Healthy foods that pack a punch!

The important thing to consider when planning your healthy meal regime is that your healthy diet still needs to be able to sustain you through your busy day, and not just the 9-5 day either. You day may start a long time before 9:00am and end well after 5:00pm, so it is important to fuel your body with enough energy, crabs, protein and other essential nutrients to pack a punch and see you through your whole day, every day. With this in mind I sourced this through 'ezinearticles' (http://EzineArticles.com/5073751) written by Shauna Arthurs (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shauna_Arthurs) - the founder of Breathing Prosperity.


Many people talk about miracle foods, from magazine writers to modern-thinking doctors. As more and more of us become aware that our diet truly affects our health - for better or for worse - we must find new way of incorporating the awareness into our daily lives. As we all know, there is a big difference between knowing something and implementing it, and that difference can mean a healthy, vibrant life or a one-day, regretful 'should have.'

With today's rushed lifestyles, it can be difficult to get the healthy foods we need, even when we know what they are and have the best of intentions. For instance, if you knew there were ten foods that, if eaten daily, could you easily incorporate them into your daily diet? The truth is we often eat too infrequently and/or grab food on the run, and this leaves us bereft in the vitamins and minerals department, let alone giving us enough time to really eat the healthy, whole foods we need.

Following are some helpful guidelines to including some of the most commonly cited healthy foods into your diet.

Breakfast: Whole fruits are some of the healthiest foods you can eat, and the latest wisdom is that they should be eaten alone. This being said, combining them with otherwise less healthy breakfast foods, such as cereals or meal replacement shakes, is a great way to add a few servings of fruit. Consuming fruits whole rather than drinking juices adds fibre and other goodness, upping the health quotient while also slowing down the entry of natural fruit sugars into your body. Tips include: wash fruit very carefully to remove pesticides, or better yet buy organic fruit; support local farms as well as your health by buying fruit in season instead of items shipped hundreds of miles, and freeze extra to throw in your shakes and baking during the off-season. Also, try replacing your coffee with green tea, which has been shown to reduce cancer rates and boost immunity.

Lunch: One great way to get in the veggies you should be eating for optimum health is to eat plenty of salads. With or without lettuce, you can toss together a wide variety of cooked or raw vegetables, add a little virgin olive oil, fresh squeezed garlic and lemon juice (or use half your normal dressing and add these to supplement), and you've got a power-packed lunch. Colourful veggies, garlic and olive oil, as well as lemon, are all on the top health food list. You can also add in such things as nuts, seeds, chick peas or other legumes, etc., for additional healthy filler.

Dinner: What better way to get more veggies, and perhaps some valuable fresh ginger, than with an easy-to-make stir fry dish? You can even get in some extra garlic, as well as varieties of onion and mushrooms - both with enormous health benefits - on top of all the healthy vegetable options such as greens, broccoli and cauliflower, peppers, etc.. Use a little sesame oil instead of a large amount of a cheaper oil; it is very strong in flavor and a touch goes a long way.

WhyWeight - don't hesitate, participate, before it's too late!

-Steve, at WhyWeight-