Three Tips for Healthier Eating

Below you will find 3 easy ways to make healthy eating a cinch for you and your family by simply organizing your fridge. 

The Organized Fridge - each section of the fridge is labeled to keep us organized
Top shelf to the right contains the salad tub and dressings.
The middle shelf contains the "snack tub".

 

1.   SNACKS

Healthy snacks are essential for our busy family.    I noticed that when we are super busy or on the run we tend to grab the processed snacks because the healthier snacks require some effort and time.

Greta making ants on a log - our house is 80 degrees (called wood heat - yeah)

In order to make snacking easier I took all of their favorite snacks and added them to a Rubbermaid container in the fridge.  Inside the fridge there's a "snack tub"  filled with their favorites:

• celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins
• broccoli and ranch dressing
• carrots and hummus
• cheese curds measured in 2 ounce bags
• yogurt
• apples

The snack box takes a bit of effort once a week.  On Sunday nights I cut up the veggies and measure out the PB and cheese (organic veggies and apples only - see the Dirty Dozen ).

To be totally honest - I did this for myself.  When I come through the door after a busy day at work my second job begins.  Supper, homework, back into town for extra-curricular activities (15 miles away) and laundry all require my attention.   If I'm going to succumb to some unhealthy emotional eating - it's when I walk through the door.  Lots of times I feel too overwhelmed to take time to cut up the broccoli or even search the fridge for hummus but with the tub I'm ready for a healthy snack.

2.  SALAD

We all love salads - even the kids, but since my fridge had the salad ingredients all over and unorganized I needed a change.  In the fridge you will now find a "salad tub" that we can grab from the fridge and make a salad.  In the salad tub I have:

• Organic Herb Mix Salad (my favorite)
• Serving size bags of walnuts
• Feta cheese
• cranberries
• Nutritional cheese
• Black beans ready to go
• Pickled hot banana peppers
• Hemp seeds

Now my personal rule for the salad is to add one of the healthy fats (either feta cheese, hemp seeds, nutritional cheese or walnuts - but not all 4).   I love a salad when I have great ingredients ready to throw in and if I'm organized it means I might actually make one.

3.  WATER

I spent years drinking 32 ounces of water religiously because that's what I was supposed to do, right?  I bet I ran to the bathroom every 45 minutes for 5 years.  When studies were released indicating that all that water wasn't necessary I really cut back on my water intake.   Based on my low blood pressure though, I know I need to up my fluid intake so I bought a fancy carafe from one of my favorite Hayward stores, Hayward Mercantile, and I've been adding all sorts of fun ingredients making me LOVE water again..  Even my kids are more apt to grab the carafe and drink this yummy water.

What we add to the water carafe:

• Dried mint leaves (from this summer's herb garden (HG))
• Lemon
• Lime
• Cucumber
• Ginger
• Dried stevia leaves from the HG
• Agave nectar
• Dried spearmint (from the HG)

Simple - yet it works for us.

Spearmint Lemon Water

How do you keep yourself motivated to keep healthy foods front and central?

Thanks for reading!

Kristin