fight stress with healthy eating
Fight Stress With Healthy Eating
Whenever we get too busy or stressed, we all tend
to make poor food choices that will actually
increase stress and cause other problems. To get
the most of your healthy eating and avoid stress,
follow these simple tips.
Always eat breakfast
Even though you may think you aren’t hungry,
you need to eat something. Skipping breakfast
makes it harder to maintain the proper blood and
sugar levels during the day, so you should always
eat something.
Carry a snack
Keeping some protein rich snacks in your car,
office, or pocket book will help you avoid blood
sugar level dips, the accompanying mood swings, and
the fatigue. Trail mix, granola bars, and energy
bars all have the nutrients you need.
Healthy munchies
If you like to munch when you’re stressed out,
you can replace chips or other non healthy foods
with carrot sticks, celery sticks, or even
sunflower seeds.
Bring your lunch
Although a lot of people prefer to eat fast food
for lunch, you can save a lot of money and actually
eat healthier if you take a few minutes and pack
a lunch at home. Even if you only do this a few
times a week, you’ll see a much better improvement
over eating out.
Stock your home
As important as it is to get the bad food out of
your house, it’s even more important to get the good
food in! The best way to do this is to plan a menu
of healthy meals at snacks at the beginning of the
week, list the ingedients you need, then go shop
for it. This way, you’ll know what you want when
you need it and you won’t have to stress over what
to eat.
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fast facts on potatoes
Fast Facts On Potatoes
Throughout America, potatoes are the most popular
vegetable, even being ahead of other well known
vegetables such as lettuce and onions. You can
cook potatoes in a variety of ways, and they are
included in one out of three meals eaten by almost
all Americans. When they are prepared in a healthy
way, a potato can be an excellent source of energy
and also pack a nutritional punch.
Like oranges, potatoes are very high in vitamin C.
The fact is, one medium potato contains 45% of the
vitamin C that’s recommended for good health.
Potatoes are also high in fiber and carbohydrates
and contain more potassium than a banana.
A potato is naturally low in calories and contains
no fat, sodium, or cholesterol. The skins of the
potatoes provide a helpful dose of fiber, iron,
potassium, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and several
B vitamins.
You can prepare potatoes by boiling them, steaming
them, or even roasting them. If at all possible,
you should avoid putting potatoes in the refrigerator
or freezing them, as cold will turn the potato
starch to sugar and cause them to turn dark when
they are cooked.
When you store potatoes, keep them in a cool, dark
place. Too much light will cause them to turn green.
You can store them in the basement if you have
one, as the basement is the best place to keep
potatoes.
From mashed potatoes to baked potatoes, a potato
is something we all know and love. They serve
many different tasty foods, and they provide our
bodies with plenty of healthful benefits. We all
eat potatoes, some of us even grow our own. Whether
you grow your on or buy them, the potato is
the one vegetable that makes everything just a
little bit better.
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facts about nutrition labels
Facts About Nutrition Labels
The nutrition label located on each and every food item,
will tell you all the information about that food. For
some however, this information isn’t exactly that reader
friendly. Fear not, as it’s actually easier than you
think.
Serving Size
This size is based on the amount people eat. Similar
food items will have similar serving sizes, thus making
it easier to compare 2 foods of the same category.
% Daily Value
This indicates how food will fit in a 2,000 calorie
diet. This will help you to understand if the food
has a lot, or just a little of the important nutrients.
The middle section
The nutrients you’ll find listed in the middle section
are the ones that are most important to your health.
This information can help you to calculate your daily
limit of fat, fiber, sodium, and other nutrients.
Vitamins & minerals
The percent daily value found here is the exact same
as the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance for vitamins
and minerals.
Now that you know what the nutrition label actually
means, it’ll be a lot easy to eat healthy. Eating
healthy is a great thing - especially when you use the
nutrition label to assist you with your food choices.
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eating healthy when eating out
Eating Healthy When Eating Out
If you go out to a restaurant to eat, you probably
watch your calories very closely. To assist you
with your calorie watching when dining out, these
tips will help you make the most of it.
- Always order salad dressings or sauces on the side,
as this way you have control over how much you add
to your meal.
- When you order grilled fish or vegetables, you
should ask that the food be grilled without butter
or oil, or prepared with very little or either or.
- Anytime you order pasta dishes, be on the lookout
for tomato based sauces instead of the cream based
sauces. Tomato based sauces are much lower in fat
and calories, and tomato sauce can even be counted
as a vegetable!
- You should always try to drink water, diet soda,
or tea instead of soda or beverages that contain
alcohol.
- If you order dessert, share with a friend. Half
of the dessert will equal half of the calories.
- When you choose a soup, remember that cream
based soups are higher in fat and calories than
other soups. A soup can be a great appetizer, as
most are low in calories and you fill you up pretty
fast.
- When ordering a baked potato, ask for salsa instead
of sour cream, butter, cheese, or even bacon. Salsa
is very low in calories and provides a healthy
alternative with plenty of flavor and spice.
- When you are full, stop eating. Listen to your
body and what it tells you.
- If you get full, take half of your meal home.
The second portion of your meal can serve as a second
meal later. This way, you get two meals for the
price of one.
- If you’re looking to eat less, order two appetizers
or an appetizer and a salad as your meal.
- If you get a choice of side dishes, get a baked
potato or steamed vegetables instead of french
fries.
- Always look for food on the menu that’s baked,
grilled, broiled, poached, or steamed. These types
of cooking use less fat in the cooking process and
are usually much lower in calories.
- Plain bread or rolls are low in both fat and
calories. When you add the butter and oil, you
increase the fat and calorie intake.
- As key ingredients to your meal, choose dishes
with fruits and vegetables. Both fruits and
vegetables are great sources of dietary fiber as
well as many vitamins and minerals.
- Choose foods made with whole grains, such as
whole wheat bread and dishes made with brown rice.
- If you crave dessert, look for something with
low fat, such as berries or fruit.
- Always remember not to deprive yourself of the
foods you truly love. All types of foods can fit
into a well balanced diet.
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