So many unhealthy foods taste delicious that it’s easy to understand why the average American diet is so unhealthy. The salt, sugar, and fat in the food trigger a reaction that makes you feel good and crave even more. You can eat tasty foods without ruining your health, but you must make smarter decisions. You’ll also go through a certain amount of withdrawal from the sugar, salt, and fat. Once you conquer that, you’ll be amazed at how delicious healthy food can be.
Even some “healthy” foods are bad.
When you think of yogurt, you normally think of good health. So many people recommend it. You probably think that fat-free yogurt is even better. You’d be wrong. When they remove the fat, they remove much of the flavor and texture that makes it desirable and replace it with unhealthy additives like sugar to make it palatable. How do you combat that? Opt for full-fat yogurt. Mix a half cup with a half banana, fresh or frozen fruit, and walnuts, or layer it to make a parfait. It’s delicious and satisfies your craving for something sweet.
Fresh berries and other fruit are delicious and can curb your cravings for sugar.
Fruit contains sugar. So do cookies. But the sugar in fruit doesn’t impact your blood sugar levels the same way. The fiber in fruit slows the sugar absorption into the bloodstream and helps prevent the spikes that food with added sugar does. Those spikes in blood sugar can lead to insulin resistance, metabolic disease, diabetes, and other conditions. Switch to fresh fruit or go the extra mile and make frozen banana ice cream, half a frozen banana dipped in dark chocolate and nuts, or frozen grapes.
Skip the chips but keep the guacamole and salsa for dips.
Both salsa and guacamole contain healthy ingredients. The fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, hot peppers, and lime juice all are healthy ingredients, so keep the salsa. Mash the avocado and add those same ingredients for a deliciously healthy guacamole. Instead of tortilla chips, dip fresh vegetables like celery, broccoli crowns, carrots, or cauliflower. You can also use beet, kale, zucchini, or other types of chips.
- Air-popped popcorn or homemade microwave popcorn are options for healthy snacks. Sprinkle on flavoring and spices for an additional treat. Nuts are another great snack.
- Include sweet potatoes in your diet. They’re delicious and high in antioxidants, like vitamins A and C. You can make them in many ways, including slicing and baking them to create sweet potato chips.
- At least part of that PB&J was healthy if you used peanut butter with one ingredient—peanuts. Combine it with chia jam and spread it on whole-grain bread for a delicious and healthy PB&J.
- One key to eating healthier is to plan your meals. It starts with planning and at the grocery, where you skip the snack and candy aisle. Buy more whole foods and fewer, if any, highly processed foods to be on the road to healthy eating.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness