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On The Healthy Side
By Sophia Falke

“Is it replicable?” my friends would ask as I served one of my latest culinary creations. (In truth they only asked the question if they liked my “creative genius” in the kitchen.) Sometimes the results were wonderful (like my fat and sugar-free chocolate chip cookies) but other times my friends gave me permission never to replicate a particular dish. What I’ve learned over the years is that food can be fun, and even more fun when I can figure out how to make healthy ingredients taste as good or better than the bad, yucky stuff that has crept into our eating over the past several decades.

I find it sad that we are becoming so food phobic in our modern world. I remember the days before fast food (yes, I am that old) and when our cookbooks didn’t worry about fat content, simple sugars, sodium levels, or any of the other health and nutrition issues. Today we’re barraged with books on preventing diabetes, foods that “flush” fat, staying young, and more. Weight loss programs, supplements and stomach surgery have created a multi-million dollar industry in this country…and yet, we are getting fatter every year; and type II diabetes (the kind that used to be reserved for older people) is on the rise in children.

I admit to getting caught up on some of the eating plans that promise to take the weight off quickly and keep it off…yet I, too, have been adding weight every year. The metabolism slows down as we age (ugh) and, in my case, we are less physically active. So, of course, let’s try another program that promises to make us look and feel better without having to make some basic, long-term changes in our daily habits.

What fascinates me is how very, very simple it is to improve our health, lose weight and keep it off, and live longer, healthier lives. We don’t need any fancy, expensive, or difficult-to-follow programs. And most of us already know how to live healthier lives. It’s so basic that it’s almost scary. Here’s my simple (scary) list of what you already know, which is why I’m going to tell you anyway so that this time (perhaps) you’ll remember.

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. This is where the healthy stuff lives! The perimeter is where you find fresh fruits and vegetables and unprocessed fish and poultry. (Okay, meat and dairy are on the perimeter too, but despite what the meat and dairy industry ads say, we need to give our arteries a break and limit our intake of these fatty foods.) With your vegetables, the darker ones are generally richer in vitamins and minerals.

Avoid simple sugars and carbohydrates. This means white, processed sugar and white, processed wheat. Actually, if it’s white, think twice about eating it. To you bread and pasta lovers (that includes me), there is hope. More and more products are hitting the shelves (on those inner, temptation-filled aisles) that are made with healthier alternatives.

Step away from the refrigerated bins with lunch meats and other processed, nitrate filled foods. They are filled with evil, yucky, bad-for-you garbage (another descriptor came to mind, but I didn’t think it would get pass the censors). You don’t know what’s really in these foods; and what I understand from people who have worked in the processing plants, you don’t want to know.

Read the label! Oooh, the things they sneak into our food is scary. A good guideline is “If you can’t pronounce the ingredients, you probably don’t want to put that particular ‘food’ item into your body.” I still remember reading the labels on spaghetti sauce jars as I attempted to choose between several brands. After spending far too long trying to figure out why anyone would want to put “that” particular ingredient into spaghetti sauce, it dawned on me that it was so easy, quick, and less expensive to make my own. (I may as well buy the ingredients rather than the finished product.)

Watch out for fake “healthy” food. “Healthy” labels may mean healthy for the producer’s pocket book but not for you. My favorite is “low fat.” Again, read the label! Sometimes the first or second ingredient in low-fat foods is sugar…lots and lots of sugar. Low fat does not always mean “healthy.” Fat is what often makes a food taste good. To make up for taste that is lost in removing fat, the producer will increase the amount of sugar and/or sodium. Plus, not all fat is bad for us. Even the “bad” fat in moderation will not hurt us. (Okay, I’ll speak for myself…so far my cholesterol is just fine, with my HDL crossing the finish line way ahead of the LDL. “Moderation, my dear Watson, moderation.”)

Watch the sodium. According to Dr. Oz, we should not be consuming more than 2,300 mg of salt a day. For African Americans that number is 1,500 mg. Here again, if it’s white, think twice before eating it. (Popcorn at the movie theater may be an exception…again, moderation…if that’s possible with popcorn.)

Make it yourself! Many of you may be thinking, “But I don’t know how to cook” or “I don’t have time to cook.” Here’s my response to “don’t know how.” If you can read, you can cook. Trial and error may come into the picture, but that too is a great teacher. Don’t have time? Instead of vegging in front of the TV, get creative in the kitchen. Invite family and friends to join you. Food is the world’s great social “glue.” Take advantage of it.

The bottom line to living a happier, healthier life: get back to “real” food and keep it simple. See, you already knew the answer. I’ll let you write the next article on food.

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