Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Let nature package your food
The next time you eat something, take a look — how closely does it resemble the way nature thought you should get that item? Is is completely, naturally intact as in an apple? Is it sorta/kinda close? Or is it so far removed that Mother Nature would fall over in shock over what we humans did to fake it?
Our removal from food as nature intended correlates with our removal from health as we should have it. But, I hear you, it’s not practical to eat everything exactly as it grows. However, it is possible to do more of that.
Eat an orange instead of drinking pasteurized juice. You’ll reap all the benefits of an orange — natural vitamin C, fiber and phytonutrients (components of plants that help contribute to optimal human health). Juice alone doesn’t offer quite as much plus you tend to have much more, which piles on both calories and sugar.
The same idea holds true for a number of fruits and vegetables. Try to keep them as close as possible to how nature grows them. Don’t overcook them or drown them in sauces. You get a truly fresh bunch of broccoli — say, from a local farmers’ market — and try it as it stands. It’s amazingly delicious!
That moves us on to also trying to purchase items that grow in your area. The more you can do that, the more you’ll realize that, yep, you actually do like fresh fruit and veggies! Things that are picked long before they are ready, then shipped thousands of miles have lost most of their true taste plus, in my opinion, probably a lot of their natural nutrients.
Do not stress about doing this 24/7. Baby steps! Baby steps will get you there nicely and easily. One day, you look back, and you realize those baby steps carried you a long, long way. Some things in life require that big, giant leap, but this is one in which baby steps most likely will get you there better than forcing yourself to make a huge change that you soon reject.
Of course, if you’re simply not going to eat enough fruit or vegetables, drinking juice is better than not getting any of this into your body. Just be careful to choose as naturally-created pure juices as you can, and don’t overdo it.
