Minimise the damage junk food does

Healthy eating habits ensure adequate nutrition and health besides reducing your risk of many chronic diseases. Simplicity of preparation and addictive taste make junk food irresistible. Children love it and so do adults. Can we convert junk food to healthy food?

 

If you and your family are used to eating junk food, it won’t be easy to suddenly start eating healthy, but you can ‘convert’ junk food to healthy meals with a little ingenuity, provide your family sufficient nutrients AND help prevent obesity and other diseases. Here are a few ways to ‘convert’ junk food to healthy meals that your family will enjoy.

• Use as little butter in your sandwich as possible. Butter only one side. Avoid butter if adding mayonnaise.
  
• Choose wholemeal or whole grain bread instead of white bread.
  
• Grill your burger instead of frying it. Grilled burgers minus the saturated fats taste just as good. Trim visible fat from the raw meat before grilling it. When choosing meats or poultry, select baked, broiled, or grilled items rather than fried or breaded items. (University of California, Irvine)
  
• Serve different types of fresh fruit juice with meals, every day. Try serving chilled tamarind juice, which helps increase appetite and aids digestion. Fresh juice will stop you from reaching out for those colas and other addictive fizzy drinks. "The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times." "Adolescents who consume soft drinks display a risk of bone fractures three to four-fold higher than those who do not." (Marion Nestle :Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, California Studies in Food and Culture)
  
• Can’t resist chips? Cut them thicker - thicker chips absorb less oil. Avoid very thin French fries.
  
• Include large, appetizing salads in every meal. Cut down on salad dressings when eating out. Mix the greens with sweet corn and pineapple or add different fruits each day. Pomegranate is a healthy substitute that goes well with vegetable salads. Salads help satiate hunger and ensure your children eat green leafy vegetables. Salad "freshens without enfeebling and fortifies without irritating." (Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin)
  
• Eat more sprouts. Add fresh bean sprout to salad or soup. Sprouts cooked with a little soy sauce and fresh flax oil makes a nutritive, enjoyable meal.
  
• Make pizzas at home. Use low fat cheese, grilled chicken and fresh vegetables for toppings. Making pizzas at home will help you control what goes into its making.
  
• Limit the use of cheese as much as possible; substitute cheese toppings with tofu.
  
• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day. It helps suppress the feeling of hunger and gives you a feeling of fullness. “Water is a key ingredient in a healthy diet and lifestyle. There are many health benefits of drinking water. It helps flush impurities and toxins out of our systems. It aids in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. In fact, nearly every system in our bodies relies on water for proper functioning” (C.J. Gustafson)
  
• Make one small change to your food every day. Include a healthy item like a fruit or vegetable in your menu. Don’t make a drastic change overnight as this will only make your body crave it more and you’ll end up eating larger portions than you should.