Good Foods for Great Results

It's easy to make smart choices. Unfortunately, it's a little tougher to follow through. The trick to feeding your body begins with personal commitment and the ability to work hard at keeping your diet in check.

We all know how hard it can be to stay away from the drive-thru on the way home from work. Knowing what you're putting into your body can make it easier to make the right choices.

Veggies

The earth provides us with a huge assortment of delicious vegetables that should be the basis of every healthy diet. Choose a variety of vegetables, and eat no less than 2 1/2 cups per day. Select an assortment of dark, leafy vegetables including spinach and broccoli. Carrots and sweet potatoes are excellent choices as well. Dry beans including kidney, lima, pinto beans and chickpeas are loaded with nutrients. Pass up the French fries for a leafy spinach salad, skip the chips and grab a bag of baby carrots, and you will easily meet your daily recommended vegetable intake.

Eating Grains

Our food guide suggests that we eat six ounces of grains on a daily basis. The average slice of bread contains just one ounce. Cereal is an obvious choice, with about one ounce of grain per cup. If you want to boost your grain intake and eat less, choose whole grain products. Rice, pasta and crackers are also healthy grain choices to incorporate into your daily diet.

Pass the Fruit!

Sweet, delicious fruits make choosing healthy foods so easy. Try to eat two cups of fruit each day. That's about the equivalent of an apple and a banana. Toss a handful of grapes into a salad, or slice a banana over a bowl of cereal. Fruit salad is a great way to get a variety of flavors in one sitting. Fruits can be canned, frozen or dried, but fresh is always the best choice. A glass of fruit juice can also count toward fulfilling your daily intake, although fruit juices should be consumed in moderation.

Don't Skip Dairy

People of all ages need calcium for healthy teeth and bones. Kids from two to eight years of age require the calcium equivalent of about two cups of milk per day, while older kids, teenagers and adults need about three cups per day. At snack time, reach for calcium-rich yogurt and cheese. Watching your weight? Choose low-fat milk and dairy products. Even if you're lactose intolerant, you can still reach your calcium requirements with lactose-free and calcium fortified food choices.

Meat and beans

Protein is essential to every good diet, and meat is a natural choice. There are many other natural sources, however, and vegetarians lead protein-rich lives by choosing these alternatives. There is a wide variety of beans and peas that pack a protein punch in all sorts of recipes. Getting your five ounces of protein per day can also be achieved by eating fish and nuts. When you do choose meat, try to trim away any excess fat, and grill or bake your meat to avoid fatty greases.

Trim the Fat

Certain fats are necessary for the body to function normally, but for the most part it's smart to limit fats wherever possible. Choosing healthy foods is only part of the equation. You also need to be smart in your preparation methods. Instead of loading your skillet with butter, margarine, lard or shortening, saut your food in a little broth, or just use a non-stick pan. Seasonings and fruit juices can add flavor to your food without loading it up with fat. Foods that are high in fat will raise your weight and your cholesterol, so avoid them whenever you can.

Processed foods are packed with salt, fats and additives, so try to limit your shopping to the fresh meat and produces aisles. If you must choose some pre-packaged foods, make sure to read the nutrition facts and ingredient labels before you buy. This is an important step to limiting your intake of sodium as well as saturated and trans fats.

Put good things in to your body and you'll get good things from it. You'll feel more energetic, and may soon find that you're exercising more and thinking a little more clearly. Putting effort into your diet today will pay off with a healthy body that will serve you well for years to come.

Article Source: http://publisherscloninghouse.com

Writer Ambrose Hutson is a regular contributor to several web sites, on senior health and child health subjects.
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