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You know that what you put into your mouth on a daily basis will have an impact on how clearly you can see your progress in terms of health, lean muscles, abs etc.., so there is no room for an error.
During your quest to get fit, you make sure to take the time to carefully prepare your meals as healthily as possible.
Unfortunately, many people who think they are preparing their food healthily unwittingly make healthy food unhealthy. The following are some of the biggest mistakes that you might make while preparing foods that are generally considered good, nutritious choices.
If you are in the habit of making healthy food unhealthy, it’s time to switch things up and change how you prepare your meals.
Vegetables
Healthy food: Salad
Unhealthy food: Salad with fat-free dressing
As we browse more information about all the high-calorie salads in disguise, most feel that fat-free dressing is the healthy way to go. Unfortunately, it’s an easily overlooked way to make healthy food unhealthy. Many of those low-fat varieties of salad dressing are actually loaded with sugar, which spikes your insulin levels and will encourage the storage of body fat.
Additionally, many of the vitamins that are found in salads actually require dietary fat for absorption purposes, so adding a light amount of full-fat dressing with healthy fats is your better pick.
The key to avoiding this unhealthy eating habit is to just watch the overall quantity you add so that calories do not get out of control.
Poultry
Healthy food: Grilled chicken
Unhealthy food: Grilled chicken with barbecue/ tandoor sauce
One of the easiest ways to make healthy food unhealthy is to smother your chicken breast with barbecue sauce before placing it on the grill. While chicken is definitely one of the healthier protein selections to choose, the barbecue / tandoor sauce that you use is very high in saturated fats, salt and sugar .
If you want a smarter alternative, prepare your own marinade out of low-sodium chicken broth, soy sauce and a small amount of mustard sauce. Rub this into the chicken and let it sit for a few hours before grilling and you’ll still get plenty of flavor without the calories.
Alternatively, there are some low-sugar barbecue sauce varieties on the market now, so you may want to look into one of those instead.
Stir-fry
Healthy food: Stir-fry
Unhealthy food: Stir-fry with white rice and/or sauce
There are two big mistakes many make when preparing their stir-fry thinking it’s a great way to add your daily vegetable requirement along with fiber and protein as a meal: The first is to smother it with a prepackaged sauce and second, they serve it up with a few cups of white rice.
White rice is definitely low in fat. However, it’s also going to have a larger impact on your blood sugar level, which isn’t something you want going into the evening hours. Instead, choose brown rice with your stir-fry or, even better, serve it with quinoa or any millet. This grain has a similar taste and texture to brown rice, but also contains a complete source of protein.
Then, be sure to prepare your own stir-fry sauce so you can control the ingredients that go into it and avoid any additional sugar.
Whole grains
Healthy food: Whole grain bread
Unhealthy food: Whole grain bread with cheese spread/slices
If you typically start your day off with a whole grain bread, don’t make the mistake of loading it up with cheese spread/slices. Cheese spread / slices offers very little in the way of protein; rather, it dishes up a high amount of saturated fat.
For a quick fix to this mistake, simply swap the cheese for natural peanut butter. Natural peanut butter contains more healthy fats, less sugar and is a far healthier way to start your day.
Or, for an even greater protein boost, consider scrambling up a few egg whites and placing them on top of your bread and add a cucumber sprinkled with flax seeds or its powder.
A few small errors in the preparation process can quickly turn an otherwise healthy diet into one that’s not going to promote fat loss at all. Always pay attention to any sauces or condiments that get added, as this is commonly where the nutritional errors are found.
BeWell,
Vivek