Three Easy Ways To Cook Healthier

Tom Wigginton • July 4, 2018

Three Easy Ways To Cook Healthier

Whether it’s due to work, events, or your social life, sticking to a healthy lifestyle can be challenging. Thankfully, personal trainers are here to help with keeping you physically fit. You are still responsible for what you eat to fuel your body, however. Learning a few simple steps can make a huge difference in your results. Instead of blindly cooking at home or eating at restaurants, use these three easy ways to cook healthier and achieve your health and wellness goals.

Plan ahead of time
Don’t save your grocery lists for the last minute. If you walk into the store unprepared, chances are you’ll walk away with unhealthy food that you don’t need. Writing a list helps you distinguish between the foods you want to eat and the foods you should be eating. A grocery list helps control your impulse purchases because it makes you accountable: don’t buy things that aren’t written on the list, period. The added benefits of creating a grocery list include: saving time, saving money, and developing healthier habits. You’ll spend less time at the market overall, which means more time for you to do the things you love.

Use more fresh produce and unrefined grains

Okay, so you’ve made a list. But on your list are potato chips, protein bars, high-sugar cereals, and more. Learning to shop wisely means cutting down your processed purchases. If you need things like granola bars, read the ingredients before buying. The fewer ingredients the better, especially if they’re ones you can name. As a general rule, if you’re buying something (more) processed, try to know what every ingredient in the product is. Avoid anything that has lots of items ending with –ose in its ingredient list–those are all added sugars.

Your best bet is to avoid processed foods as much as possible. Instead of potato chips, buy your own sweet potatoes and roast them. Instead of raisins, purchase fresh grapes or strawberries to satisfy your sweet tooth. The key to cooking and eating healthier is simplicity: fresh produce can provide you with food for meals and snacks, as long as you plan accordingly.

One company making strides in providing nutritious, minimally processed snacks and drinks to fuel athletes of all levels is Skratch Labs. Their drink mixes, snack bars, baking mixes, and energy chews are all created as simply and healthfully as possible, making them a perfect fit for an active lifestyle.

Meal Prep

Meal prep is all the rage right now, and rightly so. The idea is simple: instead of buying lots of ingredients for meals you will cook each night, purchase ingredients that you can prepare in bulk and use throughout the week. Meal prepping is a great way to ensure you’re eating healthier, especially if your days are busy. When you are creating your grocery list, determine which meals you’ll want to eat throughout the week. Cook all the food you need and store it either separately (so you can mix and match) or together (if you prefer to have set meals). Either way, you will have nutritious, healthy food you can take with you to the office or eat at home

Eating healthfully is a huge part of living a better lifestyle. Another part is making sure you’re taking care of yourself physically. That’s where Vitruvian Fitness comes in. Our programs are designed to work with you at whatever level you’re at to help you achieve whatever fitness goals you may have. To get started with a fitness routine crafted by experts and tailored to your exact needs, contact us now.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay under Creative Commons Zero license

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