Healthy eating is something that I’m very passionate about. Since middle school, I have been keeping track of my fat and sugar intake every day and educating myself about food labels. A few readers have asked for tips, so I thought I would share some principles that have helped me.
I don’t have a particular meal plan, but my general goal is to eat healthy the majority of the time. I admit that I do cheat sometimes, but instead of allowing myself to cheat for an entire day, I try to limit my cheats to one larger treat in the evenings. For the most part, though, I enjoy eating healthy. In fact, I often find myself eating a treat and wishing that it contained less sugar. I know, I’m a bit of an odd duck.
My goal is to eat 2-3 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit each day. It helps to get one of those veggie servings out of the way at lunch and then only have to pack in 1-2 at dinner. When I’m hungry during the day for something other than fruit or vegetables, I try to reach for healthy snacks, like granola bars with less than 8 grams of sugar per bar or unsalted nuts. (Trader Joe’s has great healthy snack options.)
I read the ingredient lists of every food item that comes into our home, and I rarely buy things with artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. We don’t usually have soda or other sugary beverages in the house. We don’t eat packaged sweets or prepared foods (which includes canned goods that contain artificial preservatives). A general rule of thumb is the shorter the ingredient list, the healthier the item. If I’m not familiar with a particular ingredient, I look it up online to make sure it’s something I’m comfortable with.
When I need a treat during the day, I’ll make a smoothie (with no added sugar) or mix some juice (100% juice without corn syrup or added sugar) with sparkling water.
All that being said, Mr. Handsome and I do enjoy sweets. We both like dark chocolate, so that has a lower sugar content, and I make sure to buy brands without artificial ingredients. I’ll bake cookies and other treats from time to time, but we don’t keep that sort of stuff in the house on a regular basis because we both know that when it’s on the counter, it’s nearly impossible not to eat it. Eating healthy is often about removing the temptations.
When I bake, I almost always decrease the sugar content drastically. Some more involved recipes don’t work with less sugar, but your average cookies, cakes, or pie fillings do.
Come back in a few days to read about Mr. Handsome’s weakness and how he keeps it under control.
Do you use any type of artificial sweetener? I’m not comfortable with most. Maybe Stevia drops but the others frighten me.
I’ve used Stevia drops a little bit, but most artificial sweeteners frighten me, too.
Dark chocolate is awesome! I especially like the bars that are 90% cocoa or more. Do you like those?
I do! I’d say 80% is my favorite, but I do like the 90. And the fancy stuff with flavors, like sea salt, is amazing.
What’s the name brand of the Dark chocolae barks.?
I like to try them.
Trader Joe’s. 🙂
Wow – that is very dedicated, what a role model for your son!
Was Mr Handsome eating as healthy as you before you met or did you have a good influence in him?
Thanks, Annie! Mr. Handsome was living on his own and going to school before we got married, so he wasn’t eating super healthy. He does like to, though.
“Eating healthy” and there’s a picture of apples, which are heavily treated with pesticides when commercially grown. Do you worry about that kind of issue too?
I buy some organic vegetables to avoid some of the pesticides, but organic fruit and milk is just simply too expensive for our budget. A person has to choose a handful of things that they want to focus on when it comes to healthy eating, or else they risk their healthy eating habit becoming an “unhealthy” obsession. Life is all about weighing risks. Unfortunately, we live in a flawed world, and it’s just not possible to eliminate every single risk.
If you have a farmer’s market near you, you can ask the growers what they use and maybe find something other than supermarket priced organic.
Wow! I guess you can’t win with some people. I don’t understand complaining about people eating fruits whether organic or not. Good job eating healthy! I need to eat more fruits and vegetables.
@11:20 The cumulative effects of certain chemicals in our foods should be something to be concerned about, especially if you have children.
Anonymous Oct 13 220 @ 9:06
The apples don’t have pesticides in them they are washed really well before thry get to the grocery store.
Pesticides are supposed to help you they kill the flu.
Great post Ellie! We are also about healthy eating, though occasionally, we do like to (ch)eat and we do like some treats – my husband has a sweet tooth, while for me it’s the salty/fried stuff. I could eat fried chicken all day, everyday – but luckily I don’t!
I do the vast majority of our home cooking, both because I am passionate about homemade food and avoiding processed foods, and also because I do love cooking. I guess our trick is portion control – the fattier the food, the smaller the portion. Also, we make our plate before sitting down to eat (no temptation to reach out for more) and absolutely no seconds. That way, even when we do “cheat”, we don’t feel too guilty!
Ooh, I do enjoy fried chicken, too. LOL. Your portion control principles are great. Thanks for sharing!
What sweeteners do you usually use when baking as you need to be rather careful so your cake won’t “flop”? Which chocolate bar do you enjoy & feel is ideal? Thank you.
I use regular sugar in most of my baking, although for things like pie filling, I’ll change things up and use honey sometimes. I love the plan dark chocolate baking bars from Trader Joe’s. Enjoy Life also makes great chocolate chips.
Are you aware of the general rule of thumb of no more than 3 grams of fat per 120 calories for snack foods? There are many crackers and snacks these days that are that number or very close to it. It takes some hunting in the store, but they’re there. I will bend it to 4 grams per 130 calories if I have to, but it’s a good target to try for.
Thank you for that info. I find that rule of thumb very helpful when choosing snacks.
Thanks. It’s amazing how many snacks sound healthy (veggie crisps, etc.) but when you look at the info, they have something like 10g of fat per serving.
That’s a great idea about reducing sugar in recipes. My friend mentioned doing that with a banana bread recipe and since then I’ve tried to remember to do it if I bake something which unfortunately is not often these days.
Pure maple syrup is my thing…I add it to everything. I have cut out sugar at various times and been surprised that my food is still good without maple syrup! However, my enjoyment of it decreases just a little.
You have mentioned liking cherries, do you like quinoa? One of my favorite dishes right now is quinoa cooked in coconut milk (or water) with cherries and walnuts. Adding maple syrup makes it a dessert. 😉
I also enjoy pure maple syrup. Haven’t baked with it much, but it’s great in oatmeal.
Quinoa is something that I don’t eat much of, but I need to start. I’ll have to try the cherry and walnut recipe. Thanks for sharing! Do you have any other favorite quinoa recipes?
Minimalist baker has a good Spanish quinoa stuffed bell pepper recipe. I will also cook it in homemade beef broth and eat with baked sweet potatoes, or really any meat and veggies with some olive oil, salt and pepper. It’s also good in vegetable soup, with pancakes…it’s easy to incorporate in just about anything. I’ve never tried this but cheesy quinoa is a substitute for mac and cheese.
Thank you for the suggestions, Anne! The Spanish quinoa recipes sounds delicious.
When certain sweet breads (zucchini, banana, etc.) require oil, I substitute at least 3/4 of it with unsweetened applesauce and it works great since the oil is for moisture anyway. I have also done this with brownies. And I’m with you regarding the sugar amounts used in baking. I reduce it quite a bit, too.
I’m not sure if you know this, but in comparison to other developed countries, the U.S. takes the lead with sugar consumption in foods. For example, Coco Cola is made differently for each country. When I was little living in Germany, we occasionally were allowed a Fanta as a treat. When we returned stateside, I literally spit out the Fanta here. Overseas, the color is still yellowish and orange lemony tasting. Here it’s a funny orange and tastes like sugar. I could go on and on, but if you research the sugars in our foods, you’d be amazed at how much sugar is involved. I wish our FDA would get serious. Anyway, you’re doing wonderfully well taking care of your family.
Wow, Nadine. That’s really surprising to hear about the sugar content in soda in other countries. I think I would like European soda much better! Thanks for sharing. Have you been back to Germany recently to visit?
My most recent visit was two summers ago. We were planning to go again this year but as with with everyone else, our plans have been delayed due to COVID. Many of my relatives live there so we always have a place to stay while visiting.
That’s so nice that you are able to go fairly often. Hope you can reschedule for next year. 🙂
Ellie
I try to eat healthy too- love dark chocolate but love cookies too! On another subject you recommended a make up remover wash rag that I bought and love! I need a new one but the tag is too faded- could you please tell me the name of it??
I’m so glad to hear that! I still use mine every night and love them! They are called ELUME Makeup Removal Cloths. 🙂
Ellie
Thank you! I’m obviously in need of new ones! ☺️
I don’t know how to say this without offense, but I don’t understand how artificial ingredients and such is scary to consume, but chemical laden makeup is ok to put on skin that absorbs into the body.
Great question. I use natural (also known as “clean) beauty products. https://nashvillewife.com/natural-beauty-products/
Ellie
I love your tip about reducing sugar in recipes– I need to start doing that! And juice with sparkling water sounds like a lovely treat.
I can’t drink orange juice. It’s too thick and syrupy sweet. I have to cut it with orange or lemon flavored sparkling water.
My doctor recommend me to drink Orange juice since I don’t go outside in the sun that much.
I drink diet pepsi and I lost 20 pounds already. I can’t drink water because I gain weight with water . I just the opposite of everyone else.
I love to read your blog! This is an important topic! After all is not the best time to consider the value of a healthy diet when a person arrives in the doctors office with problems based on food choices. So I appreciate your proactive position, you are someone I should learn from!
You seem so disciplined in every way. I wish I could be more like you. What motivates you to stay so organized and healthy?
That’s very kind of you to say. I’m not disciplined at everything though. 🙂 My body feels better when I eat healthy. That’s my biggest motivator. I’ve always come to enjoy eating healthy food, so that helps. As far as organization, I enjoy keeping my home organized. It’s kind of like a hobby for me. But I’m not organized in every aspect of life.
Ellie
I’m 52 and have never eaten healthy, even as a kid. I enjoy fast food and candy too much. To each his own…
I made chocolate chip cookies for my neighbor I make them with 6 tablespoons sugar and 6 tablespoons of Brown sugar and they said they can’t even tell their was sugar in it.
I read Organic fruits have pesticides to .
Very true, anon 1:39 p.m. There’s a list of pesticides they cannot use, but they can still use them. If you read about the ones they can use, you wouldn’t bother spending money on organic foods.
I follow the Nourishing Traditions way of eating. I try not to use the word ‘diet’ because it implies trying to lose weight. NT is all about eating nutrient dense food to nourish the body. Some good sites are Mary’s Nest, Traditional Cooking School, and Weston A Price Foundation.
The food industry uses too much salt and sugar in general: it is cheap and enhances the taste of processed food. Solution: buy as little processed food (biscuits, ketch up, soups, ready-made meals etc.) as possible. Use spelt instead of white flour. Drink water with your meals. Dark chocolte is great.
I had, for health resaons, to be careful with sugar: I changed my habits and my blood sugar level is under control. Added bonus: I lost 9 kilos in two years!
How impressive it is that you have been so disciplined for so long. I wish I was more like that. When I eat too much sugar, I feel awful. I haven’t paid too much attention to my fat intake though. Just curious – Do you notice a difference in how you feel on days when you eat too much fat?
Thank you for your kind words. 🙂 I do notice a difference in how I feel when I eat too much fat. Exercising helps me feel better, as well.
Ellie