Essential Ingredients for a Healthy Meal… Anytime!

I know I’m not the only one who’s suffering from holiday-itis. I’m exhausted. Are you exhausted? A few days off for the holidays feels long overdue. Whether you’re worn out because things have been crazy at work or school or you’re just ready for a break, there’s one thing that I find gets particularly difficult when I’m tired: eating healthy.

Have you ever noticed that when the stress levels rise, suddenly a frozen pizza or dinner at the local pub out sounds so enticing? When I’ve had a long day (or week), it’s hard to rustle up enough energy to think of a healthy meal (much less cook it). Plus, with the holidays just around the corner, delicious sugary treats like cookies and sweet breads are around in abundance.

This season is full of stress and sugar--but it's still important to keep eating healthy as much as possible!
Image: Shutterstock

So what’s a girl to do? Sure, sometimes I’ll give in and eat that frozen pizza (it’s okay to live sometimes!)—just don’t let it become a habit. The best advice I have is to keep healthy basic ingredients in the house, so that when you don’t have the time or energy to get creative, you still have a healthy meal to eat.

I’ve found that the following ingredients enable me to whip up a quick meal in just a few minutes—and it’s tasty to boot!

Frozen Chicken Breasts or Salmon (you can buy these fresh and freeze them yourself if you prefer)

Just defrost in the microwave or with warm water and then bake, grill, sauté, or stir-fry them as you feel fit. For chicken, I always keep lemon pepper on hand (it really livens the flavor up), and salmon goes well with a simple glaze like honey lemon.

Frozen Vegetables

Frozen veggies certainly aren’t as good as fresh produce, but they can be lifesavers. Choose a medley or particular vegetable that you enjoy, and then on those busy nights you can just steam or sautee them back to life. Add in a little garlic powder, olive oil, and pepper to give them a kick.

Whole Grains

I love wild rice. It takes a little longer to cook, but it’s not exactly work to cook rice. Pairing wild rice with a baked lemon-pepper chicken breast and veggies on the side is a fiber-and-flavor filled meal that’s super easy to boot. If you’re not a fan of wild rice, you can also try cous cous, whole grain pasta (in moderate proportions), or brown rice.

Eggs

I know, eggs are typically a morning food. But, hey, there’s nothing wrong with breakfast at dinner from time to time. Whip up a quick omelet with those frozen veggies and pair it with a side of whole-wheat toast.

 Salad Fixings

I tend to think that dinner should be more complicated than a salad, but that’s not true. When I remember, I try to keep some dark leafy greens (like arugula, spinach, or kale) on hand. Mix those together with some dried cranberries, nuts, cheese, and a tiny bit of dressing and you’ve got yourself a lovely little dinner salad!

Frozen Meatballs and Marinara

I discovered this lovely combo when living with roommates. If you can find lean chicken or turkey meatballs (try Trader Joe’s), this is a super fast meal to whip up. Just cook the meatballs over the stove with some marinara sauce—no pasta necessary! Add some veggies on the side, and it’s a perfectly sized meal.

During the holidays, it can be particularly difficult to keep up a healthy eating regimen. How are you handling the extra excitement, and how do you plan on staying healthy?

Eating Healthy Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

Fun fact: Junk food is often actually more expensive than healthy food.
Image: Shutterstock

Our society is being misled, and it’s a tragedy. For years, many people have been under the impression that eating healthy is expensive, and that eating, well, crappy, is cheap. And while, yes, you can buy a fast-food meal for fairly inexpensive, the truth is that eating well isn’t nearly as expensive as it’s often made out to be. In fact, it really doesn’t have to be expensive at all.

In a recent article on the Huffington Post, author Nate Morrow demonstrates beautifully how eating healthier, fresher food is often actually cheaper than eating fast food or junk food. Looking at food from a price-per-serving perspective, Morrow shows us that though junk food has a lower price per calorie ratio, fresh produce still gets you more bang for your buck:

Image: Nate Morrow / Huffington Post

Morrow goes on to provide a sample meal plan that cost him less than $6 per day, about 17% below what than the average American spends on food. And all the food is gloriously healthy, especially compared to Twinkies, Doritos, and fast food meals. Plus, Morrow says, “this daily plan is for a 6-foot, 3-inch, 200 pound man, so I’m not exactly skimping on calories here.”

Indeed, Morrow’s plan provides more food than I could eat (which means leftovers for lunch the next day!). He also provides his full shopping list, complete with the full price for the items, and then broken down by price per serving. Check out his article to see the meal plan and shopping list!

One thing I do want to note is this: choosing to cook healthy food at home does require an investment. Initially, buying the ingredients you need may cost a little bit more, but the overall price is cheaper in the long run. For example, two dozen eggs might cost $4 up front as compared to a $1 serving at the local fast food joint, but you’ll get twelve servings of two eggs as compared to one. That makes the “cheap” fast food three times as expensive overall!

Here in Seattle, I go shopping about once per week, and on average spend $200 per month. I cook nearly all my meals at home, and try to keep them healthy. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive, so let’s stop using that as an excuse not to!

Cosmetic Chemicals: Yet Another Reason to Avoid Fast Food

Do YOU know what you're eating? Hint: It's not always food!
Image from fitbodylife.com

If I needed another reason to avoid fast food (other than all the reasons I already know about), I just found it: fast food often contains chemicals found in cosmetics. If you’re thinking, “Wait, what?!” you’re on the same page as me. And yes, I’m totally serious. Here are some cosmetics chemicals you can also find in fast food:

Ammonium Glycyrrhizin—

• Ingredient in facial masks

  

  Ammonium Glycyrrhizin is found in facial masks--
  and in fast food.
  Image: Shutterstock

• Flavor enhancer, flavoring agent, and sweetener 

Benzoyl Peroxide (banned in China)—

• Active ingredient in acne creams
• Used in fast food to bleach wheat flour white (e.g. buns and breads) 

Calcium Disodium EDTA—

• Used as a stabilizer in skin products and hair conditioner
• A “flavor protectant” in fast food sauces, dips and dressings 

The active ingredient in Proactiv is Benozyl Peroxide.
It's also used to bleach flour white.
Image from clearclinic.com

Disodium Phosphate—

• Used in mascara and mouthwash
• Food preservative

Propylene Glycol—

• Found in shampoo, mouthwash and hand sanitizers
• Used in sodas, salad dressings, and spice concentrates

Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate—

• Used in shampoo and soap
• Widely used in baked goods, cereals, pastas, instant rice, desserts, icings… and more

OK, first of all, you should know that all of these are FDA approved additives. That means the FDA has studied them and determined that in specified quantities they are “relatively safe” to eat. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have negative impacts on our health. Propylene Glycol, for example, is a toxin at any level of ingestion. Though it would be extremely difficult to reach serious toxicity levels, it is nonetheless still a toxin.

They may be FDA approved, but I don't want these chemicals
in MY food. Do you?
Image from blog.fooducate.com

Ammonium Glycyrrhizin can also cause hypertension and edema (water retention) since it inhibits our cortisol metabolism. Benzoyl Peroxide is a whitener and researchers have long argued over the safety of its use in food.

Perhaps I’m too big a fan of natural living and eating (can one be too big of a fan?), but I don’t think I want to put any unnecessary chemicals in my body. There is so much we still don’t know, and I for one don’t want to wake up and find out one day that the chemical the FDA said was safe really isn’t. Call me paranoid if you’d like to, but I think there’s no harm in being safe.

Besides, what “flavor” are they protecting? The processed, bleached, over salted and sweetened flavor? Because I think I can go without that.

Fast Food Accounts for 11% of American Diet

Fast food accounts for 11% of the American diet

Image: Shutterstock

We try to eat healthy as much as possible at home. We consume far more fresh produce than I ever did in my youth (when most of my veggies came from cans) and most of our meals consist of about 75% veggies and 25% meat. Sugar, salt, butter, cream, and all those delicious but overly-used additions are used sparingly. And while we might order the occasional pizza on a Saturday night, I honestly can’t remember the last time we made our way through a fast food drive-thru.

I count myself lucky in that fast food has never settled well with me. My stomach is especially sensitive and I’m a picky eater, so even as a teen I didn’t usually find fast food all that appetizing. But we still ate it from time to time because it was cheap and easy to come by.

Image from impawards.com
We are still a "Fast Food Nation"

But the sad truth is that many don’t feel the same, or they can’t afford to. Fast food accounts for more than 11% of the total American diet, according to federal health officials. And though that’s down two percent from a few years ago, that’s still a frightening amount, especially for young people.

The decisions we make as young adults can affect our health for the rest of our lives, and struggling with obesity in our 20s can put us at a high risk for metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and abdominal fat), diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, among others.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), people aged 20 to 39 got 15% of their daily calories from fast food, while those older than 60 came in at just 6%. Young black people aged 20-39 were even higher, with 21% of their daily calories coming from fast food.

Image from livingachangedlife.blogspot.com
FRUIT is fast food!

And it seems that obesity only compounds the issue, as a survey of weight groups revealed that obese young adults got the highest percentage of calories from fast food—18%. For the most part, income didn’t seem to have much effect on how much fast food people ate. That means at this point it’s more a battle with bad habits and ease of obtainment than anything else.

I’m all for having food that’s available quickly, especially since sometimes I’m on the road or in a hurry and need a quick bite. I’ve been happy to see some fast food establishments offering more healthy options in the past few years, and I hope that trend continues. Obesity is a dangerous problem that should be addressed, particularly by those establishments that are largely responsible for the issue.

Do you eat fast food? If you do, do you choose to do so because it is 1) inexpensive, 2) quick, 3) easily obtained, or 4) because you enjoy it?