8 Ways To Eat Mindfully

By Chyna Smith   March 23, 2013

A journey to health should be gradual and fun. If you don’t believe that getting healthy can be exciting, wait until your body thanks you with more energy than usual and great skin. There’s no need to stress about trying to be healthy, because that’s counterproductive to your goal.

All you need to do is listen to your body after you’ve eaten and heed its advice. An instant headache, or the need to take a nap, for example, are all signals that something isn’t right.

Here are a few things to remember when looking for healthy meals or snacks that your body will love.

1. The more recognizable the ingredients, the better. You know when you read a label and there’s an ingredient that goes by “socio-chlor-phosphate,” and you wonder what on earth that could be? Me too. That’s definitely something our body will not thank us for.

2. Leave the fried stuff alone. Most of us have an abundance of omega-6 fatty acids in our diets, found in vegetable oils like canola, soy, and cottonseed, but not nearly enough omega-3 fatty acids found in foods like fish, walnuts, flax and chia seeds. Overconsumption of omega-6 fatty acids can lead to inflammation, which is associated with numerous health issues.

3. Spice up that steamed broccoli with freshly squeezed lemon, salt, pepper and garlic.

4. Dip everything! White bean dip and hummus complement almost any raw veggie.

5. You can still have French fries. Buy the potatoes (or even better… sweet potatoes), slice them like fries, add a little olive oil and your favorite seasoning, and throw them in the oven. Magic!

6. Your taste buds may being saying “yes” to that sweet black tea during lunch, but your body probably disagrees. Try herbal tea sweetened with honey instead.



7. When in doubt, always go for the brown stuff over the white. For example, if you’re thinking pasta, bread or rice, try sprouted wheat bread or pasta and brown rice. You’ll eat a lot less of it.

8. Season, season, season! Many people complain that eating healthy is boring. Well, I say spice it up! Stock your spice rack with basil, chipotle seasoning, chili powder, curry, cumin and red pepper flakes. This will give you so many possibilities.

The most important tip is to be committed to loving and caring for yourself at all cost. We all have those days when we desire food that’s less than ideal for our health. Make that conscious decision and vow to have a better day tomorrow. You deserve to be in a state of health where motivation, alertness, and clarity are all the norm. Think about it, then eat it.

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