Replacements!

Removing foods from your routine diet can be a bit dumbfounding.  Most times, the confusion comes with figuring out what to eat instead of the regular go-to, ready made food.  Some of us utilize frozen potatoes; some use frozen, breaded fish; some of us use bagged, prepared salad;  and, many rely on frozen, steam-in-the-bag vegetables.  The supermarket provides many very convenient meals, but each step eliminated with prepared food also eliminates nutrition.

Try baked potatoes instead of bagged, prepared fries or tater tots.  Instead of opening a bag and spreading tots out on a pan, wash a potato for each person at the table, set the oven for 450 degrees, poke a few holes in the spuds and bake for an hour (or until they squeak when you squeeze them).  You don't have to peel or prepare much, just stab, bake, and eat.  Potatoes provide potassium and vitamin C and only pack about 115 calories, so they are quite good for you if they are prepared sensibly.  If baked isn't your thing, mash them with skins and all with chicken stock and just enough butter.  Combine the recipes and you'll have great twice baked potatoes...  Leave the bag and go for the real thing.

Salads are too often avoided because of the prep work involved, so supermarkets are now filled with ready assembled salads.  The only draw back is the fact that they are usually sold in plastic and typically taste much like the plastic they come in; not very appetizing.  Grab a head of iceberg lettuce, quarter it, crumble on some blue cheese, and drizzle with a light vinaigrette.  Skip the bacon bits!  Instead, plop on a few cherry tomatoes.  Easy, delicious, nutritious, and beautiful to boot~  Salads do not have to be labor intensive, so skip the ready made bag and put your spin on the real thing.

Vegetables are now finding their way into microwavable plastic bags dressed in butter, ranch marinade  or cheesy sauce and are marketed as a healthy addition to your meal.  Microwaving blanched, then flash frozen, bagged vegetables depletes most of the remaining nutritional value, so skip them if you can.  Visit the produce section, pick out some freshies, plop them in a colander atop a boiling pot, and steam them yourself.  It will take less than ten minutes.  Dress with whatever herbs and spices you like, or even cheese or real butter.  Preparing and dressing fresh vegetables allows you to control the salt, the fat, and the tenderness without sacrificing nutrition.

Bread, pasta, and rice are the foods I struggle with.  I can't get my taste buds around whole wheat pasta and at times, brown rice doesn't do it.  So, I find and eat as many fresh, natural foods as I can.  I encourage you to do the same.  Don't forget to give your vitamins their vitamins and to drink plenty of water; digestion demands it.  And, as always, remember to wash your hands.  For dinner, roast chicken, wedge salad and baked potatoes!

Anna~