Family Nutrition (Morning C.L. Mtg. 3/12/13)

Nutrition can really send me on a guilt-trip. I cook most of our meals at home - but we eat out too much. I try to get in some servings of fruits/veggies, but never enough and some days none. I agree with most of what Tina shared with us in Morning Carelink this week, but I have a terrible time putting things into practice. (This isn't the first time I've heard these truths!) I admire Tina and other women who really succeed in making big changes but think I'll never have the willpower to do the same for my family. I hope none of you can identify with this!
  
I really thought Tina did a fabulous job keeping it simple and encouraging us to make wise food decisions. It's certainly true that my food decisions set the tone for my entire family, because I'm the one grocery shopping, meal planning and cooking...unfortunately :-)
(Some days it's a real chore!)
  
Tina had a handout with short lists of easy ideas on breakfast & snack choices, cutting down on sugar, the dirty dozen of fruits/vegetables, and helpful hints to get started.
  
Takeaways for me:
·        eat whole fruit rather than fruit juice, canned, dried
·        vitamins are good, but they can't completely fill the gaps of a poor diet
·        choose whole grain - and make sure the ingredients list whole wheat flour - not enriched
·        avoid processed meats: hot dogs, lunch meat
·        most of us eat enough protein, but the proteins we choose are too high in fat
·        high quality olive oil is the way to go, but you can't bake with it - choose canola oil for that
·        When buying olive oil look for extra virgin, cold-pressed.
·        flaxseed is a great source of Omega-3. Buy it whole, grind it before you use it otherwise it loses its nutritional value. Add it to smoothies, baked goods
·        cut the sugar in half or reduce by a third in your baking - you likely won't notice a difference
·        the aspartame in diet soda causes you to crave more diet soda

~Tiffany