Nutrition 101: Part 2 – Five Tips for Good Nutrition

As I mentioned in part one, I am not a nutritionist or expert in this area by any means. I’m also not trying to say that I eat this healthy all of the time. My philosophy is to eat right when I can and not stress about when I can’t.

I suppose you could call me a “Traditional Foodie” (think Nourishing Traditions) – I believe that, as much as possible, we should cook and eat the way our great grandparents did. If a food has been “invented” in the last 50 years or so, you might wish to reconsider eating it.

Everyone has their own views on what foods are healthy and which aren’t. I’m sure some people aren’t concerned about the potential health benefits/risks of consuming certain foods, but most people have an inkling about good nutrition.

For example, most people would admit that fast food is not the wisest meal choice health-wise. Beyond the knowledge that junk food isn’t good for you, the waters can get pretty grey

If you’re just starting to try to make good food choices, it can be very overwhelming to know where to start. Here are my top five tips to begin your healthy journey.

1) Cook from scratch as much as possible.
It is my belief that even if you can’t afford the best ingredients in the world, if you are cooking the majority of your food from scratch you’re miles ahead of many people. Growing up we didn’t eat an organic diet, but my mom cooked almost everything from scratch. We had very few health problems. I’m not saying that this was the only reason we enjoyed good health, but I’m pretty sure that not consuming tons of soda and prepackaged food helped. We definitely had junk food for special occasions, but our meals were mostly homemade.

2) Avoid highly processed oils.
Most of the “vegetable oils” on the market today are not good choices. Polyunsaturated oils (oils that are liquid when cold) go rancid easily. They are unstable when heated.
Common polyunsaturated oils include: canola, corn, soy, sunflower, and “vegetable oil”. You can read more about the dangers of polyunsaturated oils HERE and HERE.
And of course everyone knows that trans fats are not good. Avoid all hydrogenated oils when possible.

3) Eat Organic/Local/Pastured When Possible
I know it’s not possible for everyone to afford an all organic diet (I know I can’t). I try to use the “Dirty Dozen Clean Fifteen” list, especially when shopping for Helen. A great alternative to organic is to buy local food. If you talk to farmers, they’ll tell you what they used for fertilizer and if any pesticides were used.
It’s also important to try to buy quality meat. Beware of labels claiming to be “all natural.” Your best choice is local meat raised on pasture without the use of hormones. I can source pasture raised meat from our local farmers market and health food store. Organic would be my second choice.
The same goes for eggs and dairy products.


4) Avoid highly processed packaged food. 

This is probably the most obvious of the bunch. Everyone knows that store-bought cookies, crackers and candy are full of icky ingredients. Nearly every breakfast cereal contains extremely processed ingredients. Most chips are fried in unhealthy oils. I could write an entire post about prepackaged foods and healthy alternatives.