megram - Index

megram - magazine - Index

Healthy Foods…continued from Ottawa page 10
effort? Perhaps yes, but are you not worth it? Just imagine how much better you
will feel about yourself for having made the better choice. And when you feel
better about yourself, it will be that much more motivating to continue your
healthy habits. You’ll be doing your body, your heart and your mind a favour.
Plan ahead
To eat healthy, you need to plan ahead. Avoid relying solely on impulse food
choices as your options may be limited. Get yourself organized and decide on
some meals you may like to eat throughout the week or at least plan a day ahead.
For example, you may want chicken one night, fish the next and a nice juicy steak
the night after that. Think about what side dishes can go with it, such as a potato,
rice or pasta dish. And then choose some vegetables you would like to serve
such as carrots, beans, broccoli or garden salad. Just think about what you like.
quick and uncomplicated meals
Cooking healthy does not have to take tons of preparation and cooking
time. The trick is to manage your time wisely and pick recipes with a minimum
of ingredients and preparation steps. If you’re not a big fan of cooking,
then get a quick and easy healthy recipe book or simply look up fast and easy
healthy recipes on the Internet. A slow cooker is a great tool as well. Just
throw a bunch of ingredients in the cooker and it does the rest. There are
many easy fish and chicken recipes that can be prepared and cooked in
under 15 minutes, less time than it takes to order in take-out. Rice and potatoes
typically take less than 30 minutes to cook, and they can be cooking
while you’re getting your chicken or fish ready. You don’t want to overcook
your vegetables so they should be cooked last and can be ready in less than
10 minutes.
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Keep your kitchen
well stocked
It’s easier to eat healthy when you
keep a well-stocked kitchen. Always
keep on hand some basics like
canned beans and vegetables, oils
and vinegars for a quick bean or vegetable
salad. Canned tuna or salmon
is also great for quick and easy fish
patties or sandwiches. Keep handy
frozen meats and fish that you can
thaw overnight and have ready to
cook the following day. Does this
require a bit of forethought? Yes, but
it only takes a second. As you get
more accustomed to using recipes
and thinking ahead, you’ll start to see
which ingredients are used most frequently
and that you’ll want to keep
on hand.
larger quantities
Many people only cook in
amounts to last one meal. If you cook
larger quantities, you can have leftovers
for lunch the next day. Get creative.
If you had roasted chicken one
night, why not make a chicken salad
sandwich for lunch the next day?
Freeze leftovers
By cooking in larger quantities,
you can freeze leftovers and have preprepared
meals ready to go for those
days when you don’t have the time to
cook or prepare anything. Simply
thaw and heat it up — you have a
home-cooked meal without all the
extra calories, salt, fat, sugar and
preservatives of store-bought or
restaurant foods.
Think about what is most important
to you for your health and decide
how to adopt these tips this fall — for
the health of your whole family.
Roslyn Franken is an Ottawa resident
and author of The A List: 9 Guiding
Principles for Healthy Eating and
Positive Living, by 10-Q Publishing.
Due West/Due East Magazine • Fall 2008 Ottawa Page 12