I am reforming from my junk food ways. I have not always been perfect in my food choices for me or my children. I have allowed far too much fast food, greasy pizza, and boxed processed items. My kitchen used to be filled with fruit snacks, cookies, and crackers of all varieties. Since no one in my home had a serious weight issue I did not think about it. I also did not think much about additives, high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils. When that changed and my mind turned to nutrition beyond the simple calorie count my eyes were opened to the junk in our food supply. We all know it’s there so it just a matter of what we will do about it. Will we continue to feed our children junk just hoping they never have the negative effects or will we make better selections?
I know it is overwhelming to think about changing your lifestyle. We are comfortable picking up a burger and fries on a busy night or ordering pizza to watch a movie with the family. We are not as comfortable with having to plan ahead or spend hours in the kitchen cooking. I completely understand. I often get overwhelmed with all the poor choices in the grocery store. I try to stay in the meat and produce aisles and skip the rest of the store but that can be hard to do. So, my answer was to take baby steps. You cannot change everything in one day. You will get burned out and soon feel it is not worth it. What you need is a simple list of things to stay away from as you roam your grocery store to shop for your family meals.
Things to avoid:
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Partially Hydrogenated Oils
MSG: Keep in mind it may be called other names such as “Natural Flavor” or “Hydrolyzed Protein” or “Yeast Extract”. Do your research to for more facts.
Genetically Modified Foods: Doesn’t hat just sound like something bad anyway?
Artificial Sweeteners: Yes, get rid of Splenda, it is not doing you any favors.