Different meal balance instead of traditional meals

Different meal balance instead of traditional meals

A good diet has balance, instead of relying on the same choices every day. The panda risks becoming extinct because it relies on only bamboo, while the monarch butterfly populations are dropping drastically because milkweed, where they lay their eggs, is being eradicated by herbicides.

You may be reluctant to switch from an eating regimen with which you are very familiar to a more creative menu regimen. However, a varied menu also is likely to result in healthier eating habits and increase your openness to new foods.

Most of the Asian and Caribbean meals rely less on meats, more on spices. These do not have to be “hot” spices, but a spicier meal also allows you to use less of the traditional, expensive staples. Many spices also have medicinal value, as well as unique nutritional properties. Others stimulate digestion, prevent infections, encourage brain, bone and muscle growth or prevent diseases. They also are abundant, store well and are inexpensive.

For instance, Mexican food, often “hotter” than American food, relies heavily on beans and rice, both of which are as filling as meat and potatoes, but far less pricey. South American and Cuban foods are less spicey than Mexican, rely heavily on lentils, and cost less than North American. Eastern Europeans consume a lot of stews and soups, which use poorer cuts of meat and cheaper vegetables. Asians use far less meat, many more vegetables and a variety of spices, from the sweet of Chinese to the hot of east Indian.

Rotating or varying choices enables you to be more responsive to sales and low prices on specific items throughout the year, lowering your food costs significantly. As you become adept at using different spices, flavours and ingredients in a variety of entrees, you also are more likely to further embrace new ways of preparing meals, leading to greater enjoyment of the dining experience.

Changing eating habits, like changing any habit, is often difficult. Rather than jump entirely into a foreign way of eating, consider setting aside one day a week for unusual foods, or one third (protein, starches or vegetables) of your entrée plate every other day with different, unfamiliar items. Gradually increase your tolerance (and eventual love) for these new foods, moving from one day to two to three wherein you experiment with the unfamiliar.

Pay attention, as well, to how you respond to these new foods. It may take several experiences with a particular food to notice a response, or it may take as little as 24 hours.

Some of the warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.) may increase metabolism quickly. Some legumes may need to be introduced slowly to deal with gas, while reducing meat and dairy may also reduce your sluggishness. We react to our environment, whether it is polluted air, clean and fresh water, a noisy urban setting and so on. We react to food, as well, but it may not be as obvious or as instantaneous.

As a way to identify both your budget expense and your diet reaction, keep a journal for at least 60 days, noting when you ate, what you ate, how much you ate, and what the cost was. Note any changes in how you feel through the day, then attempt to correlate these factors with what you consumed.

Different foods take longer than others to be processed by the body. Water absorbs quickly. Salts, starches and sugars are fast, as well. Vitamins and minerals take longer, as the digestion process needs to break down these more complex foods. Fats and meats linger.

I have found that fats may still be in my stomach eight hours after consuming them. That is when my stomach acids react. Consequently, I have eliminated fatty foods from my diet if I am eating a late dinner. Those fatty foods make their way onto my late lunches. Fatty foods, like bacon, hops or even hamburger, cost more than vegetables and provide only limited nutritional value.

One of the real benefits of not adhering to the same foods in your diet is the ability to tailor your meals to your body’s cravings (minus the sweets and jink food, of course). This, in turn, helps you to feel better and be healthier. It is also a great healer for a wallet that is suffering from too little money in it!

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