Healthy Items You Need to Be Picking Up Every Time You Visit the Grocery Store

Do you have a grocery store plan to avoid temptation? Ahh...the grocery store. Don't you love it? The second you arrive, you are greeted by the scent of freshly baked bread, sometimes before you even set foot inside the supermarket. Brightly colored displays of cookies, soda, and seasonal cakes and candies greet you the moment you've headed through those double doors with your grocery cart. Somewhere off in the distance, you can smell the scent of fried chicken.

You started out with good intentions, but now what? If you are like most shoppers, then you may have forgotten all about the fact that you spent half an hour of perfectly good time writing a shopping list detailing all the healthy items you planned to buy. A grocery store plan is just what you need.

Bakeries

So, what's the problem? Maybe, just maybe, you need to come up with a grocery store plan - a list of healthy items to buy every time you go to the grocery store. If you firmly ingrain that list into your consciousness, you're a lot more likely to find yourself passing up the glutinous white bread, freshly baked though it may be, in pursuit of something a whole lot better for yourself and your family.

Create a Grocery Store Plan and Stick To It

Time for a reality check - no, really - it is! Stick with me - this won't hurt a bit. In fact, it is designed to make you feel and look a whole lot better.

First, you want to make space in the refrigerator for all the wonderful things you're about to buy. Time to get rid of the junk food, and make room for all that brand new healthiness!

Second, you want to think about healthy foods that you like. You can always try new things, but to make it easier for yourself, make a list of whole, healthy foods you enjoy, and make plans to eat them instead of whatever it is that you've been consuming with reckless abandon.

Third, you want to make a grocery store plan, and stick to it. Here's what you're aiming for:

· Fruits and vegetables of all colors, particularly green. Think salads, spinach, broccoli, fresh bell peppers, avocados, tomatoes, bananas, oranges, apples, and grapes. Always choose organic. It's worth every penny. Don't forget the watermelon - it's especially satisfying on a hot summer day!

· Fresh, organically grown meats and fish. It costs more to go organic, but it's worth it. Do you really want to eat a bunch of growth hormones, antibiotics, toxic metals (like mercury in fish) and other substances? We didn't think so!

· Dairy products without RBST - and organic ones, if you can get them. Milk, cheese, yogurt - all these things are great for your body and for your bones.

· Whole grain products. Again, go organic - your health is worth it. Skip anything that has been processed or pummeled to death. Buy bread from a local bakery, if possible, and try to get it without any preservatives. Better yet, invest in a cookbook, and learn to make your own. Anyone can do it!

· Healthy fats: We mentioned avocados and fish, both of which contain the right kind of fats to keep your organs healthy, but you also want to buy nuts, olive oil, and even a little bit of real butter. Skip the margarine and anything with hydrogenated fat.

Fourth, go shopping. Eat a healthy meal before you go. Think about what those unhealthy foods will do to your body if you continue to let them in, and keep thinking those thoughts as you walk up to the supermarket doors. Buy the foods on your grocery store plan, and nothing else. Do your happy dance as you leave the store.

Fifth, celebrate by making a wonderfully healthy dinner. It may take a little more time to cook from scratch until you get in the habit, but the rewards are worth the effort!

Repeat steps one through five until your new grocery store plan is part of you. Soon, you'll be on the road to better health - and all because you decided to pick up healthy items at the grocery store on each and every visit!

Healthy Items You Need to Be Picking Up Every Time You Visit the Grocery Store

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Is Pasta Healthy Or Fattening?

Many people who are trying to lose weight wonder is pasta healthy or fattening? Pasta, like many foods high in carbohydrates, often gets a bad reputation for being fattening; however, this does not have to be true.

Carbohydrates, though recently made out to be villains, are actually necessary to keep your body and mind running smoothly. When carbohydrates are broken down they provide a major source of glucose. Glucose is the primary source of energy for your body and the only source of energy for your brain. Many people who have tried to stick to very low-carb diets have suffered from low energy and bad moods. I know I would be in a bad mood if I never got to eat my favorite pastas!

Cake Recipes

Consuming too many carbohydrates can be fattening, but pasta itself is not fattening; cooked pasta has only about 200 calories per cup. Where you really get into trouble is with your pasta sauce. Pasta sauces that contain high calorie fatty meats, creams, cheese and other fattening ingredients can really make a pasta dish fattening. Tomato pasta sauces are usually not very fattening at all! Americans also have a tendency to eat too much pasta - portion control is important when controlling calories. Italians traditionally serve pasta as a side dish or as one course of a multi-course meal; not in the large mounds that are so common in the United States.

Along with being fattening, pasta has been criticized for being a simple carbohydrates and lumped into the same category as cake, pastries and white bread. The problem with all of these simple carbohydrates is that they spike your blood sugar resulting in excess insulin being secreted which encourages weight gain and a subsequent energy crash. Simple carbohydrates have a high Glycemic Index (GI) which is a number used to measure how quickly the body's blood sugar level rises after the ingestion of a food. The good news is that Pasta has a GI of 41, which is similar to pears and lower than many types of bread. And one easy way to lower the GI of pasta is to cook it like the Italians - "al dente".

Most pasta today is made from semolina flour obtained from durum wheat. This creates a firm dough which in turn also lowers the GI, while also providing a good source of nutrition. Homemade and dried pasta contain plenty of B vitamins, folic acid and iron. It's low in sodium and, despite a prevalent myth, pasta is not high in cholesterol even though it is usually made with eggs. It was once thought that egg consumption needed to be drastically reduced due to their high cholesterol content, but subsequent research has shown eggs are quite healthy in moderation and greatly contribute to the health benefits of pasta. For those on a strict diet, however, pasta can be made without eggs, while the flour and olive oil content still make this pasta healthy.

Another option is to use dried pasta. This pasta usually does not contain eggs or oil but is made from 100% semolina flour and is quite firm when cooked.  The firmness of this pasta helps lower the GI index to less than bread, potatoes and white rice while still providing vitamin B, fiber and iron. Dried pasta can be stored up to 3 years, but be sure not to store your pasta in glass containers as the sunlight depletes the vitamin B.

Is Pasta healthy in other ways too?

Yes, homemade pasta can be quite healthy. It is not difficult to learn how to make pasta and homemade Pasta can be made even more nutritious with the inclusion of whole wheat flour, spinach, garlic and herbs that add to the vitamin, mineral and fiber content of the pasta. Fiber is another nutrient often lost in modern diets, but fiber is necessary for digestive health, hormonal balance and the prevention of certain types of cancers.

There are many easy pasta recipes which make this nutritious food very convenient for modern busy cooks as well. When trying to eat healthier, you don't have to wonder "is pasta healthy" since there are many ways to prepare pasta that are. So go ahead and enjoy your pasta without guilt, just remember to go easy on the fattening meats and sauces and enjoy your pasta in moderation!

Is Pasta Healthy Or Fattening?

Joy Harrison is an experienced home cook and cooking instructor. She loves to find easy ways to prepare great home cooked meals in today's busy world. To learn about homemade pasta and easy, delicious ways to prepare it visit her site at http://www.italian-cooking-made-easy.com