Have you resolved to eat better in the new year? Here are 5 easy ways to incorporate healthy strategies into your life.
1. Eat more greens
Kale, swiss chard, bok choy, mustard greens… As the cooler temperatures of fall arrive, farmer’s markets and grocery stores fill up with an abundance of hearty greens. Each leafy green vegetable has its unique flavor profile, and is packed with nutrients. They really deserve a place on your dinner table! Learn how to cook dark leafy greens.
2. Add spices for maximum flavor without the fat
We all know that it’s fat that brings out the taste of many foods we crave. Spices are small “bombs” of flavors that enhance even the simplest dishes. To avoid excessive consumption of fat for flavoring, try to add more spices and herbs into your dishes.
3. Get to Know your grains
Grain in general is a cornerstone for a healthy diet providing carbohydrates, starches, but also vitamins, it participates in a global dietary approach. Once you taste the nuanced flavor of specialty grains like spelt, barley or buckwheat, you can begin to think about wheat and flour in a whole new way.
4. Do it yourself
So you know exactly what goes into your food. This is a no-brainer! Cooking whole ingredients from scratch is the best way to stay away from heavily processed convenience foods. Food shouldn’t have to be a convenience because it’s part of a global lifestyle, you simply cannot skip it. Cooking by yourself is the first step to a better control of your health and budget.
5. Make Your Own Dressing
To transform a salad or to flavor a bland dish, nothing beats a good seasoning—as long as you do it yourself! Cut the commercial stuff and start controlling what you put into your dressing. Make you own sauce dressing by mixing oil, vinegar, sat and pepper but you can also mix oil with lemon juice, yogurt or many other options.
(Headline picture: Shrimp & chard soup, by Christina Cherrier)
