Most people want to eat healthy, but in our fast-paced, time-crunched life, we don’t always have the luxury of making the right choices. Here are a few tips to help you make better choices at home and away.
At home:
- Keep a can of non-stick vegetable spray by the stove. Reach for it instead of the olive oil or vegetable oil when sautéing meat and vegetables.
- Cut up fresh vegetables and store them in snack size plastic bags on the eye-level shelf of your refrigerator. Carrot and celery sticks, red bell pepper strips and cucumber slices are my favorites.
- Load up your sandwiches with lean meats like turkey and lean ham. Use mustard, not mayo, and pile on tomatoes and lettuce and maybe even sprouts. You won’t even miss the cheese slice.
- If you have trouble with portion sizes, use your measuring cups and measure out appropriate amounts. 1/2 cup serving is plenty for vegetables, and when you have meat, try for 4 to 5 ounce portions instead of 6 to 8 ounces.
- If you eat dessert, try just eating half of what you normally have. Or better yet, have a bowl of fruit with a spoonful of yogurt. It has plenty of sugar, but also provides vitamins and calcium (from the yogurt).
- Add regular exercise to your daily routine, even if it’s walking around the block. Gradually work your way up to 30 minutes a day of some physical activity.
If you’re out:
- Eat half of what you order and take the rest home.
- Order a salad with dressing on the side. Try a salad dry. My brother Jeff has eaten his salad dry for as long as I can remember just because he likes the taste!
- Skip cheese on sandwiches and burgers. You can’t really taste it if you have enough other ingredients piled high.
- Always eat vegetables first.
- Don’t punish yourself for occasionally splurging.
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