“Eating crappy food isn’t a reward – it’s a punishment” Drew Carey
Let’s dive a bit deeper into the world of nutrition and some suggestions on what constitutes healthy and nutritious food.
The benefits of eating nutritious food are obvious and the downsides of not doing so well-known. For those wanting a refresher we’d encourage to you check out our previous post “You are what you eat…..”. We highlight why good nutrition matters and a few concepts to keep in mind when trying to introduce healthy eating into your life.
A common question is what are the types of food that constitute natural, healthy and nutritious choices as it can be really confusing? When you consider that there are teams of people whose jobs are to market foods to us by any means possible it’s not surprising that it can be difficult to work out what we should and shouldn’t be eating.
Naturally food choices are a broad topic and individual preferences, likes and dislikes are widely different. In this post we’ll attempt to provide groups of food with specific examples that are not only nutritious and healthy but will add a bit of flavour to your life as well.
Fruits
Fruit is our favourite natural foods because they’re good for you – well for the most part – but typically taste fantastic too. We don’t know the research behind the quote “no one ever got fat eating fruit” but it sounds like it should be true to us. With all the benefits you’d expect from food that grows in the ground or from trees, it’s hard to go wrong by adding more fruit in your diet. Especially if it’s in replacement of a processed, high in sugar alternative.
Our go to option are bananas because they are a great source of energy, are thought to reduce anxiety and nervousness, and support overall mood and relaxation. They’re also a great source of potassium which is vital for bone and muscle health and lowering the risk of death from heart disease. Yes please!
Other foods high on our list are avocados which are a great source of “good” fats – more on that below –, strawberries and blueberries which find a delicate balance of being good for you, being relatively low in calories and tasting absolutely delicious.
Nuts and oils
Somewhere along the line we were told and grew to accept that all fats are bad. This is completely false & it’s hard to believe that some of the most natural foods on this planet aren’t here for a good reason. When digging under the covers we were pleasantly unsurprised to read about the various benefits of having the right type of fats in your diet. This includes reducing cholesterol levels, lowering the risk of heart disease and strokes, reduced pain and stiffness for arthritis sufferers and even weight loss. Good fats also provide your body with the broad range of nutrients it needs to develop and maintain its cells.
In addition to avocado, nuts and oils are a great source of good fats and offer some cracking options to add to your diet in replace of processed foods and snacks.
We’re big on Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews to get us through the day and provide us with our major source of fats. Despite these nuts literally growing on trees, they can be a bit pricey so a cheaper alternative is all natural peanut butter. Whilst not as good as the real deal it’s a good alternative and a lot tastier too.
Finally olive oil is worth a plug due to the beneficial properties and wide ranges of use. You probably won’t be swigging it straight out of the bottle – you do get used to the taste with time however – so your best bet is to use when cooking and as part of a healthier salad dressing. Mix it with some balsamic vinegar and you’ll never go back to off-the-shelf salad dressings.
Herbs and spices
We can’t do a post on natural foods and not include herbs and spices. The benefits are as wide ranging as the options available but it’s safe to say that regardless of what you use you can’t go wrong. Even salt which cops a bad rap – due to the average person consuming too much of it – forms a critical component of our body’s cells and has a heap of associated benefits. We literally couldn’t live without it.
On top of the associated health benefits there’s also the fact that herbs and spices will take your food to another level in terms of taste.
Some of the herbs and spices we love and would recommend having more of include pepper, basil, rosemary, mint, cinnamon and turmeric. We’re not a huge fan of chili but if you like heat in your food then a big thumbs up to chili also.
We’ve highlighted some alternative options to the typical processed, manufactured rubbish that is widely available & increasingly popular. The benefits of making these changes will hit your health, your waistline without leaving your taste buds out to dry.
Action for the week:
- Identify some natural alternatives to replace processed options or as an addition to your existing meals
- If feeling adventurous try a natural food you haven’t used before and see how it affects the taste of the meal and your body afterwards
Getting your nutrition right is like a shortcut when it comes to physical and mental health. It’s not the only factor that will get you to your destination but it sure will help. Eating natural, healthy yet tasty food is a simple way to do this and will mean the changes you introduce are sustainable which is one of the keys to living a healthy and happy life.
In our next post we’re going back to the finance world to dip our toe into the world of bank accounts. We’ll let you know how you can set yourself up for financial success by choosing the right banking partner and some of the key things to watch out for and avoid.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on nutrition, what has or hasn’t worked for you, and any other comments or questions you have. Please reach out to us at any of our social media channels.