Food Nutrition Information 101

Each day we get to make choices from the moment we wake up in the morning to the time we go to sleep. When it comes to our meal planning most of us will go the fast and easy routes due to busy schedules that take us away from making healthy meals in the kitchen.

If all of our meals came with the food nutrition information attached to them this might cause us to think twice about whether or not we would want to eat it. But since this is not the norm, we have to be able to look at a meal and be able to determine it's nutritional value.

Think of your body as an investment, the good nutrition that you put into your body is a healthy deposit. The poor choices of foods and drinks take away from your health account, think of it as a debit. We know that there is not much nutritional value in fried foods, high saturated fats, sugars, preservatives, salts, junk foods etc.

A little cafe tip to use when choosing what to eat at each and every meal is to think if it as being ahealthy deposit or a negative debit into your body account.

Keep in mind "You are what you eat" so become more mindful of the nutritional content in the foods that you select.

When buying canned or packaged foods take the time to become a food detective and read the label of the Nutrition Facts:

• Serving size
• Calories
• Total fat
• Sodium
• Sugars

When looking at food nutrition information, it is so important to take a look at the ingredients. The first 3 items are typically the main ingredients. It is also a good habit to look at all of the ingredients listed in the packaged item so that you can avoid certain ingredients like MSG or hydrogenated oils (trans fats).

Taking time to read what is in the food item will make you more aware of what you are eating.

What about those unknown ingredients such as preservatives, sweetners and color additives? I always ask myself, "if I were making this item at home, would I add these ingredients?" If not, then I don’t buy it. If I can find the same item with just a few natural ingredients in it then I feel it is worth the investment for my family.

Taking the extra time to read the food nutrition information on all packages that you buy will make you a savvy shopper and improve your meal planning. You may find that you can skip an ingredient or two by substituting from scratch and eliminating all the unwanted ingredients typically used in processed foods.

Remember that most processed foods are located in the center isles of the grocery store and at the check out counter. The more nutritious foods, such as the produce section, are in the outer isles . Fresh foods are always healthier than canned or packaged choices, but we all need to have some stored products in our cupboards as a backup. Having quality items to use for mealtime is essential.

Want a great 5 minute breakfast idea? click here

Next time you're at the store buying groceries, take a serious look at the snack foods that you put in your cart. If you read the food nutrition facts on most of these items, you will find very little nutritional value in them at all.

This is also true for breads, cereals, sauces, and condiments. Can you find a more natural substitute for snacks such as fruit, veggies or nuts? Think of which foods can add more fiber and nutrients into your health bank account.

Nutritious Fruits and Vegetables - nature made verses man made foods

Finally, keep in mind that eating out at restaurants and fast food places takes a lot of the nutritional facts out of the picture. To make restaurant food appealing, it is often loaded with butter, oils, sugars, salt, white carbohydrates, dairy, fried, etc. So a better quality of food is often prepared at home because you took the time to shop and prepare it for you and your family.

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