Black Friday CountDown 1

03 May, 2007

Focus on what you can add to the diet menu

Diets often focus on what you have to eliminate: no carbs (you know that I think that is a bad idea), sugar (good to eliminate for a little bit), all food but cabbage (really bad idea).
Instead of focusing on the plate being half empty, why not fill it up with foods you should be eating.
We all should be eating 5 to 7 servings of fruits and veggies, and some diet plans recommend trying to eat up to 13 servings a day. So focus on what you can and should add to your meals and snacks.
The fruit and vegetables market in Dubai near Shindaga tunnel can be a great source. If you consider it a hard trip due to the hot weather now, please note that all supermarkets recently have cut down the prices on all greenery.
Here are a few ideas of how to increase your intake of healthy foods:
  • Use vegetables as chip substitutes. Carrots sticks, cucumber slices and celery are great vehicles for hummus.
  • Add berries to your breakfast cereal. Strawberries are just coming into season so they should be less expensive. Blackberries are super high in antioxidants too.
  • Add extra vegetables to your salads. Left over steamed green beans or broccoli can go right onto your greens.
  • Try vegetable purees instead of mashed potatoes. Celery root, cauliflower and squash are tasty substitutes for mashed potatoes.
  • Use an apple instead of crackers for cheese or peanut butter.
  • Take a banana with you wherever you go. You don't need to pack it in anything especially since it naturally comes with a nice thick skin.
  • Add steamed veggies to pre-made soup.
  • Cut up some fruit for dessert, it is a great palate cleanser and light enough to not push you over the edge.
  • Snack on carrots.

Changing your lifestyle is all about attitude, so focus on the positive. In fact, we can all focus on eating more fruits and veggies.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great pep talk! I always find that the more fruits and veg I eat, the better I feel in general.
It's worth mentioning that when you add these things to your diet you will be adding a lot of fiber as well...some people find that to be hard on the GI system at first so try to increase your intake gradually.