Eating Well

Do any of you feel overwhelmed and like things spin out of control in the holiday season?  I really try to keep Christmas simple and not plan many extras.  But somehow the extras tend to plan themselves.  Two trips out of town (which were wonderful!!) plus Christmas decorating added into my regularly busy schedule have derailed me for the past few weeks.  So my blog has fallen by the wayside.  Despite that, friends keep telling me they're sharing my blog with others and my numbers soared to their highest ever on Dec 4.  I have no idea why!  But thank you!!

So...I have actually written several awesome blogs in my head.  Doesn't do you guys much good when it gets trapped in space and never makes it through my fingers and into Internet ink.  My apologies!  This morning I was reading the January/February 2011 issue of Experiencing Life magazine and came across this little side-column article that was titled simply: "How to eat simply and well".  I thought that would be a great article to share while I pull my thoughts and photos together for my next post.  I hope these tips will help you through the overwhelming season of parties, cookies, chocolate, hot coco and a million other temptations that are nearly impossible to resist. 

So now that I've tempted you with those luscious words, do I dare confess that my great plans and intentions regarding food have gotten tossed out along with the laundry and dishes, vacuuming and... (I'm afraid to even think what else has been derailed the past few weeks.)  I haven't totally gone back to my unhealthy eating but enough to feel really guilty and rather yuck around the tummy.  Then my littlest got sick with strep a week ago.  Before I knew it was strep I was slightly freaked by his swollen lymph nodes, which looked like someone had cut a golf ball in 1/2 and jammed it under his skin on both sides of his neck.  All I could think was Lymphoma and that THIS was why we were eating healthy.  Talk about a kick-in-the-pants!  Optimal Health!  Optimal Health!  Optimal Health!  If I were ever to get a tattoo, I would probably get those two words branded into the backs of my hands.  Whatever it takes to keep me on the straight-and-narrow!

So...Here are the 10 Tips/Reminders to help you through the Holiday Temptation Season and carry you into the New Year, compliments of Experience Life.

1. Embrace a wide variety of whole foods.  All of them are good for you in balance and moderation.
2. Aim to maximize your intake of brightly colored, high-fiber veggies.
3. Don't eliminate whole foods rich in healthy fats, complex carbs and phytonutrients.
4. Do moderate your intake of foods high in sugars (added or otherwise) and minimize your intake of processed flours, sugars, starches and fried foods.
5. Replace some of the grains and starchy foods in your diet with leafy plants and legumes.
6. When you do eat grains, substitute whole, intact grains for refined grains and flours.
7. When possible, opt for locally and organically grown whole foods. 
8. Drink plenty of water, less of most other beverages. 
9. Emphasize quality over quantity, and invest the majority of your food budget in nutritious choices.
10. Learn to cook well enough that you can prepare healthy, satisfying dishes you enjoy.