How To Cook Healthier

I feel an ongoing need to cook, prepare and stock our home with wholesome, all natural foods and snacks. When I grocery shop I look at the labels on so many of the products that line the shelves and I get so tired of seeing Monosodium Glutamate, Nitrates, BHT, etc. I have read about the effects these preservatives and additives can have on our bodies and the added anxiety, depression, obesity, glucose intolerance and hormonal imbalances just don't seem worth it to me. In our house I cook a lot of what we eat from scratch to ensure I know what we are consuming. I like to keep foods on hand that make my life a little easier without having to compromise our health. Not only am I a mom to a very active five year old but I work from home as a writer and that eats up a lot of my days. There are a few staples I insist upon having at all times to keep our bellies full, happy and healthy without keeping me in the kitchen for hours each day.

At least once per week I make a pasta dinner. I mainly do this because it's incredibly affordable to grab a box of noodles and a jar of sauce, make a quick salad and we're good to go. We always have leftovers for snacks and lunches and you can't go wrong with a good bowl of pasta. Nobody is picky when it comes to this type of food. The best part is, you can keep a good eye on what's in the noodles you are buying (usually nothing but the basics) as well as the sauce. To keep it different and exciting I like to grab different sauces so we're not constantly eating the same mushroom flavored sauce (My husband voiced his concerns over my staple sauce I always bought, hence the taste testing). A fantastic brand that I have come across is DelGrosso Foods, Inc. DelGrosso sauces are so good. Their ingredients are all natural and there are a ton of different varieties to choose from. I received a whole case of different kinds to try and we loved them all. What I love is their concept for the different sauces. Each one is named after a family member. You have Uncle Fred's Fireworks Sauce (Ingredients include zucchini, onions, basil and red pepper). My favorite was Aunt Mary's Sunday Marinara. It was very basic and it fit right into our weekly Sunday family dinner at our house where we have a big meal, sit down and get ready for the week ahead. Other great varities are Uncle Joe's Vodka Celebration and Uncle Jim's Late Night Puttanesca.

During the week I have to pack lunches. I only have one child but my husband managed to sneak his lunch bag in there too so he gets a lunch everyday as well. One of the first foods I eliminated from our diets years ago was deli lunch meats. In our supermarkets its near impossible to find Nitrate free meats that are freshly sliced in the deli. I started cooking larger dinners so there would be leftovers from that available for lunches instead of constantly packing sandwiches. I do love a good sandwich though and was thrilled to try Applegate Organic and Natural Meats. Some of our stores carry their products. I'm hoping in the near future I see a larger variety available. I have tried Nitrate free deli products in the past from different brands and was usually very disappointed. Applegate has been the first brand that I thought tasted like any other deli meat. Their product list includes basics like slow cooked ham and roasted turkey. You can also get genoa salami, bacon, grilled chicken strips and a variety of cheeses. All of these products are nitrate free.

I like to keep healthy snacks handy as compliments to lunches, after school snacks or just something I can grab for myself during the day to keep me going and give me energy. An awesome snack I came across is roasted chick peas. I saw a post on Pinterest detailing how to roast your own but that's just too darn involved for me so luckily I found some at the grocery store I shop at. A great brand that carries all different flavors and different products involving roasted chick peas is Pulse. Pulse snacks are great because there is such a different variety available, there should be a flavor for everyone in your family. Their snack size variety box is $17 and comes with four different flavors in tiny little snack bags. I love the balsamic flavor!

Eating healthy is something I value greatly for not only myself but for my loved ones. Our bodies rely on the nutrients in our food to stay healthy and to keep us feeling good. Constantly loading up on junk food, sweets and processed foods will only lead to health problems in the future. Shopping healthy isn't as hard as people assume. It really just takes a little getting used to and sometimes adjusting our taste buds to something a bit healthier.