If you have been eating junk foods your entire life, putting together a healthy eating plan using only natural foods can be tough – especially since garbage foods are readily available and easy to prepare.
Cooking meals using natural foods has its advantages. If you are overweight, this type of eating plan can help you shed a few pounds and reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and bone and joint problems.
What Are Natural Foods?
Natural foods come off a farm – not out of a factory. Factory foods are processed and contain no nutritional value. Even when these foods are “enriched” with synthetic vitamins, they don’t provide many nutrients because the body doesn’t absorb these vitamins efficiently.
Processed foods are full of salt, trans-fat, sugar, artificial flavorings, dyes and chemical additives that contribute to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke. Examples of processed factory foods include:
• cold cuts and hotdogs
• frozen fish sticks and chicken nuggets
• canned fruits and canned vegetables
• jarred foods like pickles and jelly
• pasta, bread and flour
• frozen pizzas
Natural foods are healthier than processed goods because they are not altered from their natural state, and all the nutrients stay in tact. Natural foods do not contain dyes, added sugar, salt, trans-fat or chemicals additives that are supposed to improve taste and shelf-life.
Lean meats, poultry, whole eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and legumes are all considered natural foods. Anytime you can buy these foods organic, do so. This reduces your risk of ingesting the antibiotics, hormones and pesticides conventional farmers use to grow and raise these foods.
Preparing Meals with Natural Ingredients
If you are accustomed to popping frozen dinners in the microwave or snacking on chips and cookies everyday, getting back to the basics and preparing meals from scratch can be a challenge. Once you realize the positive impact nutritious cooking will have on your health, it’ll be worth it.
The common misconception is that natural foods are flavorless and boring. This is just not true. With a little practice, foods prepared with natural ingredients can be more flavorful than processed foods.
Here are some examples of delicious, natural meals:
• Baked chicken smothered in homemade marinara sauce and Italian seasonings.
• Grilled salmon over a green salad, topped with diced tomatoes and walnuts.
• Beefsteak, sautéed spinach with garlic and a small baked potato.
• Grilled shrimp, brown rice and steamed asparagus.
• Lobster, steamed broccoli and a small sweet potato.
• Chili over romaine lettuce, topped with diced tomatoes and black olives.
• Broiled pork chops, quinoa and sliced cucumbers.
These meal ideas are just a small sampling of what you can create. There are literally thousands of meals you can prepare using natural ingredients.
How to Stay Motivated to Eat Healthy
Don’t try to do a complete diet sweep overnight. This is a sure way to get frustrated and backslide. Instead, take baby steps to revamp unsavory eating habits. For instance, you might commit to preparing healthy meals four days a week instead of seven.
Prevent that hum-drum feeling by adding variety to your meals. Buy a few healthy cookbooks, search for low-cal recipes online, and experiment with ingredients to create delicious dishes.
If you’re concerned that preparing meals from scratch will interfere with your hectic schedule, stick to simple recipes and cook enough food so you can have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. This will reduce the amount of time you have to spend in the kitchen.
When you’re not used to eating right, creating a healthy meal plan using only natural ingredients isn’t easy. However, with practice and planning, this type of nutritious cooking can become enjoyable.
