High quality food is essential for living a longer and healthier life. As a matter of fact, the types of foods you eat will play a huge role with the quality of your health. If you constantly eat junk or low-quality foods, your body will eventually suffer.
Remember, the body is strong enough to withstand bad nutrition for years. However, if you have poor eating habits; your system is going to wear down or you could possibly develop a disease or a condition. The best thing that you or any person can do is to develop a lifestyle of healthy cooking for good eating.
Healthy Cooking, Superfoods and the American Diet
Superfoods are the backbone of healthy foods. Superfoods provide optimal nutrition and they’re very rich in good nutrients. Superfoods are primarily made up of fruits, vegetables, spices and grains.
Food items such as blueberries, broccoli, carrots, strawberries, grapefruit, potatoes, kale, bok choy, avocados, nuts, salmon, ginger, spinach, bean, legumes, garlic and seaweed.
Spices such as cinnamon, pepper, cumin, turmeric, oregano, mint, rosemary, sage and parsley are very healthy flavorings for foods.
Let’s face it, Americans don’t like many of the foods mentioned above. While the American diet has significantly improved over the years, many American people still like to consume thick and heavy foods that are loaded with fat, salt, cholesterol and calories.
Foods such as macaroni and cheese, bacon and even pizza rank high on the list. These foods are tasty and even comforting but they’re not good to eat every day.
- American people also like to eat cheeseburgers, French fries and other greasy fried foods.
- They enjoy eating meatloafs, snack cakes and lots of other snack foods.
- Candy is another bad food item that many peopele (especially kids) enjoy consuming.
When you cook you should make your meals with lots of vegetables and whole grains. Whole grains such as brown rice, natural wheat bread and oatmeal should also be added to your meals.
These types of foods should be used as a side dish on your plate. By the way, brown rice is a superfood because its nutritional content is extremely high. It is loaded with fiber and other important nutrients. It is low in calories and can be served with fish, vegetables, various meats and dishes.
Fruits are Great Foodstufs for Healthy Eating
Fruits are fun to eat, and they can also be included with many healthy dishes. Pineapple is loaded with vitamin C, potassium and vitamin B-6.
This superfood can be served with various meats and it is also cooked with various foods – even pizzas. Melons and mangoes are two other types of fruits that are good for roasting with meats.
You can roast beef or chicken cubes with green peppers, onions, tomatoes, pineapple and mangoes. This makes a great meal and it is highly nutritious. Other fruits such as pumpkins have seeds that are good to eat. The seeds of pumpkins make a great snack.
Healthy Cooking with Salad and Potatoes
Salads are the king of healthy cooking. Salads are actually prepared and not cooked. However, they shouldn’t be excluded from healthy cooking.
This is because salads can be made from various vegetables such as celery, peppers, romaine lettuce, American lettuce and even red lettuce. You can also add bacon bits, salad dressing, croutons and other condiments. The condiments will not kill the nutritional quality of this food.
Baked and roasted potatoes kept people alive for thousands of years. They truly are a healthy food that makes meals better. Potatoes can be eaten in many different ways and served with different dishes.
Also, there is nothing wrong with enjoying French fries once in a while. Healthy foods should be prepared with healthy spices. Foods such as stews, soups and sauces will all benefit nutritionally from spices and herbs.
You can make a hearty potato and beef stew with good nutritional spices. You can also make baked foods such as casseroles and meat pies with spices as well.
Healthy Cooking is Essential to Life but don’t Overdo It
Professional athletes excel when they alter their diets to eat only healthy foodstuffs. Healthy cooking is good thing but don’t underestimate your desire for unhealthy foods.
Truthfully, you can have your unhealthy foods but do so on a limited basis. Don’t overdo the healthy eating lifestyle it can frustrate you and others cause people to leave it altogether.
By all means, you must cook healthy. However, your diet should be flexible enough to enjoy the “bad” foods sometimes. Remember healthy cooking is not nasty, not a burden or a chore. It will help you to live longer and function at your best.
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