The New Year is a good time to start new eating habits. Here are some tips to help you with the transition.
1. Eat more “real foods” fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, whole grains in moderation. These real foods will provide you with many atioxidants that are beneficial to good health and satiate you won't be as hungry. Don’t skimp on veggies. Variety is important.
2. Choose local, organic and or non-gmo.
3. Eat mindfully ( buy humanely raised and local meats), slow down savor the flavor when eating.
4. Keep hydrated! Drink 8 glasses of liquid preferably water, herbal tea, green tea, black tea in moderation. Mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired!
5. Avoid processed and refined foods which are high in trans-fats, saturated fat. Avoid fried foods and anything with sugar as the first ingredient or if it's high in sugar.
Removing white flour, white sugar, and white pasta might fist sound very difficult but you will feel so much better. Dr. David Perlmutter author of the Grain Brain "The Surprisng Truth of Wheat, Carbs and Sugar -Your Brain's Silent Killers" is an interesting perspective. Be aware of foods high in trans-fats, saturated fat, fried or anything with sugar as the first ingredient or foods high in sugar.
While changing your eating habits and eating real whole foods you should continue to crave the healthier foods and not want to eat processed, high fat fried foods.
~Tracee Yablon-Brenner is a registered dietitian and board-certified holistic health counselor, founder of RealFoodMoms.com. She is American Dietetic Association-trained in childhood and adolescent weight management. Tracee has also co-authored two comprehensive and practical guides for family nutrition: Great Expectations: Best Food for Your Baby and Toddler and Simple Food for Busy Families, which recently won a gold National Parenting Publication Award (NAPPA) award. She has been featured as an expert in major national publications such as Consumer Reports, Parents Magazine and recognized by Better Homes and Gardens magazine as among the nation’s leading experts in food and nutrition.