My Deep, Abiding Love of Healthy Eating: You Can Enjoy it Too

I have always had a passion for healthy eating, ever since I was a little girl. My parents did not put any strict laws in place that prohibited the odd hamburger or fried foods. We had all of these in moderation if we wanted them. I tended to avoid them, but the main focus of our meals was fresh ingredients, and included fruit and vegetables. Coming from a Mediterranean background, we thrived on hearty stews, delicious salads, homemade soups and the best rice dishes I've ever tasted. We cooked and ate freshly made meals that had the added benefit of not being highly processed and full of fat and salt. I preferred the simple flavours that I tasted and I still do.

I remember filling in a week long diary in my home economics class in school. I had to document every morsel of food that passed between my lips for a week. In hindsight, it did make me more self conscious of what I would be eating, but I carried through with my homework and was truthful. I did not want to suddenly add "salad" for each day of the week because that simply wasn't true! I didn't eat salad every day. I would normally eat well at school anyway, avoiding fried foods and opting for items such as a baked potato and baked beans with no butter or cheese. Instead of carbonated drinks I drank water or fruit juice. But I would often polish off my meal with a slice of cake. I thought my teacher would look down on me for eating cake. But she was full of praise and said that overall I ate a balanced diet. At home, I was the same way. I loved the taste of fruit and vegetables and would eat these between meals too. I was not trying to lose weight and I have never gone on a "diet". To me, fad diets do not appear to work. Why deprive your body of vital nutrients just so you can quickly drop a few dress sizes? Many people say that they put it all back on again. It did not make sense. Obsession with body image is robbing people of their enjoyment and love of food and this is wrong. No one should feel guilty for what they choose to eat. By all means, there is nothing wrong in providing sound guidance for achieving a more balanced diet, as there is no actual "wrong" food to eat. Everything is just about fine if you make sure you do not eat it all the time. Eating a hamburger three times everyday will keep you alive, but it will not provide all of the nutrients that your body needs. The same can be said about carrots. They are great with other ingredients, but on their own, they are awful! Eating just one particular food item is a bad idea. I've heard about the cabbage diet and how many people tried that. They lost weight, but I wonder how they felt physically? Probably pretty rough.

I do not claim to know all there is to know about proper nutrition. Nor can I dissect a bean and tell you of all its components. But I do know that food should be treated more as a friend rather than as an enemy. We all have our weaknesses when it comes to food and I am just the same as everyone else. I can easily walk by a fast food restaurant and not have a single craving for a burger. But I do have a sweet tooth. Even if I eat three servings of fruit in one sitting, I may still have a craving for something sweet. I love chocolate, but I try to avoid keeping a stockpile of it in the house. I also try to combat my love of chocolate by giving away what I do have to my friends' children. The parents think I am so selfless and caring. Actually, I need help to avoid eating it all! You may find it helpful to overcome or at least reduce your desire for fatty, sugary snacks by keeping them out of your house and buying healthier alternatives. How about stocking your pantry with no sugar added apple sauce or yogurt covered raisins? If you must have some cake, try making it yourself and reduce the fat and cholesterol content by adding apple sauce instead of oil and egg substitutes instead of whole eggs. I've baked lots of cakes for my friends using these methods and they have not tasted the difference. I also prefer the fact that the cakes are fluffy and do not have an oily consistency.

Eating three large meals a day may not work for your body. Many people prefer to eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day to keep hunger at bay. This can work out better, especially if there are large lapses of time between these meals. If you eat breakfast at 6:00am and then do not have lunch until 1:00pm your body will soon start to feel deprived and hungry. That is when we are more likely to reach for that unhealthy snack, to give us an instant sugar rush to cope with the rest of the morning. But once our blood sugar levels have dropped again, we will feel lethargic. So try eating smaller meals if it is practical or have a good supply of snacks with you that will tide you over to the next meal. Oat cakes spread with peanut butter are one of my must haves when I am on the go. I cannot emphasize fruit enough. Vary the type you take in with you and always take a bottle of water with you wherever you go. It is easy for our bodies to become dehydrated, even during the cooler winter months. If you have ever wondered why you feel tired for no apparent reason mid morning or why you have dark circles under your eyes, this could be a sign that you are not drinking enough water. So aim for about 2 litres a day.

Food truly is a joy. So forget about trying to become a size "zero" and you will hopefully start to enjoy food again. Society need not make us conform to its unrealistic ideals. When you stop worrying about your size, you may find that you enjoy the act of eating, rather than grabbing something on the go that is swallowed in just a few bites. That is not really eating. Take your time with your meals and chew mouthfuls so that you can appreciate your meal more fully. Turn your fruit and vegetable supply into a tasty feast and you will soon learn to love it. Healthy eating is not about crunching into that lettuce leaf and drinking carrot juice. It involves balance and that means no food should be totally off limits!