How to Make Eating Healthy Fun

When I first set out on a quest to eat healthier, I assumed that the items I would need to eat would be boring, and hard to chock down. The reverse is true. In fact, not only are an enormous array of healthy foods easy to eat - some are downright delicious. There are also various forms of healthy. In today's society many people have different definitions of what they consider "healthy". If you followed ALL of these "healthy" guidelines, probably wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything (For instance, even with water - some people drink only purified water because they feel that distilled water saps all the vitamins from your body and some drink only distilled because this is the cleanest water you can drink and distilled water rids your body of toxins. I personally drink both. ) Therefore, I will explain in an upcoming article the various ways to eat healthy.

In this article, we will assume that healthy means "full of nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants". Because this is something most everyone agrees on.

Here are some treats that I have discovered which are LOADED with nutrition and I absolutely LOVE them. Even my husband who pretty much sticks to a diet of meat and potatoes raves about many of the following items. (My husband dislikes fruit and is neutral about most vegetable's.)

Here is a wonderful juice I tried today. The great thing about it is it has NO sugar. (Yes, you heard that right no sugar and no sugar substitutes. As an added bonus the fruit in the juice is certified organic. The juices by R.W. Knudsen are created with only fruit and water. Surprisingly their juices are delicious! So far I have tried two. I recently tried the Goji Berry juice and it is heavenly (I also like the Blueberry Juice). It is the best juice I have tried yet. It is made with SEVERAL different types of fruit including: white grapes, orange juice, mango puree, Goji Berry, apple juice and banana puree. I know the combination doesn't sound appealing but if you try it, I believe you will love it!

Another heavenly healthy treat is All Natural Sunny Seed Drops. These are chocolate covered sunflower nuts (chocolate covered sunflower seeds). Sunflower seeds are known for their wonderful antioxidants and nutrients - so I cannot stress enough how very healthy these sunflower seeds are! Yet, eating these seeds is like eating desserts. I feel like I am eating M & M's. My daughter is fooled too! She begs for them like a child would any other candy!

Other terrific foods for eating healthy include Organic Broccoli in cheddar cheese (Sometimes I try to avoid milk products and dairy because of how harmful dairy can be to the body - but broccoli is SO incredibly good for you that if the cheddar helps you eat it - I personally believe it would be better to get it down. If the budget is tight - Broccoli is on the "low on pesticides" list and therefore it is a safer food to buy non-organic. If you want to increase the health factor (or rather - lower the toxin level of this food - you could buy a Natural cheese that the cows were not fed antibiotics or hormones.)

There is a debate amongst health professionals as far as the value of nutrition for corn and soy. I have heard varying opinions. First and foremost, ALWAYS buy corn, soybeans (and Sugar Beets, Papaya) Organic. Because if you don't, you will be buying something that has been genetically modified. The corn we have been growing in the past few years in the United States KILLS monarch butterflies. Many countries won't buy our corn, soybeans or other genetically modified products from the US because of the ability for these genetically modified foods to cross pollinate. PLEASE READ more online about GMO (Genetically modified) foods. You need to be informed. (Also, buy pure cane sugar rather than beet sugar for the same reason. Beets are genetically modified unless the company has labeled them organic.)

If you buy Organic Soy and Corn, you are enhancing the quality of the nutrition in your food. However, some people say that products like corn sit in vats and end up creating mold. There are people who stay away from Corn because of this. So if this is a concern, you may want to do more research about this.

Another concern with Soy is that large quantities although good for women (usually) may be bad for men due to how soy can be estrogen-like. This is another area I don't fully understand. So, I would recommend reading about it. For our family, we switched to soy due to milk allergies. However, some members of our family have recently discovered soy related allergies (and corn) simply because the allergy shifted from milk to soy when we increased the amount in our diet. (For this reason, one may want to consider adding a variety of goat's, organic milk, rice and soy if you are switching from cow's milk, so your body won't develop an allergy to any one kind. )

So with all of the above in mind, I highly recommend the various Silk Soymilks available in the wonderful flavors. One of my personal favorites is the Chocolate Silk ORGANIC soymilk. I also love the Egg Nog Silk Soymilk (delicious for the holidays), pumkin spice, mocha, coffee and more. Be sure to check to see that the Silk Soymilk is Organic. Some of the Silk Soymilks are not organic, so look for this wording. If you are interested in adding soymilk to your diet, these drinks are highly recommended. (Silk is the best brand.)

Another favorite of mine is Organic Natural Popcorn by Orvil Reddenbacher or Meijers Brand Organic Popcorn. This is delicious but you will need to look for it at a different store than Wal-mart. Wal-mart stopped carrying the organic variety. I recommend asking your Wal-mart store to begin carrying it again. Perhaps if enough of us raise awareness about the genetically modified soy and corn, we will protect the food source for future generations.

Aside from Soy Milk and Popcorn which could be argued about the extent of their nutritional value, I also LOVE the following recipe for Smoothies. It is delicious. It is Ice, Fresh or Frozen Strawberries (some people love bananas too), Orange Juice (about a cup usually in a blender works...but test measurements according to tastes), vanilla extract, Egg Beaters & Milk. This is fabulous!

The point of this article is eating healthy does not need to be yucky. Sometimes it is downright delicious!