There are multiple ways to get healthy today. It doesn't have to be all at once as that could be overwhelming. The important thing to note is small changes and progress every day is something rather than nothing. People have various opinions on what is "healthy" and what is "not healthy" from all of the recent diets and trends that are popping up nowadays. This is my non-nutritionist/dietician/expert opinion on five healthy food swaps you can make to your diet today:
1. Eat whole grains instead of refined grains - since I'm Asian, it's no secret that I ate white rice growing up. A lot of rice. In fact to this day, my mother still cooks 2-3 cups of white rice a day and growing up, I ate a lot of this. I slowly removed white rice from my diet and I try to stay away as much as possible from other white foods such as bread and pasta but sometimes, it's inevitable. White foods are heavily processed as a lot of the nutrients and fiber are stripped away. Whole grain foods are better because they contain everything and are filled with the fiber and nutrients that we need in our diets. You can still eat your favorite foods in whole grain version so no need to get rid of yummy carbs - whole grain bread, oats, brown rice, quinoa, and the list goes on.
2. Eat fruits instead of sugary foods - but sugar is sugar and sugar makes you gain weight! Whatever you choose to believe is cool but it's nice to have a sweet treat now and then. Instead of depriving yourself from sugar altogether with the fear that your insulin levels will spike up and your weight might increase, switch to fruit. Fruit has carbs and sugar but I'd take fruit over fake sugary foods with a bunch of unknown ingredients. Fruit has fiber that fills you up and is loaded with nutrients and antioxidants that are good for healthy living. There are even some fruits (watermelon and strawberries) that comprise of water so you're boosting your hydration at the same time.
3. Eat more poultry and seafood and less red meat - over the past few years, my relatives from my mother's side developed cancer and it got me scared. I don't want to get cancer so I've been researching about this and have seen that red meat causes cancer. I'm not sure if this is true as I haven't looked too closely into the studies but I've been eating less red meat and trying to eat more poultry and seafood. I still love steaks and burgers but instead of eating them 2 or 3 times a week, I would eat them once a week or less. You're saving money and the environment at the same time as well.
4. Eat nuts instead of junk food snacks - I love crunchy food and chips. The crunchy food I crave is chips and I can eat a whole bag of chips in a few seconds but chips aren't healthy. Instead of eating your favorite junk food snacks, opt for nuts to satisfy your crunchy cravings. I am not a fan of nuts but if I had to eat or recommend nuts, I would say choose for unflavored and unsalted nuts.
5. Choose frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables - there are times when you need to opt for canned vegetables depending on the recipe. Most of the time, canned vegetables are cheaper than frozen vegetables but they sit in tin cans with some sort of liquid and other preservatives to keep the food perishable for a long period of time. If possible, choose frozen vegetables because if you choose the right package, the ingredient list contains only the vegetable itself and that's what we want - whole and natural foods.
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