Do you know how to use the five a day rule for healthy eating?
Zaak OConan

The five a day rule is one of the most important rules to healthy eating. The five a day rule refers to the government’s recommendation that everyone eat at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables. At first blush, five a day seems like a reasonable goal, but most people fail to eat sufficient amounts of these important foods.

It is important to remember the many advantages of fruits and vegetables when applying the five a day rule to your own diet. For one thing, fruits and vegetables taste great, contain fewer calories than many other foods and are full of many important vitamins and minerals. In addition, fruits and vegetables are colorful and beautiful, making them great garnishes and salad toppings.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are easy to prepare, even for the busiest individual. In most cases, fresh fruits require no preparation at all, other than a quick wash and perhaps peeling.

The five a day recommendation equates to roughly two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day, based on the average 2,000 calorie diet. This is not a difficult goal to reach, but it is important to keep the five a day goal in mind when grocery shopping, cooking and planning meals.

One great way to get started toward a five a day lifestyle is with a delicious serving of 100% fruit juice every morning. Apple juice, grapefruit juice and orange juice are all excellent choices for both taste and nutrition.

Fruits and vegetables can also be used as garnishes for other foods. Who doesn’t enjoy a sliced strawberry or banana with their morning cereal? And fruits and vegetables make great snacks as well. Whether you keep a couple of apples at your desk or a selection of carrot and celery sticks in the fridge, having fruits and vegetables readily at hand is a big part of the battle.

Of course variety is extremely important when making any change to your diet, and many dietary changes fail due to boredom. Constantly trying new varieties of fruits and vegetables is a great way to keep yourself interested in your new healthier way of eating. If you’ve never had kiwi fruit or asparagus, for instance, why not give it a try?

Combining attractive colors, shapes and sizes of fruits is another way to provide attractive and interesting meals for yourself and your family. Combining white grapes, red peppers and pineapple chunks can provide a delicious and attractive salad.

It is important to provide constant variety when implementing the five a day plan, particularly if you are cooking for a family. Try making some interesting new dishes, such as veggie pizza, made with fresh vegetables and whole wheat pizza crust, a fresh vegetable wrap, vegetable stir fry or pasta with fresh vegetables.

For those who think they are too busy to incorporate five servings of fruits and vegetables a day into their diet, there is help available. The many ready to eat, prepackaged salad kits on the market make it easier than ever to create a healthy salad on the go. Just keep a bottle of your favorite low fat or nonfat salad dressing on hand and you can enjoy a healthy salad anywhere and anytime.

Even fast food restaurants have made it easier than every to eat healthy, with every major chain now offering at least a few healthy menu items. In addition, most grocery chains offer fresh salad bars where you can create your own healthy lunch even if you’re pressed for time.

When creating your five a day healthy lifestyle, remember that fruits and vegetables make great snacks. An apple, orange or banana provides both great taste and excellent nutrition. In addition, the natural sugars contained in fruits do not provide the sugar high/sugar crash scenario all parents are familiar with.

Topping meals and salads with additional fruits and vegetables is a great way to enhance your new five a day lifestyle. Strips of green and red peppers, broccoli florets, sliced carrots and cucumbers are all great additions to pasta and potato salads. And of course carrots, spinach, apple slices, orange slices, nectarines, pineapples and raisins are all great additions to any salad.

In addition, adding fresh fruits to foods you already eat is a great way to make such foods part of your new lifestyle. Adding berries, bananas or oranges to cereal and yogurt is a great way to make sure you meet your five a day goal every day.
About the Author

Zaak O’Conan discovers and presents useful information on how to enhance and/or repair your life, body and relationships. You’ll find his other articles on eating better and other ways how to improve your life at http://your-health-center.com

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If youve read about the pH miracle diet and youve decided to give it a try, you have a few tasks ahead of you. Depending on how committed you are the program you may begin with clearing out your pantry and your refrigerator of all highly acidic foods. If you live with others who wont be on the diet with you, you may just want to remove the high acid treats that you find irresistible. Either way, whether you do a kitchen purge or just remove a few items from your shelves, youll need to go grocery shopping.

Shopping for the pH miracle diet can be done at any grocery store, but occasionally people find it easier to get specialty items at health foods stores or natural food chains like Whole Foods and Trader Joes. However, if you live in an area where there is no access to these types of stores, you can still easily purchase the items you need at a standard grocery store.

Before you make your shopping trip, youll need to start a list of items. You dont want to walk into the grocery store blind and try to remember what you need to buy. Some people like to work from the alkaline food lists in the book. This is a good approach if you have a lot of money to spend and just want to fill your kitchen with these foods. However, a better and more organized approach is to first make out a menu list for the following week. When you shop from a planned menu and the recipes that go with those meal choices, youll only buy what you need. Additionally, many of the foods on the alkaline list are fresh vegetables. Youll want to make sure that you actually need them before you buy them so you wont risk wasting money.

Remember, when you first start, your diet doesnt have to be 100% alkaline. In fact, even on strict versions of the pH miracle diet a balance between acid and alkaline is recommended. So when you make your menu and your grocery lists, keep that in mind. Foods that are slightly and moderately acidic include bananas, whole grain pasta, dried beans, eggs, milk, nuts and wheat bread. There are many others and you can consult different resources on the levels of acidity in foods. Strive to have balance in your daily diet of 70% alkaline to 30% acid.

When you arrive at the grocery store, with your list in hand, youll notice that you will be staying along the outer rim of the grocery store. Generally, the foods along the walls are fresher and more natural than the foods within the aisles. If you think about it, all of the foods in the center of the store are processed and packaged. The outer edges consist of the produce section, the dairy section and the deli and/or meat counter.

Produce, especially vegetables, is going to be the primary focus on your pH miracle diet shopping trip. Buy organic produce if you have the means to. However, the real importance is that you buy the vegetables and use them in your cooking. If you have to use conventionally grown produce or frozen produce that is better than using no produce at all.

The only word of caution is to avoid canned fruits and vegetables. The canning process has negative effects on the alkaline state of these foods. There is also a lot of sodium in canned fruits and vegetables. If you cannot buy fresh, look for frozen. Many stores that do not carry organic fresh produce will have organic frozen produce.

Its best to purchase balance of alkaline and acid foods as you get used to this way of living and eating. If you go cold turkey on your favorite foods and believe that you have to be super strict in order to be healthy, you will end up rebounding back to you acidic ways of eating. Strive for mostly alkaline to begin with, and then you can move further up the alkaline spectrum and eliminate more acidic foods.

Tags: Acidic Foods, alkaline food lists, alkaline food;, Bananas, Food Chains, Fruits And Vegetables, Grocery Lists, Grocery Shopping, Grocery Store, Health Foods, Healthy Diet, Meal Choices, Menu List, Natural Food, natural food chains, Pantry, Ph Miracle Diet, Purge, Refrigerator, Shelves, Specialty Items, Trader, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Whole Grain Pasta —

If youve read about the pH miracle diet and youve decided to parcel out live a try, you obtain a few tasks ahead of you. Depending on how committed you are the program you may begin with clearing out your pantry and your refrigerator of all highly acidic foods. If you live salt away others who wont be on the diet with you, you may just want to remove the high acid treats that you acquisition irresistible. Either way, whether you do a kitchen purge or just remove a few items from your shelves, youll need to go grocery shopping.

Shopping for the pH miracle diet can be done at any grocery store, but occasionally people asset it easier to get specialty items at health foods stores or natural food chains related Whole Foods and Trader Joes. However, if you live in an area where ace is no access to these types of stores, you can still easily purchase the items you need at a standard grocery store.

Before you make your shopping trip, youll need to initiation a list of items. You dont want to walk into the grocery pabulum blind and try to conjure up what you need to buy. Some people like to work from the alkaline food lists in the leave. This is a good approach if you have a lot of cash to spend and just want to fill your kitchen with these foods. However, a better and more organized approach is to first make out a menu list for the following week. When you shop from a eventual menu and the recipes that go with those meal choices, youll only buy what you need. Additionally, various of the foods on the alkaline list are fresh vegetables. Youll want to make sure that you actually need them before you play ball them so you wont risk wasting money.

Remember, when you first start, your diet doesnt have to be 100 % alkaline. In fact, even on strict versions of the pH miracle diet a invoice between acid and alkaline is recommended. So when you make your menu and your grocery lists, keep that in mind. Foods that are slightly and moderately acidic have bananas, whole grain pasta, dried beans, eggs, milk, nuts and wheat bread. There are many others and you can consult different resources on the levels of causticity in foods. Strive to have report in your daily diet of 70 % alkaline to 30 % acid.

When you be present at the grocery store, with your list in hand, youll notice that you will enact staying along the outer rim of the grocery store. Generally, the foods along the walls are fresher and more natural than the foods within the aisles. If you think about it, all of the foods in the focal point of the store are processed and packaged. The outer edges consist of the produce section, the dairy section and the deli and / or meat counter.

Produce, especially vegetables, is going to be the slightest focus on your pH miracle diet shopping trip. Yes organic produce if you have the ingredient to. However, the real importance is that you buy the vegetables and use them in your cooking. If you have to use conventionally grown produce or sleety produce that is higher quality than using no produce at all.

The only word of caution is to avoid canned fruits and vegetables. The canning process has negative effects on the alkaline state of these foods. There is also a lot of sodium in canned fruits and vegetables. If you cannot buy fresh, look for frozen. Many stores that do not carry organic fresh produce will have organic glacial produce.

Its best to purchase balance of alkaline and acid foods as you get used to this way of living and eating. If you go cold turkey on your favorite foods and believe that you have to be super strict in series to be healthy, you will end up rebounding back to you acidic ways of eating. Strive for chiefly alkaline to begin with, and then you can move supplementary maturity the alkaline spectrum and eliminate more acidic foods.

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While most people think of the body as the most important of weight loss, the truth is that the mind is much more important. Therefore, you need to do anything you can to help your mind get you to lose weight. Using a calorie counter guide is one way to help you think more clearly. How so? By allowing you to see the cold, hard facts and make logical choices based on those facts.

To put it simply, the only way to lose weight is to store fewer calories than you burn. It only makes sense that you need to know the caloric value of the foods you’re eating. There are a lot of foods that have labels on them, but not all of them do; and guessing is not a viable option when you’re on a diet. Besides, food labels are only found on foods you buy at the store, but restaurants don’t have them. Some restaurants do publish nutrition information, but they aren’t required to do so.

It has been shown time and time again that people are not very good at estimating how many calories are in their food. That may not matter to most people, but if you’re on a diet, then you need to know how many calories you’re taking in. Too few calories can be even worse than too many. This doesn’t mean you absolutely have to count calories, but you should have a good idea of how many you’re eating.

What all of this adds up to is that a calorie counter guide is an indispensible tool in the battle to lose weight. You can use the guide when you don’t have access to food labels. That alone would make a worthwhile guide, but it can also be used to help you plan your meals.

If you consult your calorie guide before you go grocery shopping or before you go out to eat, then you will be better prepared. You can decide what foods you’ll get ahead of time. If you like, you can make up your entire grocery list by just using the guide. It’s always a good idea to make up a list ahead of time, and using the guide will make it easy to compare one food to another.

You can get calorie guides in the form of a book or in electronic form. A book is handy because you can take it anywhere, and you dont have to worry about it running out of batteries. An electronic calorie guide has the same information as a book, but some models can be updated with new items and some even allow you to chart your caloric intake throughout the day. If you are serious about losing weight, then getting one of each (a book and an electronic version) is the smart way to go.

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