Today’s wellness tip is extremely easy to implement and costs less than what you are doing right now. On top of that, it will give you more energy and allow you to sleep less. This will give you more time and allow your body to function at the highest level possible. So you may be asking yourself what is this easy, inexpensive tip? I want you to begin eating real food!
Now before you get defensive and start saying that you already eat real food. Hear me out. In today’s society we have actually confused the definition of food. Our children will go into a grocery store and believe that frosted flakes are real food. But wait, not only do our children believe this most of the adults in this country believe that processed food is real food. So let’s take a moment and define real food.
REAL FOOD or whole food is food prepared ONLY by Mother Nature. It is food in its natural form. For example apples are real food; unprocessed nuts and seeds are real food, vegetables are real food, wild fish are real food. These are the foods our bodies were designed to eat. Real food or WHOLE food is taken directly from its source. It can be a plant or an animal. Whole foods contain all of their original nutrients.
Processed food is stripped of many of the nutrients, while chemicals, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and ingredients most of us cannot pronounce are added to these products. We have been told through great marketing campaigns that we need these products because they will save us time, money and make our families smile at the dinner table.
It is time for each of us to reconsider what we put into our bodies. We have learned through different news outlets that we need certain nutrients. The scientist keep trying to isolate these nutrients and then tell us that we need to take vitamin c for this ailment, or vitamin K for that ailment. However, when you eat whole foods you are getting the natural synergy of all of these nutrients together. If you review studies of vitamin E, selenium etc you will find that these nutrients have all sorts of health benefits when they are eaten in their natural food sources. But studies of the single vitamins and minerals in supplement form have not shown the same benefits.
So the answer is not to rely on popping a pill, eat whole food in its natural form instead.
Hopefully you now understand the need to add more whole food to your diet and decrease the processed foods. We live in a fast paced, busy world so how can we do this easily? Here are some suggestions:
Make smoothies for breakfast. When you return from grocery shopping on the weekend place the fruits and vegetables for your daily smoothies in a separate bag. In the morning, you will be able to grab the bag, toss the fruits and vegetables in your blender and take your smoothie with you to drink on your drive or at work. What a way to start your day, your smoothie will contain 3-4 servings of fruits and vegetables and your body will thank you for it!
On the weekend make crock pot meals that include a variety of vegetables, like stew and double the amount you would make for a meal so you can have extra for a healthy lunch during the week.
Dinners can be very easy. Plan for a vegetable, a salad and meat, such as broccoli, a tossed salad and chicken breast. . Make up a large salad on the weekend, steam the vegetable and grill the meat, walla, dinner is ready in under 15 minutes. Or Stir fry; again prepare a bag of vegetables on the weekend when you return home from the grocery store. Then you can prepare a stir fry in about 10 minutes.
Change your thinking about needing boxed food or processed food such as white rices, beads and noodles. There is no nutritional value in these it is amazing how the vegetables and meat will fill you up.
There are thousands of ideas on how to save time while preparing real food. This is like any other change you have made in your life, as you learn to change your habits, things seem to take a little longer, however, when you get into the swing of this new way of eating you will find that it is very easy and doesn’t take much time. Grocery shopping becomes an easy task-you will not have to go down the aisles since the fresh real food is on the outer edges of the grocery stores.
Set a goal today to increase the real food in your diet and decrease the processed food and your body will thank you for it
Jean Sumner has pursued an interest in wellness her entire life. An avid runner, she is passionate about exercise, eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.Jean was diagnosed with cancer in May, 2009 this only served to fuel the flames of her passions and encouraged her to learn more about wellness. This diagnosis actually led to the beginning of World Wellness Education with a mission of “Teaching the world about wellness — one story at a time.”
As Jean pursued alternative methods of treating cancer she met countless individuals who had great stories to tell regarding how nutrition, spirituality and exercise helped them to overcome their various illnesses. Since these stories were moving, motivating and timely she thought that each of these stories may make a difference in others lives. With the knowledge that we learn from stories more quickly than other teaching methods an organization was born in hopes to make a difference in the well being of every individual on the planet.