a salad every day. I make sure to eat vegetables and fruits with every meal, and what is a salad if not just a mixture of different vegetables and fruits? So you don’t like leafy greens, try sautéing zucchini, squash and tomatoes, now you have a warm salad with dinner. Try having carrots, celery, and broccoli with hummus at lunch, salad! Try having plan Greek yogurt with blueberries and strawberries mixed in for breakfast, fruit salad. It really is that simple.
If you don’t want to call it a salad, call it “Eating the Rainbow” or “Increasing your Color Quotient”. By adding more vegetables and fruits to your daily food intake, you naturally increase your daily fiber amount. Fiber helps to remove cholesterol, leaves you feeling fuller for longer and feeds those important gut bacteria that make sure what we eat is digested efficiently. In turn, you are decreasing your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Just try adding one vegetable or fruit with each meal for the next month, and if you like how it goes, add two vegetables and/or fruit with each meal next month. If you really like it and can’t wait a month, add the two vegetables and/or fruit next week. Make your plate colorful, make it fun, and make it something you enjoy.
Be good to each other!
As always, if you have any questions or concerns contact Michael Hoyt at:
Michael.hoyt@ti.com