Food and nutrition have been hot topics for a while now — plant-based or animal protein, sugar, carbs, fats. What to eat, what not to eat. There’s so much information at our fingertips. It’s little wonder we’re left feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do.
It comes down to two words – Real Food. If we keep these two words in mind when making food choices, we really can’t go wrong.
Real food is anything that exists naturally – nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and natural oils. As Michael Pollan so beautifully put it, “Food made by a plant, not in a plant”. Of course, if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, ethically farmed meat, poultry, fish and eggs can also be considered examples of good food choices.
There’s a global food revolution taking place, an awakening if you will.
We are learning more and more about the connection between a sugar-laden diet and chronic (preventable) diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.
We are learning more and more about the influence sugar, preservatives, colourings, and additives have on our moods and behaviour and our ability to stay focused.
We are learning more and more about the correlation between diet and gut health and how they impact our overall physical and mental health.
We are learning more and more about how, if we strip our diets back and make as many natural food choices as possible, we can eliminate things like Type 2 diabetes, allergies, behavioural issues, heart disease, and cancer. Doing so will also allow our body to achieve optimum function and serve us according to its original design.
We’ve always known that too much sugar is detrimental to oral health, but now we know that the state of one’s oral health is linked to more severe issues like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Maintaining healthy teeth and gums is a lifelong commitment and involves much more than a good brushing technique and regular trips to the dentist and hygenist.
It’s an exciting time. We’re resetting the clock and going back to basics. Real food makes sense; it’s inspiring. Food is our fuel – it makes sense to choose the fuel that lets us perform at our best.
Here are a couple of Real-Food tips for your home kitchen:
Make as much as you can from scratch – Ditch the packets and the lists of ingredients that read like a science experiment – the longer the list, the less likely it is to be good for you.
Kids in the kitchen – Get them involved. Talk to them about food, what you’re eating, and why you’re eating it.
Offer savoury snacks instead of sweet – vegetable sticks and hummus, nuts and seeds. Sugar lurks inside most store-bought products. As a result, we’ve come to expect that everything should taste sweet – reset the palate, don’t foster this expectation.
Serve up a great breakfast – set you and your family up for the day. Swap sugar-laden, store-bought cereals for healthy fats and protein-rich options like eggs, nut milk/coconut milk smoothies and nut butter on toast, porridge served with cream and or coconut oil, sweetened with berries or banana.
Be prepared – Set aside an afternoon or morning each week to plan your week’s meals and make snacks to have on hand throughout the week.
Ditch the refined sugar – enough said.
Full-fat everything – If you eat dairy products, avoid choosing anything “lite” or low fat. These products are high in sugar.
Oils and fats – stick to olive oil, coconut oil, ghee and butter. Steer clear of any processed oils such as canola oil, vegetable oil, soya oil, rice bran oil and margarine spreads. There’s nothing ‘real’ about something that, among many other things, has to be bleached.
Get your Sherlock on – get in the habit of reading ingredients and ignoring the marketing. It’s so important to know what’s in our food. I’ve got a 4-6 ingredient rule, and they all have to be words. I don’t care what the front of the packet promises me. The ingredients never lie!!
Get a Guru – Social Media is both a blessing and a curse when seeking out information; it can be hard to know who to listen to. There’s a wealth of amazingly generous and informed people out there, so find someone or a group of people with a philosophy that speaks to you.
It doesn’t have to be earth-moving, and it’s certainly not rocket science. It’s just two words that together make so much sense.
Real food is guaranteed to be great for your family’s health. Now that’s some marketing you can trust!!