Healthy Diet Foods 101

What are healthy diet foods? It's a little more complicated than you might think ...

During the summer, we tend to be more active. The sun's out and it's nice and warm! We want to look good in our abbreviated versions of winter wear.

Bathing suits, sleeveless dresses, shorts and sandals do absolutely nothing to hide fat, cellulite and just plain flab! So, to get or maintain that trim figure throughout the summer, you need healthy diet foods on the menu every day.

However, there is some confusion on exactly what healthy diet foods are. Let's see if we can nail down this terminology.

Not all diet foods are up to snuff when it comes to labeling them healthy as well. Processed and refined foods, such as you find in the freezer aisle, may be low in calories, but full of additives with names you can't even pronounce, much less know what they are.

My policy is if I can't pronounce it, it's probably not good for me. If you doubt this, take a look at one of those little pocket books which list all possible food additives, for a real eye opener.

So, diet foods do not necessarily equal healthy diet foods. The same goes for diet sodas – check the labels to see what we mean. Try herbal teas and flavored waters as an alternative beverage.

Healthy means it's good for you, nutrient rich and hopefully loaded with vitamins and minerals, antioxidant's and all of those good things. 'Diet food' implies that it's low in calories.

So, when you're looking for healthy diet foods, you want to become a label-reading expert. Healthy means no trans-fats, low in sodium and sugar, those favorite 'taste enhancers' so beloved of the commercial food processors, as well as rich in nutrients and fiber, as applicable.

Once you start reading the labels, you'll find that the most direct path to healthy diet foods lies in the 'fresh' or 'fresh frozen' columns.

Foods for a Healthy Diet

When you shop, buy only what you'll use within the next several days when it comes to fresh produce. Produce loses some of its nutritive value as it oxidizes and when cooked, so minimize this loss with more frequent purchases, storing the fruits and veggie's in paper bags in the frig and eating raw, as possible.

When it comes to healthy diet foods in meat, we all know about choosing lean cuts and adding lots of fish for those Omega-3s. However, there is a caveat here as well.

Animals raised for meat are often fed a variety of antibiotics and hormones, which find their way into your system – unless the meat is labeled 'organically raised with no antibiotics and hormones'. You've got to get a little nit-picky when defining what is truly healthy diet food.

While you may not be in to a lot of bread or pasta while dieting, when you do indulge, choose whole grains, which are far healthier than those made with refined flours.

Olive oil is pricey, but it takes so little to cook with, it's really a bargain in the end, with health benefits for your heart not provided in most other oils. It also adds a delicious flavor.

You've now completed 'Healthy Diet Foods 101'!

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