I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is just one short week away! Whether you are the host, a family member bringing a dish, or someone like me who just likes to eat… you can find the following information useful.
The next couple of months that involve the holiday’s can be tough for my patients when it comes to diet because of all the social gatherings and the social eating that accompany them. We can still stay in control of what we’re putting in our bodies! Especially when we contribute to the cooking; there are a lot of little changes we can make that will have a positive impact. I think that it’s more important to worry about eating good quality and natural ingredients (and avoiding the refined and processed ones) than to worry about the number of calories we’re eating.
I’ve outlined a few different ingredients below that are popular in cooking and baking (but actually aren’t all that great for you) and their healthier counterparts.
1. Butter
What is the difference between conventional butter and grass fed butter? Grass fed butter has been rated higher in taste and nutrition by several sources. It contains more omega-3’s, which are healthy fats that are good for brain and heart health. Since these cows are pasture raised and grass fed, they’re likely to be a healthier cow to begin with. Conventional cows are fed grains like corn and wheat which are refined and filled with GMO’s. This can also have a high glycemic effect on the cows.
You can also opt for using a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Avocado Oil instead that has those nutritious omega-3 fatty acids in them.
2. Eggs
Oh, what a difference in eggs there is! The health and quality of the chicken produces that same quality in their egg. Your typical Grade A eggs are coming from chickens that are cooped up all day with no exercise or sunlight. They eat leftover grains with GMO’s and are presumably pumped with antibiotics and vaccines. They’re only job is to produce a mass amount of eggs. This chicken does not sound very healthy. Do you think their egg is going to be very nutritious?
On the flip side, organic and pasture raised eggs are what you want. Pasture raised chickens are just that. They roam about the pasture and are grass fed. They get exercise and Vitamin D from natural sunlight. These chickens will produce a much healthier egg. It is so worth it to pay the extra $2.
3. Sugar
White or refined sugar really has no health benefits at all. In fact, it’s pretty terrible for your overall health. We’ll talk about sugar in a future blog post. Some healthier sugar alternatives would be coconut sugar, stevia or monk fruit. They are natural sweeteners that aren’t as high on the glycemic index (meaning they won’t change your blood sugar as much).
4. Flour
Flour is a staple ingredient in any kitchen. Not only does all purpose flour contain gluten (inflammatory in nature and likely contains GMO’s), it is also refined and not very nutritious. There are many other gluten free flours these days that are great alternatives when cooking and baking. Coconut flour, almond flour, cassava flour and tapioca flour to name a few.
5. Turkey
Meat… the main dish! Similar to butter, eggs and dairy products, it’s important to make sure that your meat is all natural/organic/grass fed/raised without antibiotics/preservative free. Conventional meat may be less expensive, but we are exposing ourselves to chemicals that come from steroids, hormones, and antibiotics given to the animals. The meat is not as quality as an organic, pasture raised alternative.
Here are some healthy recipe ideas to try for your upcoming holiday gathering: