Why Following These 3 Simple Rules Is The Easiest Way To Eat Healthier
If you can follow traffic lights, you can follow this healthy eating plan.
getty Choosing healthy foods is incredibly important for your long-term well-being. After all, you are what you eat!
That's why, in order to eat healthy and treat your body with the care and respect it deserves, you must start by making wholesome food choices when it comes to your daily fuel. The key to learning how to eat healthy is knowing how to pick the most nutritious foods to consume that will affect you positively — both inside and out.
Your body has five layers: the physical, energetic, mental/emotional, wisdom, and spiritual.
The physical body cloaks your essence — your core authentic self. Basically, your soul. This outer layer that includes all the tissues, all the physical organs and fluids; anything that you can see and touch belongs to the physical body.
The aim is to bring the physical body into harmony with your essence with adequate exercise and by eating a healthy diet.
Food is a very important aspect of living a healthy lifestyle. You get your energy and life force from what you eat, which is why you'll feel better when you treat your body with care and love.
Learning how to be healthy doesn't have to mean counting calories, monitoring fat content, or analyzing every detail of the nutrition facts. While that information is certainly important, it can become overwhelming when trying to make healthy choices for you and your family.
However, making healthy food choices and preparing a proper eating plan doesn't have to be complicated! You can treat it like driving a car — simply abiding by the traffic light rules thanks to a diet approach called "traffic light eating".
Traffic light eating makes eating healthy simple to understand, even for kids. And following simple, healthy eating tips will keep you on track will less confusion over what you should and shouldn't eat.
Here is why following these 3 simple rules of traffic light eating is the easiest way to eat healthy foods and live a healthier lifestyle.
1. Green light foods
Green light foods are "go" foods. This means that you can eat as much as you want of it, because these are healthy foods to eat. This includes all fresh fruits and vegetables. Emphasis on fresh — these foods are grown, not manufactured.
Packaged gummy fruit snacks are not green light foods!
These foods are low in calories and high in nutrients. In other words, Green light foods are nutrient dense.
2. Yellow light foods
Yellow Light foods are "slow down" foods. While foods that fit in this category are OK to eat every day and are essential to your health, they should be eaten in moderation.
Too much of a good thing really is no good! Yellow light foods include whole wheat, pasta, eggs, salmon, nuts, seeds, rice, whole grain bread, and yogurt.
These foods have more calories than green light foods and usually have more fat or sugar as well.
3. Red light foods
Red light foods are "stop and think' foods since they are low in nutrients, high in sugar, and contain artificial sweeteners and ingredients. When it comes to these foods, you can try and find a healthier option or eat a smaller portion.
Examples of red light foods include cookies, candy, fatty meats, sugary drinks, bacon and other processed meats, and frozen yogurt.
These foods are lower in nutrients and higher in calories, fat, and sugar.
As you're learning how to start choosing and eat more healthy foods, there are a few red light ingredients to steer clear of.
Avoid these three "bad words" in nutrition labels when shopping for food your family:
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Hydrogenated oils
- Any word followed by a number, such as red #40, blue #5 and other artificial flavors and colors
Following these three simple rules of traffic light eating will help you start making smarter food choices for you and your family.
Here is one of my favorite recipes that's simple to follow and is part of a balanced diet plan. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it so much that it will inspire and motivate you to develop healthy eating habits and commit to making healthier food choices more consistently.
Black Bean & Salmon Tostadas
- Makes: 4 servings, 2 tostadas each
- Active Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 6-inch corn tortillas
- avocado oil
- 1 6-to 7-ounce can boneless, skinless wild caught salmon, dried
- 1 avocado, drained
- 2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapenos, plus 2 tablespoons pickling juice from
- the jar, divided
- 2 cups of shredded cabbage
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons salsa
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- lime wedges (optional)
Preparation:
- Preheat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Coat the tortillas on both sides with olive oil and place on baking sheets. Bake the tortillas in the oven, turning once until light brown.
- Combine the salmon, avocado, and jalapenos in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the cabbage, cilantro and pickling juice.
- In a food processor, combine and process the black beans, sour cream, salsa, and scallions until smooth. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl, cover, and heat on high until hot (about 2 minutes).
- To assemble the tostadas, spread each tortilla with some bean mixture and salmon mixture. Top with the cabbage salad and serve with the lime wedges, if desired.
Annabelle-Caroline Breuer-Udo is a holistic life coach. To learn more about healthy eating and the steps to take to get started, e-mail Annabelle or visit her blog.