One of the quickest and simplest ways to get more nutrients into your diet on a daily basis is by adding more fruits and vegetables.
While that may sound easy enough, we live in a prepackaged pre-made food kind of society. Most of which consists of carbohydrates, sugars, preservatives, and lord knows what else.
Rather than reaching for cookies, crackers, or even bars that have been processed and compressed, as you cruise down the grocery isles grab canned, frozen, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Start your day with a piece of fruit added to breakfast. An ideal mix of protein, carbohydrates, and a piece of fruit will get your body moving.
When packing snacks: carrot sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, even bell peppers, all are great grab, pack in a bag and go treats. Think of party trays – you can even add a little yogurt or sour cream dip if plain vegetables don’t appeal to your pallet. Fruits come in their own wrappers. Apples, plums, bananas, oranges, tangerines, and many more are all grown to grab and go, very easy to reach for on the run no matter how busy your day is and even if you don’t happen to have refrigeration.
If you have kids the same goes for packing school lunches. Get creative. Ants on a log are a favorite and often traded treat. Cut up celery, add peanut butter, and sprinkle raisins. Voila! Ants on a log. Sweet, salty, crunchy and very healthy. Packed with protein and iron they can keep your kiddos going.
Entertaining? – you may be tempted to take the easy way out and fill bowls with the traditional chips and dips. Sure every one like them, but health is on the forefront of many peoples minds these days and having healthy alternatives available makes you a great host.
Ideas
- Fondu – Who doesn’t love cheese? Rather than dipping bread and chocolates, offer apples, carrots, cauliflower, pineapple, banana, mangos, and more.
- Dried fruits are always a hit and packed with vitamins.
- Fire up the grill! – Fat drips away from the meats while cooking naturally and you can even grill vegetables like Portabella mushrooms in place of burgers as well as skewers of veggies and fruits! Amazingly most have never tried grilling fruit and things like peaches, pineapples and kiwis are simply delicious and decadent.
- Follow your cravings – unless it’s for absolute junk food, your body may be trying to tell you that you are missing something. ie. if you have a weird craving for liver you may be iron or copper deficient. If you are craving Brazil nuts you may be missing selenium. Food is intended to be our fuel.
One of the most important takeaways from this article is to eat a wide variety of foods. Don’t get locked into the same old same old. Stepping out of your box can not only increase your interest in healthy eating, it can add vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you may be missing, therefore increasing your health!
For more information on nutrition come see Dr. Jason Kaster, D.C.
Chiropractor & Nutritionist in Fort Myers, FL.
Chiropractic care is a safe, alternative treatment when applied appropriately. Chiropractic treatments help in dealing with the symptoms of many conditions. Are you going to wait for your symptoms to be felt, or are you going to prevent them before they start?
Dr. Jason B. Kaster, a chiropractor, and nutritionist in Fort Myers can help you and your family achieve their optimal health.