Healthy Family


By Melissa Speisman Supporting Healthy Eating Resolutions T


he holiday season behind us, we welcome January with the pressure of fulfilling our New Year’s resolu- tions to eat healthier. This is the perfect time for out with the old, in with the new, though we may dread the changes. To gain further insight that will help guide health and nutrition choices, prepare to change your personal feel- ings about food and everything about it – shopping, preparing, consuming. When it comes to creating good lifestyle habits, there are no quick fixes. Most people already know what to do; actually making the changes is the difficult part. Michael Pollan, author of “In De-


fense of Food,” states “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” He advises, “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food; that includes most processed, packaged products with more than five ingredients.” Most of our food choices are driven


by taste, price, convenience, appearance, and advertising. This is proven by the suc- cess of take-out meals displayed beauti- fully in food store cases, the plethora of frozen entrée options, and the entrance of “100 calorie” packs of most cookies and candies. How often do you stand in front


of your (very) full pantry or refrigerator thinking there is nothing to eat? You can avoid these moments by maintaining a healthy and healthful assortment of staples on hand. You will also feel more organized and inspired to prepare easy- to-make, healthy meals. My clients start the transforma- tion to a healthier lifestyle with “SHELF –IMPROVEMENT.” It is much simpler to eat more healthfully if there are healthy staples available to build those healthy meals. Look at what is currently in the pantry and refrigerator. Assess what you have, why it is there, and how often it is used by you or family members. Toss out ingredients you have for one


recipe (that you probably never made), or the items you have “just in case.” If you have not used it in awhile, toss it. You


22 January 2011


probably won’t miss it. A messy, cluttered, and disorganized pantry makes healthy eating harder, as it is much easier to grab a few cookies than pull out ingredients for healthier alternatives. The next step is to discuss the changes you will make with your family. It would be best to build


come an educated ingredient investigator. Food and nutrition labels tell the whole story. Look for foods with the fewest ingredients and keep searching for new items. Healthier alternatives to everyday products are always being introduced, but beware of fancy packaging because words like ‘healthy’ and ‘natural’ can be misleading. Don’t be fooled… the best foods to choose do not make health claims. The food speaks for itself. And remember that even health-food stores carry processed foods! Where you pur- chase the food doesn’t make it better for you to consume.


Learn to be open to trying new foods. Quality is key and freshness is impor- tant. When you’re replacing foods on the pantry shelves, consider arranging them by category. This will make meal prep go smoother because you'll know what section of the shelves to look at. You can also put baking ingredients together, so you don’t run out to buy whole-wheat flour when there is a bag in the back of the pantry.


a consensus about the foods that will oc- cupy your shelves. Believe it or not, there is a way to keep everyone happy. For convenience, consider making a


meal plan. From the meal plan, create a default-shopping list that will make shop- ping more efficient and stock your shelves with preferable staple choices. This will leave less room for impulse purchases. Don’t be afraid to get creative… main- taining variety and options will make this easier for everyone. Before re-stocking your shelves, be-


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Once the shelves are stocked, don’t be too ambitious at first with menu prep and details. It is okay to purchase pre- cut fruits and vegetables as well as store made sauces and marinades, but be keenly aware of the ingredients. While doing all this planning, orga- nizing, and shopping (and eating!), don’t forget to commend yourself on the efforts you have made in purchasing foods that will support your goals for a healthier family. Eating more healthfully is one resolution you can keep this year!


A nutritional health coach, Melissa Speis- man provides unique personalized well- ness counseling. In her private practice in Fairfield County, Melissa regularly coun- sels individuals, families and groups on a variety of health/nutrition issues. Melissa received her professional training at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. She can be reached at 203-979- 9210 or melissa@nutritionforyourlife.com.


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