Good food = Happy Living
The thought of tasty food makes me joyful. I have developed a healthy habit of eating low carb nutritious options while making and eating good food.
Being diabetic and an aging senior citizen and maintaining a pain free arthritic joints, and cooking my own food lead me to developing healthy choices
Food - Our choice
Remember, every time one opens the mouth to eat something, one has a choice !!
I have some simple rules
1) DO NOT buy food as far as possible. Buy ingredients - do not cut corners , be generous with yourself - whatever is needed , buy best quality ingredients , no need for exotic expensive imported ingredients - just buy the best quality natural native stuff.
2) Buy unprocessed ingredients as far as possible - no sauces, jams
3) Go light on carbs - which means incorporate good quantity and quality of proteins and fats and natural fibers - healthy nuts , seeds , fruits , raw greens are all are great options
4) Minimize eating of cooked food as a whole meal. At least one or two meals a day should be uncooked food
5) Use natural ingredients as much as possible - like raw fresh coconut in any form is better than coconut oil
6) Milk is a controversial topic today as 50% advice it as a health food and the other 50% are dead against the use of milk. I follow a middle path - a little milk in my coffee tea is fine, some yogurt once a day is good, few pieces of cheese is fine with my salads. Ghee , butter all are good in moderate quantity
7) Flour based grainy foods like rice flour, ragi , wheat flour, maida ( self raising flour) are all high in carbs as compared to consuming whole rice, broken wheat, whole ragi etc.
8) Any food item can be made low calorie by including lots of vegetable components like finely cut carrots or shredded carrots , bell pepper, fresh grated coconut, onion in upma, dosa etc.
9) Can you add fresh greens or vegetables to food items ? Then do so - like I add lot of salad to my curd rice - tastes yummy and reduces the quantity of rice.
10) Three things govern our food habits and subsequent health:
- Taste
- Satiety
- Nutrition
a) Taste
Our taste buds are like a security at the gate of our food consumption - we enjoy eating only what we feel is tasty - We enjoy food only when we eat tasty food , . Our sensations , our happy association , past experiences and memories arising out of them all these factors decide what food feels tasty. Taste is a very individual concept - what one finds tasty may not be so for another person
We are lucky that taste can be cultivated , we can train ourselves to develop new tastes.
b) Satiety
Generally one eats till one feels satiated. For me it is important that I feel satiated at one point when I am eating my meals. Many dietitians advocate that we stop eating when we are half full - But I think it is possible only we feel satiated - it is a state of mind - our brain signals that we are satisfied and we do not need to eat any more. It is a good habit to recognize that signal and stop eating any more - we do not require more food
c) Nutrition
Ultimately the food we eat supplies nutrition to our body and that is the sole purpose of eating - if we analyze the food we eat , most of the time we have sacrificed nutrition for taste. So we have to make a clever decision - to satisfy our taste buds with only healthy nutritious options
Nutrition = lots of natural fibre + good protein + some fat + low carb
all as natural as possible
Nutrition = love and care for yourself
Stick to natural uncooked food as much as possible - Eat foods which you must chew a lot, which means lots of green leafy vegetables - lettuce, celery, arugula, mixed leafy greens, some baby spinach once or twice a week, basil, mint, coriander , coconut slices, tomato, bell peppers - green, red, yellow, orange, strawberry, blue berry, apple, chia seeds, sabja seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, walnut, almond, raisins (limited) , carrot, beetroot, cooked leafy vegetables like amaranth, spinach, many vegetables.
Make healthy options in proteins - For me a vegetarian, that means lentils, beans, nuts , cheese (limited) , fresh home made yogurt - once a day
Fats - all limited quantity - butter, ghee, some oil - i use rice bran oil, olive oil ( best quality) , coconut oil, sesame oil
I avoid or consume small quantity of many vegetables and beans that flare up my joint pains like potato, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato and many more - though many are recommended as nutritious, for me they do not suit. But I read a recent book by a Doctor Gastroenterologist who strongly recommends that we should keep train our system to accept good food choices , so I am planning to try to include more cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and beans in future . He also talked about including fermented food , pickles etc.. as pre and probiotic food .
I prefer to eat a cooked full meal once a day for lunch and prefer uncooked options for breakfast and dinner whenever possible - A full dinner is best avoided. A bowl of salad rich with nuts and seeds and little carb like a table spoon of raw oats is very tasty, filling, keeps sugar in check and nutritious also. One can be creative and choose tasty options .
An Interesting bowl of fulfilling Salad includes
- Fresh vegetables
cucumber, red, yellow, green bell pepper , celery .....
- Fruit
- Seed
1 or 2 tsp of some seed/seed powder like chia seeds , sabja seeds , hemp seeds, ground flax seed , pumpkin seeds etc...
- Nuts
coconut slices , Almond sliced or whole , walnut, ground nut, few cashew nuts etc ...
- Green Fresh Leaves ( As much as you like)
Mint, Lettuce , celery green, beet green , any available thoroughly washed green leaves .In USA we get amazing leaves like Mixed greens , Arugula, Romain lettuce etc.. mostly pre washed and ready to eat.
- Seasoning
Add Salt + Pepper + Olive or Avacado oil , Some pieces of cottage cheese or cheese if you like , some boiled beans or lentiles like kabuli chana, Rajma etc ....
- Adding Carbs
A salad can be made interesting , yummy , very filling meal ( breakfast, lunch, dinner) by itself. Several different choices are there for each day. I just LOVE my salads.
- Add all that you love to eat
- Eat instead of a regular meal till you are full.
If salad is not available then a bowl of soup with one or two tablespoons of cooked barley and an apple for more fibre is also filling .
Food should bring us joy.
Every time we open our mouth to eat, we have a choice
Also feeling a sense of calm, peace, joy when we eat is the art of happy living . Munch well . Enjoy every morsel. Not plugging our happiness and state of mental peace to how others behave around us brings peace. Be as independent as possible - make right food choices, prepare your own food , eat in a happy frame of mind .
Develop proper time gaps between meals. At least 4 to 6 hours. Do not give in to temptations of snacking and binging. Do not give in to people around you cajoling you or teasing you to make unhealthy choices and forcing you to eat . Think for yourself. If you must eat junk, then just a little only - a tiny bit.
Once you make up your mind that you will only be eating "Home cooked food" that choice automatically cuts out lots of unhealthy stuff that people offer to you.
Art of Happy Living
House work
Mundane everyday repeated chores of cooking, cleaning, making bed, cleaning the clutter, loading and unloading dishwasher, folding and putting away clothes all contributes to good health and peace. Orderliness, cleanliness is calming anywhere to everyone around. Maintain a clean, calming, beautiful , peaceful environment around you . Find joy in small things.
People in our life
Enjoy and appreciate the people in your life. Never let a chance to praise pass by, but be genuine and mean it.
Do not advice, preach , suggest, give opinion - No one wants to hear that . Silence is sweeter.
Do not judge. Do not resent. Accept differences. Each one just like yourself is in her or his life journey, Each one carves his or her own path of life.
Love yourself 100% .
Exude positive vibes. Feel beautiful. Feel positive.Things will always work out . Believe in yourself and the goodness of the universe. Talk only if you must, choose words carefully .
Cultivate anger-free calming peaceful nature. Anger is energy draining for one self . Anger creates a negative atmosphere around for everyone. Anger is senseless, meaningless nonsense. It arises out of a false sense of EGO - "I am so great that everyone should behave as per my wish" type of thinking. Anger is totally EGO-DRIVEN . The sense of false EGO plugs all happiness to how others behave and what they say and what they do. The angry person is an unhappy person. Anger spreads uneasiness in the air. Anger is dangerous to health, relationships, property, life itself.
If one feels angry, recognize the defect in own character . Anger is unnatural. It has been nurtured by oneself. Building one's own sense of self-worth, cultivating an unshakable faith in your abilities, choosing your own natural sense of peace over unnatural senseless anger can all eliminate anger from one's life permanently.
Smile whenever possible. Develop habit of positive talk even to yourself at all time
Do not volunteer data, information - Remember - you have a choice when you open your mouth .
Whenever you get time, sit calmly , meditate, practice deep breathing , exercise joints and muscles. Feel the peace within.
Cultivate anger-free calming peaceful nature. Anger is energy draining for one self . Anger creates a negative atmosphere around for everyone. Anger is senseless, meaningless nonsense. It arises out of a false sense of EGO - "I am so great that everyone should behave as per my wish" type of thinking. Anger is totally EGO-DRIVEN . The sense of false EGO plugs all happiness to how others behave and what they say and what they do. The angry person is an unhappy person. Anger spreads uneasiness in the air. Anger is dangerous to health, relationships, property, life itself.
If one feels angry, recognize the defect in own character . Anger is unnatural. It has been nurtured by oneself. Building one's own sense of self-worth, cultivating an unshakable faith in your abilities, choosing your own natural sense of peace over unnatural senseless anger can all eliminate anger from one's life permanently.
Smile whenever possible. Develop habit of positive talk even to yourself at all time
Do not volunteer data, information - Remember - you have a choice when you open your mouth .
Whenever you get time, sit calmly , meditate, practice deep breathing , exercise joints and muscles. Feel the peace within.Small children at home
Small children live in the present completely and they are truly god's presence in our lives. They have a natural joy of living and emanate pure happiness around generously. Enjoy your grand kids , love them unconditionally, share your time and attention completely. They are sensitive and tender of heart. Give emotional support when they need you to. "Just be there for them " and have lots of fun with kids whenever possible. They in fact improve you as a human being.
Material things
Material things in life have a limited role in bringing eternal joys , They have their utility value . Unnecessary accumulation only builds clutter around the house. Desire for expensive objects makes us greedy and dissatisfied within and definitely obstruct any chance of a lasting peace within. So constantly review your needs and wants. Buy as few things as possible. Put to good use what you already have. Give away things you no longer need. Avoid accumulating clutter. Clean out closets , clothes as often as is possible to do so with a happy frame of mind. Live with lighter baggage in life as anyway sooner or later you have to bid a final farewell
Find beauty and creativity in everyday life around you. Maintain cleanliness at all times ( Try to....) , Talk softly, kindly with truth and love in your heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment