We should all know about healthy eating, but you’d be surprised at how many people know almost nothing about the foods they eat. Many people think their hamburgers are healthy because they have lettuce and tomatoes on them. Sure, hamburgers might be a good source of protein, but what about all those calories and all that fat? Other people don’t understand what specific nutrients do, or why we need to have them in our diets. It’s important that everyone learn about eating healthy and which foods should be avoided, at least most of the time.
You need to have certain nutrients in your diet if you want to be healthy and strong, and without these nutrients, your health will fail. In fact, you will be risking developing many different ailments including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and others. Fortunately, there are many ways to learn about healthy eating. Start by speaking with your physician, or a dietitian or nutritionist, about the things you should be getting in your diet, and what you should be feeding your family in order to keep them healthy and happy.
Getting Your Kids To Eat Healthy Foods
For many parents, one of the biggest challenges in raising their children is getting them to eat healthy. For some reason, kids really have an aversion to anything nutritious. Maybe it is because the foods don’t look good to them. Or maybe it’s simply an act of rebellion to refuse healthy food, because they don’t want to be told what to do. Whatever the reason, many children are not getting the proper nutrition, and childhood obesity is becoming more and more of a problem all the time.
There are many ways to get your kids to eat healthy foods, without them even realizing it. Pizza is a healthy food, containing foods from all four of the important food groups, and when made right, it’s loaded with all kinds of nutritional value. You can make a homemade pizza with sauce made from fresh tomatoes in a blender, topped with lean ground meat, peppers, mushrooms, pineapples, and low-fat cheese for a very healthy meal that just about every kid (and adult) in the world will absolutely love.
Another thing to try is adding cheese to foods your kids wouldn’t normally eat. It is amazing what a little bit of cheese can do to change a kid’s mind. Or if you have a juicer, you can make slushies for your kids with delicious, healthy vegetables, which will be overpowered by the taste of fruit juice. Get creative and you can be assured that your kids will get all of the proper nutrition they need to grow up healthy.
Don’t Forget Healthy Food For Your Pets
When making sure that your family is eating healthy, don’t forget about your four-footed family members. You don’t have to give your pets commercially prepared pet foods to make sure that they are healthy. In fact, many of the commercially prepared foods are actually more harmful for your pets than the scraps you feed them from the table. Many of the foods that we eat are perfectly healthy for both dogs and cats, and there are all kinds of recipes available for healthy, homemade pet foods that Fido and Fluffy will love.
If you start them out when they are young enough, you can even have your pets on vegetarian diets, as long as you are making sure that they are getting enough protein from sources other than meat. Some healthy, protein-rich foods that you can add to your pets’ diets include lean red meat, poultry, fish, broccoli, carrots, rice, low-sodium soup broth, and some dairy products (dairy is much better for kittens than full grown cats). Garlic is also excellent for pets, and helps keep the fleas away. Never give your pets chocolate or onions, as these are poisonous for non-humans.
Getting Enough Protein In Your Diet
There are many nutrients that you need to have in your diet, and one of the most important is protein, which is a natural source of energy and helps our muscles to grow and be healthy. Protein is necessary for healing soft tissues following injuries and other trauma, and each and every cell in our bodies relies on protein to function properly.
There are all kinds of ways to get enough protein in your diet. Some of the things that you should be incorporating into your meals include lean red meats, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, low or non-fat dairy products, fish, and poultry.
You might also want to start using protein supplements, if you aren’t doing so already. There are a number of different types of protein supplements available, including many snacks that are ideal to have between meals or to satisfy your sweet tooth without adding a whole lot of fat and calories.