Health & Nutrition – Eating the Right Food
Dietary Requirements – How to Eat a Healthy Diet on a Budget
Jun 11, 2009
In today’s economic climate more and more families are trying to economise. However it is still possible to eat well-balanced nutritious meals.
An important thing to remember when buying and preparing food is quality not quantity. Too many families seem to pile their plates high with stodgy food with the intention of filling everyone up, but not spending too much money.
By going back to basics and buying fresh meat or fish and vegetables, people can save money and eat healthy. It may seem as though a joint of meat is expensive, but it will usually last for a couple of meals, and it is cheaper than a fast food restaurant or takeaway.
Society is constantly having sugary or fatty foods thrust forwards. Roughly every second advertisement is relating to food. With giant images of take-away food on bus stops, on bill-boards, and on television, how are people supposed to become educated about what is right and wrong?
The answer is that people need to educate themselves. Take a look at the size of the average waistline in the local shopping centre. Waistline sizes are increasing rapidly, and the reason is that people are eating the wrong food.
The Wrong Food
Processed foods are stacked high in supermarkets. Processed ready meals are readily prepared to save time, but they are covered in preservatives and chemicals so that they last longer. Does it really take a long time to peel and chop a carrot? Of course not, just society has become too lazy to care.
Fast-food restaurants are everywhere. Parents take their children into these places from a very young age as a treat. The highest eaten vegetables are now french fries and potato crisps. This sends off a warning light. Surely a treat should be something more nutritious such as a well-prepared steak with fresh vegetables. A ice-cream is fine now and again, but not every day.
A freshly prepared meal using fresh ingredients feeds a family easily, and is economically a lot cheaper that a fast food restaurant. Plus, it is not loaded full of fat, sugar and heaven knows what else they decided to throw in.
The Right Food
Humans need a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, and fats (but no more than 10% saturated fat).
Every day try to eat less processed food. Fresh food does not take ages to prepare, try to have some fresh fruit and vegetables. The ideal is 5 a day, but even if people just increase their intake gradually they will feel much healthier.
It is surprising how quickly young children will get used to eating fresh fruit if they have it sitting in a fruit bowl on the table. If it is hidden away in the fridge they won’t think about it, but if it is in front of them they’ll pick up a piece of fruit and eat it without thinking.
Substitute white products such as flour, rice and pasta with wholegrain / wholewheat.
Stop those fizzy drinks – People who have fizzy drinks daily will realise that by cutting down on them, they will lose weight much easier. Up to a stone in weight can be lost by having one less can of fizzy pop each day for a year.
So nutritious meals do not have to cost a fortune, and they are healthy and nutritious. Plus they taste good too!
Related Reading
Readers may also enjoy The Health Benefits of Lemons and How to Stop Comfort Eating.
