This 75-minute session will take us into your kitchen pantry, fridge, and freezer to explore a unique way of organizing your food to support healthier eating for your entire family.
Food Keeps Us Moving
Food is the fuel that keeps our body running. Everything we do [from breathing, to thinking, to sleeping] requires essential nutrients: nutrients our body cannot make on its own. In order to get those essential nutrients, we must eat whole, minimally processed, foods that are as close to their natural form as possible. Whole foods include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats (i.e. chicken, fish), milk, yogurt, legumes, nuts, and seeds. These foods are packed with nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, fiber, protein, carbohydrates, and fats, all of which help our body to function optimally.
Choose Food Carefully
Though fresh foods are considered the best whole foods to eat, not everything we eat is “fresh from the farm”, or “fresh from the ocean.” While methods like freezing, dehydration, and canning have helped to increase the shelf life of foods, many of those foods contain additives or preservatives that, if eaten over time, can increase the risk for disease and illness. The “Standard American Diet” has caused many Americans to be at risk for Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Obesity, Cancer, and much more.
Benefits of Healthy Eating
Eating whole foods (and understanding how to spot healthy food alternatives) can reward you with an improved quality of life, a longer lifespan, and a stronger immune system capable of preventing many diseases. It is, in fact, possible to reverse many diseases, including Type II Diabetes, by eating meals rich in phytonutrients, phytochemicals, and fiber, which are all found in vegetables and fruits.
Pantry Makeover Will Support You For Life!
This service will help you to cook and shop healthier! Pantry Makeover is also a great way to keep your food organized, so you (and your family) will know what they are eating. The helpful tools that are included are perfect for families of every size. Once you understand how to read food labels, you’ll be a pro at spotting alternative food sources, especially when your normal purchase is not available or if you’re traveling.
What You’ll Learn
As we look at foods together, you will learn the concept of traffic-light eating and how it can support nutritious eating at home as well as enhance your grocery shopping experience. You will be supplied PDF handouts that can be saved and printed. A PowerPoint presentation will help to guide us and to help solidify learning. Your handouts will include:
• A colored picture guide to nutrition label reading
• Healthy substitutions list
• Additives to Avoid list
• "The Dirty Dozen”
• Fillable Traffic Light Eating shopping list
We will review these lists together and I can help answer any questions you may have.