My Guide to Better Eating

J and I consider ourselves foodies more than health nuts (see earlier post about Nutella...), but we are nutritionally conscious and we pay attention to how we fuel our bodies.  We'll cave now and then with an extra pat of butter in our egg white omelets, a scoop or two of ice cream, (me) or a Doritos binge (J), but for the most part we follow these self imposed rules:

1. Avoid processed foods - this includes fast food, chemical ingredients you can't pronounce, and processed white grains.  We try to stick to somewhat natural forms of food, i.e. fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, fresh fish and meat products, canned beans and tomatoes, whole grains (like 100% whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, barley, and steel cut oats), plain yogurts, cheeses, eggs, organic cow and almond milks, etc.  And when I do cave in on ice creams, I go for Breyers as it only contains real ingredients - not chemical additives.
2. Cook your own foods as much as possible instead of going out to eat.  We do enjoy going to restaurants, but most, especially the chain ones, want to reel you in with taste and not nutrition.  So we go out in moderation and try to follow the above rule as much as possible when choosing our entrees.  Most of the time we cook our own meals and try to cook enough to also provide us with homemade lunches for the following day at work to avoid buying cafeteria lunches or going out for lunch.  This way we know exactly what is going into our bodies.  Not to mention, it is more cost effective.
3. Use Sundays to pre-prepare foods for the week.  This ties in a bit to the making leftovers into lunches deal.  We have time on the weekends to cook to our hearts content, but during the week we have work, exercise, errands, band practice, etc so there's not always time to cook our nutritious meals.  If we prepare a couple of items on Sunday (i.e. stir fry, ground chicken breast taco meat, a batch of stew or soup, or a large tray of roasted vegetables) then we have easily accessible healthy foods for the week.  This is also where frozen vegetables and basic salad ingredients are handy as well.
4. Mid-day hunger strikes should be addressed with healthy snacks.  A few of my favorites are roasted almonds or other nuts, apple slices, 100 calorie popcorn, carrots and hummus, veggies and homemade ranch dip (use a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk dressing powder in a container of low fat or fat-free sour cream),  yogurt, low sugar oatmeal, or a square of dark chocolate.  Have these handy in your purse/briefcase/desk during the day so they're easily accessible.
5. Avoid sodas, fancy coffee drinks, and store bought juices.  Drink lots of water, teas, and homemade fresh juices.  We have a juicer at home and try to use it almost every night.  The juices are delicious and far more nutritious than the sugary, pasteurized store bought varieties.  Our favorite: carrot, green pepper, parsley, and apple - yum!
6. Don't obsess about it.  We cave in every couple of weeks on an order of our favorite pizza, but we make sure we add a large spinach salad on the side so we don't overindulge.  When I go home to visit my mom, you can bet that I'll partake of her egg white only chocolate chip cookies, but I've learned to limit myself to 2 or 3 a day (it used to be closer to 10....).