Convenience 'vs' health?

LESLIELENOR, there is this "Make a Bread in 5 Minutes a Day." It's awesome! Following their instructions, I've made buns and pizza dough (that I cook in my cast iron skillet). It is true. It didn't take me more than the 5 minutes. I checked out the book from the public library to get the recipes and watched the videos at Youtube. Also, I've seen very cheap breadmakers in Walmart online. Mine was $50, and I make my whole wheat bread with it.

Edited by: CRAFTSFAN1 at: 3/11/2013 (16:30)

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Christina,
I feel I have to constantly be checking labels for products which i do purchase ready made.

The last example was Greek Yogurt. I buy Chobani brand that lists only milk and 5 active cultures. I went to a different store. They didn't have that brand. But their store brand did have a Greek Yogurt. When I got home, I looked at the label as I put it into the refrigerator. Not one active culture, plus there were 3 chemicals added which did not make me happy.

I try to justify the purchase of bread because I look for wraps or whole grain with high fiber content. I do like to make my own bread, but usually eat half a loaf the day i bake it because it smells and looks so good. But I hope to get to a point where i don't need to buy bread, by either cutting it out completely, or baking my own.

I buy some cans of cooked dried legumes but i agree with Angel about the sodium, even in the low sodium products. If they would just cook and can, I'd be very happy.

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Preparing vegetables while watching TV... now that's a very good idea, thank you Angel. I don't watch TV much but I could listen to inspirational tapes that I like!

current weight: 192.0

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On occasion I've used canned veggies, rinsed them twice an season with Mrs. Dash or onion, pepper, or Italian season. Actually you can used your favorite seasonings, depending on what you are preparing. The American Heart Association has a season mix that is pretty good an doesn't require much getting used to. The Kidney Foundation also has seasonings they recommend that follow the Cardiac Diets for home use. My father would mix the seasoning, put in a small container and take that with him when eating out.

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We have to reduce sodium here, too. I find that the reduced sodium canned foods are usually still way too high. I use the crock pot a lot, for beans, soups, stews, and pasta sauces in winter especially. I often prep vegetables while watching TV in the evenings, ready to dump into the pot next morning. I cut salad greens then also, storing sliced tomatoes and other juicy ingredients in a snack bag on top of the washed and cut greens in the 'fridge. I do use low sodium canned beans often in summer, just to avoid the heat of cooking them. We usually eat them cold then anyway, in the salad or a wrap. I can a lot of tomatoes and tomato based sauces in late summer and fall, which takes a lot of time but pays off in low sodium ready to use resources the rest of the year. But we also eat out quite a bit, always a high calorie and high sodium occasion, so we too compromise and try to achieve a workable balance.

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Yes Michele, I love stir fries, too, for fast prep. I do garbanzo beans in the crockpot overnight now. Smell is wonderful to wake up to. Used to use crockpot 3 times a week when I was working. Delicious life saver!!

Sue

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In the last year and 11 months, I must say I have been doing more slow cooker cooking. An at times even stir fry as many times the time is not there for long prep time. Cooking mainly from scratch when a caregiver is not always possible. My best method an more appreciated is slow cooking. That goes straight down to hubby's weekly pot of chili in this cold weather, then all that is needed by him is a microwave warm up. With DH's sodium restriction less processed is better. Label reading is now being done by DH, that has helped greatly on keeping both of us within our ranges. When I can hydrate beans, etc. the better life becomes as once hydrated, cooked and cool, frozen helps what is not used.

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I rely a lot on frozen foods.

You know i cook the beans in my crockpot which saves a lot of time. I think I have 2 reasons for that. I love to smell them cooking. Almost as much as bread baking. And the other reason is the ingredients when I read the label. If they have all those things I can't pronounce, I won't buy the product, no matter what it is. The other one is sodium.
We are starting to have more products with reduced sodium. That makes me very happy.

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I try. That sums up my approach to eating healthy. I can't be perfect, so I don't sweat the occasional short cut. I usually cook my own grains, but go more for canned beans. I eat store bought bread, because I have yet to master the art of successful bread baking. (My loaves make good door stops. lol) I eat more servings of fruits and vegetables than anything else overall.

500,841 SparkPoints

I am wondering what your thoughts and considerations / deliberations are if it's about the healthiest versus convenient products and foods.

Learning a new lifestyle and adopting a different way of eating caused me to learn many new things, most of which are very useful. However it also takes me much more time, these days, to prepare food. At times it can be quite stressful.

Earlier I wanted to cook ALL beans and grains myself and never eat bread nor dairy, now I have gone back to sometimes having spelt bread (less 'bad' than wheat, I hear), I have some dairy, and I will occasionally use canned beans and precooked rice'. My rule of thumb remains to daily eat lots of vegetables and fruit.

I find that I need to find a balance between 'doing it all 'right' ' and not making life too difficult (and exhausting) for myself.

What about you? How hard or easy is it for you to replace processed and ready made foods by healthier foods that you need to prepare yourself? What choices are you making?


Edited by: CHRISTINASP at: 12/17/2012 (11:03)

current weight: 192.0

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