Fast Food Vs. Quick Food

Food can be medicine and food can also bring illness. But let’s be real, there are days when you are wiped out, totally fried, on the run and find yourself absolutely starving. When that happens, most people tend to reach for the fast fix or worse, fast food. There is no shame here. We are all human and if you can’t eat some French fries once in a while then where is the fun!?!

All things in balance.

I don’t want to speak about the intentional little food indulgences from time to time. That is balanced living. What I do want to talk about is how to create healthier eating through planning and intentional habits.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin

My goal here is to empower you to prepare in a way that is both effective and also livable when it comes to quick food fixes when you are in a bind or just burnt out.

Here are the top 5 ways to stay on track nutritionally with QUICK foods vs. fast foods –

  1. Carry emergency food

Having healthy snacks on hand at all times (and I mean ALL times…check my purse!) will help you avoid reaching for unhealthy fast fixes or dashing into a 7-11 to grab a candy bar. I always keep a glass jar filled with nuts in my car and also in my purse. When I leave the house and know I am going to be gone all day I throw some raw veggies into a glass Tupperware container and sometimes even a couple of hardboiled eggs and carrots with peanut butter. For lunches if I am out, I will make a salad with protein in it or a lettuce wrap sandwich. Always be prepared when hunger strikes with healthy quick food fixes just an arms distance away!

  1. Prepare meals ahead of time (bulk cooking)

I make Sunday evenings my bulk cooking night. I will cut up a lot of veggies that I can just grab and go throughout the week. I also make a big batch of organic turkey chili in my slow-cooker, bone broth and chicken veggie stew as well as some proteins and carbohydrates that I can use to assemble meals later. Things like chicken, turkey, fish (which only lasts 2 days) and sweet potatoes. Whatever healthy meals you enjoy, try to plan ahead and bulk cook to increase your ability to eat well consistently.

  1. Identify healthy pit-stop places

Get to know the healthier quick food fix locations near your home and work. Sometimes I will swing into a Wholefoods and grab something they have in their already prepared section. If you have a few spots in mind that are accessible, healthy and affordable it will set you up for a win.

  1. Freeze a few meals

In addition to bulk cooking for the week, every few weeks I will make meals that can also be frozen for longer periods of time. Stews, soups & chili do really well with this. This way if you come down with a cold or even just get run down you have some good old-fashioned nutritional support in your freezer.

  1. Shop for disaster

What I mean by ‘shop for disaster’ is to plan a few really easy to prepare meals that you can make in a pinch throughout the week and get those ingredients ahead of time at the grocery store. I am taking about 5 minute to 15 minute prep time meals such as chicken salads, hardboiled eggs, lettuce wraps and even a dairy free grain free frozen pizza that you can throw some raw veggies on top of and pop in the oven and let it cook while you decompress on the sofa!

 

In Wellness,

 

Dr. Rachel

Ways to Reduce Your Environmental Toxins

We live it a world filled with environmental toxins. They are all around us, in the products we use, the food we eat and the air we breathe. So how do we reduce enough to make an impact on our lives and our health without living in a bubble?

Since we can’t do anything to make the air quality better in this instant, it’s about reducing the biggest toxins that we are CHOOSING while also reducing our foot-print so that we contribute to a better and less-toxic tomorrow. That’s right, every time we buy a product or order food we are literally making a choice.

Many of us have given up on trying to figure out what all the crazy ingredients listed on the back even mean or feel overwhelmed by all of the toxic things that are potentially in our food, water and products that they are not transparent about or that we feel we have no control over. That is correct. We do not have control over cutting ALL environmental toxins out of our lives. So let’s focus on the simple and easily accessible fixes.

Before we dive into these solutions, let me give you a brief idea WHY it is hugely important to invest some energy into this endeavor first.

Environmental toxins are the harmful elements found in air, food and products we use. These negatively impact or mental and physical health.

‘Like most complex diseases, cancer results not from a single flawed gene, but rather the interplay of multiple genes and any accumulated damage to DNA caused by environmental factors such as exposure to chemicals, or aspects of lifestyle, such as smoking’ – Amy Roeder, Harvard Public Health.

‘More than two decades of research has shown that air pollution can trigger heart attacks, strokes, and irregular heart rhythms, particularly in people who have or are at risk for heart disease’ – Deepak Bhatt, MD, MPH.

‘Put simply, what you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and, ultimately, your mood. If your brain is deprived of good-quality nutrition, or if free radicals or damaging inflammatory cells are circulating within the brain’s enclosed space, further contributing to brain tissue injury, consequences are to be expected’ – Eva Selhub, MD.

*All quotes above are from a conference at Harvard Medical School called Taking It All In: Environmental toxins and your health. You can read the full transcripts HERE.

Here are some impacts you may personally be experiencing from environmental toxin exposure –

Here are some simple steps you can begin taking now in order to reduce the environmental toxins you are being exposed to (and effected by) daily…

  1. Shop organic foods at farmer’s markets
  2. Avoid foods & products in plastic
  3. Switch to organic & natural beauty products that come in glass containers
  4. Switch to using organic non-toxic makeup
  5. Switch to natural non-toxic cleaning products
  6. Diffuse essential oils to clean the air (Lavender oil or OnGuard from Dottera – you can get them HERE)
  7. Store foods and drinks in glass containers
  8. Filter ALL your water (for cooking, drinking & showering)
  9. Use an air purifier
  10. Eat organic non-GMO whole foods
  11. Carry your water in a non-toxic bottle (glass is best)
  12. Ditch the toxic deodorant & switch to a natural, non-toxic one (Read my blog review of the current ones on the market HERE)

 

To see some of my favorite non-toxic products, click HERE

At the end of the day it is all about making progress in a balanced way! Try not to get bogged down and overwhelmed. Taking one step to reduce one toxin from your life is better than none. Start where you are and move forward from there.

In Wellness,

Copyright Dr. Rachel Dew 2019-2021. All Rights Reserved