How to Green Your Diet
There is no need to get overwhelmed when you hear the world diet. Thanks to present day mainstream culture that encourages you to indulge mostly on processed and pre-made food, you only need a few adjustments that don’t require all that much effort and you will be back on track with healthy meals for you and your family.
Here are 7 steps you can take to green your diet:
1. Grow your own herbs
That is something you can do regardless whether you have a garden or not. Herbs can be grown in pots indoors in any season. You can store them in a freezer or dry them for later use. Then, use them for seasoning your meals or even to make herbal tea.
2. Boil your own stock
Instead of spending money on pre-made vegetable or meat stock from the store (usually with at least one preservative) you can boil your own and freeze it for later use. This will ensure a whole lot of nutrients enter your meals every time you cook instead of artificial coloring and additives.
3. Skip the can
Refuse canned food. The tin that makes up the cans contains Bisphenol-A also known as BPA, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
According to a hair-raising post on ecokaren about the food you should avoid at any cost:
Studies show that the BPA in most people’s body exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. “You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young,” says vom Saal. “I won’t go near canned tomatoes.”
What you can do instead is buy jarred food, or can it yourself in jars at home.
4. Eat fresh
Cooked vegetables lose their beneficial enzymes and their level of vitamins and minerals is considerably lowered. Eat fresh vegetables and fruits every day to increase your daily intake of vitamins and antioxidants fresh from their sources in stead of extracted and packed in pills.
5. Eat nuts
The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits of nuts have been continually proving in the past years that they are beneficial for your metabolism, heart, diabetes and can even prevent cancer. Make sure that you include a handful of nuts a day to your diet.
6. Replace sugar
Sugar contributes to health problems such as weight gain, infertility, lowered immune function, and insulin resistance. Instead of concentrating on sugar, you can get your daily dose of sweet using some natural alternatives. Choose dark over milk chocolate and fruits over sweets. You can even replace white refined sugar with Stevia – the herb that is 300 times sweeter than sugar.
7. Read the fine print
Before you buy, read the label and make sure there aren’t any artificial ingredients, preservatives or MSG. If there are, however, you can go without and even better, you can find a way to make it at home.
Following these easy steps you will ensure a healthier lifestyle and soon you will not only increase your vitamin intake and gain control over your weight but in the meantime you will have saved money.
What are you doing to green your diet? Is there a step that I haven’t mentioned but you find life-saving?
[Balanced diet photo and Vegetable dietary composition photo via Shutterstock]
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About the Author
Sonya Kanelstrand Sonya is a photographer and a creative artist sharing her Scandinavian experiences. Her blog Kanelstrand Organic Living has become the meeting point of a vibrant green community of eco-conscious artists and crafters from around the world. Sonya believes that people and nature can co-exist together in a healthy and inspiring union without harming each other. She implements the knowledge gained from studying Philology and Pedagogy in her approach to sustainable and eco-friendly living.
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