RESOURCES

When cooking with fruits and vegetables, most of the produce is actually edible. Take beets or green onions for example, you can cook the beet greens in some lemon with red pepper flakes for a side dish and the entire stalk of the green onion, from the white to the green, is edible and flavorful.

As best you can, eliminate the distraction when eating. If you are mindful while choosing the foods you want to eat, as well as what you are putting into your mouth, you will be able to understand your body’s signals of whether you are truly full or not. Use a smaller appetizer plate rather than a dinner plate as we tend to overfill, and eat everything we put on our plates so starting with a smaller canvas will help prevent that.

Choose liquid at room temperature oils, called saturated fats, for cooking and baking. Typically used in cooking are olive and canola oils. Always avoid trans fat, which will be detailed on the nutrition label. Reduce the amount of saturated fats, or solid at room temperature fats, such as red meat and dairy.

Everyone will have something different to look for in a food label. We recommend starting with the ingredient list, which is usually at the end of the label. If you cannot pronounce or know what something listed is without referring to the Internet, you probably should not be eating it. Stick with whole, recognizable foods.

Sodium is hidden everywhere! Even if you eat a ‘healthy’ meal, natural sodium is found in grains, poultry, cheeses and many other food items. Take away the salt shaker and taste your food before salting. Also, anything that is canned, drain and rinse the contents before continuing to cook with it. This will help eliminate up to about 40% of the added sodium used for canning purposes. In addition, choose ‘no salt added’ on any packaged product.

While the fill in the blank is usually vegetables, know you are not alone! It typically takes between 10-15 times of exposing your child to a new food before they will like it. But, do not just ‘make’ them eat it. Show your interest and also eat the food with them. Try to avoid becoming your child’s short order cook and instead involve them in the planning or preparation of the meal or new food item so they will enjoy the experience as well.

Well, it could be what you are eating and making sure it is balanced. But, it also could be that you are dehydrated. Are you drinking enough water throughout the day? Aim to have half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, a 200 pound person needs at least 100 ounces of water per day. Next time you are hungry, even after you ‘just’ ate, drink some water and see if that helps. You may be surprised by how much more energy you have by staying hydrated.