It's amazing that sometimes how we do things in life changes and we can't even remember what our old way of doing things was. This is clearly evident in my grocery shopping. I used to joke that my body was going to be the most preserved body ever because I rarely bought anything that didn't come from a can or box and preservatives were the number one ingredient! Flip to now and there have been numerous times at the grocery here in the UP that the checker has made a comment about how healthy I eat. I guess others in the UP don't buy the same stuff?? Though I'm not sure even I buy that because often what I want isn't available because someone else bought it all. So maybe there are a few of us up here in the frozen tundra that do eat healthy.
While my mom was up here helping me post-op (THANKS MA!!), I learned that my mother's definition of eating healthy and my definition (as well as my brother's because are pretty similar) are not the same. My mom has told my brother and I repeatedly that she ALWAYS cooks healthy. To her, healthy is 3 square meals a day with all of the basic food groups covered. And that's true...we always had the food groups covered. The difference is that I have gotten away from a lot of the "extras" that are in meals today. You know, the "extra" salt and the "extra" sugar for the sweet potato, "extra" butter/fat/lard/margarine or the helping of gravy to smother over the turkey. I also try to eat fairly gluten-free just because it seems my stomach does better with minimal gluten.
That being said, I'm currently taking a Fitness Nutrition Coach course for certification and have learned the value of the three macronutrients: protein, fats and carbs. Now, I previously had a modicum of knowledge related to nutrition given my undergraduate studies and my general "healthy" eating. It has been eye-opening though to learn that we really do need carbs to function. It's our bodies preferred source of energy. Now, that doesn't mean that we can have all the carbs we want because there is such thing as too much. And too much leads to additional fat stores, etc... So a healthy amount of carbs from things such as fruits and vegetables, nuts and beans generally provide you enough carbs to get through the day. If you HAVE TO HAVE grain products, naturally you should choose from the whole wheat or "brown" kind. Brown rice. Whole Wheat bread. Brown rice flour. Those sorts of things.
Today, I received an email from one of the bloggers (www.hungry-girl.com) I follow that has her 2014 Official Supermarket List. I'm sharing it with you as I think often times folks just starting out with healthy eating struggle to identify what is truly healthy. I will preface this with I don't agree with everything on her list but that is my personal preference. Everyone is different. Here's the link and you can download a PDF to print off.
http://www.hungry-girl.com/biteout/show/HGs-2014-supermarket-list
I hope you find it useful in some way. I have one of her cookbooks as well and several of the recipes that I will post here from time to time come from that book. I recommend checking the website out.
I'm taking my FNC test tomorrow so hopefully the next time I blog, I will be a Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach! Don't forget to check back tonight for tomorrow's fitness challenge!
BE BOLD! BE YOU!
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