3 Simple Steps to Get on the Path to Healthier Eating
Photo Credit: - Erik Drost, via Flickr Creative Commons
What’s one step you can take to simplify your healthy eating plan?
share
Promoting longevity, optimal health and well-being can be easy if you have a good plan. Whether you are just beginning to choose foods that promote your health or reverse disease, or you’ve been following Ornish Lifestyle Medicine for a while now, there are some basic steps you can take to help stay on track.
Planning is the key to success in most endeavors and especially important for success with healthy eating.
Step 1: Variety
Choose a variety of healthy foods that you enjoy. Even though there is a spectrum of choices, Group 1 is the most healthful. It is predominantly plant-based with an abundance of choices from a variety of foods that include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nonfat dairy and egg whites.
Step 2: Plan
Planning is the key to success in most endeavors and especially important for success with healthy eating. Create some simple meals and snacks from the variety of foods you enjoy. Make sure to include foods from each category such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, protein, nonfat dairy or dairy substitutes.
A Simple Meal-Planning Strategy:
Pick produce: Choose from a variety of vegetables such as leafy greens for a salad or a medley of veggies for a stir-fry or a healthy side dish. For breakfast, try some fruit such as a bowl of berries or sliced melon, or add vegetables to a morning egg white scramble.
Pick a protein: Choose from the protein list such a veggie burger, egg whites for a breakfast scramble, hummus for a veggie sandwich, or add some tofu to a salad or stir-fry. Pick some legumes such as black beans to make tacos or chili, toss some garbanzos in a salad, or cook up some lentils for some warm soup or over brown rice. (Some of the nonfat dairy and dairy substitutes provide protein such as nonfat or soy milk, yogurt, and nonfat cottage cheese.)
Pick whole grain: This includes whole grain bread for a sandwich, brown rice for a stir-fry, whole grain pasta, a corn or whole-wheat tortilla for a veggie taco or wrap, or quinoa.
Step 3: Take Action
Watch the Ornish Virtual Grocery Tour to learn to stock your “Undo It” kitchen.
Schedule some quick and easy meal options such as low-fat veggie burgers, baked tofu, canned beans, low-fat soups and chili, corn tortillas, packaged lettuce, frozen veggies, nonfat salad dressing and sauces, whole grain pasta and quick whole grains like quinoa and pre-cooked brown rice.
Prepare a large batch of a recipe to freeze so you always have a quick and easy healthy meal option in the freezer that you can quickly heat up. Our Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna (See Sample Menu 1) is a good one.
Keep a big bowl of fresh fruit on the countertop for a quick snack or healthy dessert.
Keep other healthy snacks available such as roasted soy nuts or brown rice cakes.
Enjoy!
What’s one step you can take to simplify your healthy eating plan?
Contributed by
Up Next for You
