Healthy Living- Week 1

This week I'm going to talk about my first tip, to start eating healthy/healthier. After that, I'm going to give you a healthy recipe for the first food on the list.

Tip #1

Start small.

Now, the reason that this is the first one is because it's the hardest thing to do. When people are trying to start eating healthy, most likely they will jump too far into it, and then give up shortly after. Eating healthy has to be done in steps. Some people try to take that first step, and the second, and the third. Pretty soon, they come tumbling down.

To truly succeed you need to slow it down. You can't try to eliminate all of your bad eating habits in one day. Slowly, day by day, you can ease into new habits, but not too fast.

The first step would be recognizing where you could change some things, in your daily lifestyle. Next, actually changing some of those things. Maybe you find yourself craving salty or sweet snacks, at a certain time of day. Then you can start to try eating healthier snacks before you reach for the sugar.

Keep your chocolate in the back of the cupboard, while you push all of the nuts and dried fruits to the front. And same with your fridge, push the sugar, and preservatives to the back, while the fresh fruits and vegetables stay in front. A great tip for snacks is to keep them well-stocked. Have pantry stable snacks that are easy to grab if you're heading out and need something quick. Things like almonds, cashews (or any other kind of raw nut), dried fruit (no added sugar) even granola or bars. For cold snacks (fridge or freezer) fresh produce is always a great option. You can keep them, cut-up, in containers or Ziploc bags. 

Smoothies are also a great option, and if they're homemade, even better. You could pre-make them for the upcoming week and store them in the fridge. Or making what I call "smoothie packs" that are stored in the freezer until they are ready to be used. A smoothie bag usually has a fruit (or multiple) of some kind and a vegetable. Both of which are cut up, and frozen. When you're ready to make a smoothie, just grab a pack, add some form of liquid, and blend away. You could also add some honey or stevia if you like your smoothies a little more on the sweet side.

Start small!

Food #1 

Chips. 

Chips are filled with preservatives and unhealthy fats. And can sometimes have artificial flavors, and colors. Making them pretty bad for your body. And, there are many, many different kinds.

But lucky for you, there is a substitute that you can make, and it's super easy. Sweet potato chips!

Sweet potatoes are full of fiber, vitamins, and nutrients. And they have a lower starch content.

I am going to show you how to bake them in chips, but you can also deep fry them. Deep frying isn't as healthy, but it's a little more foolproof, and you can get the chips more crispy. If you do decide to fry them, see if you can get your hands on a healthier oil, such as avocado, or grapeseed.

To start, you need to get some sweet potatoes. In my Sweet Potato Fries post here, I listed the different types of sweet potato. I used 2 Garnet potatoes for this recipe.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can choose to wash them or peel them. I suggest that you peel them, as it will be easier to cook them without burning.

After that, you also have another choice... How you choose to cut them. I used a mandoline slicer, and it was super easy to get them to the right size. You want them as thin as possible. You could also use a knife.

If you do use a mandoline, please, please, please be careful! I have cut myself twice using one.

After that, lay all the slices out on a baking tray, if you would like an easy cleanup, you can use some parchment paper. (the chips might stick a little bit) Then you can either spray or brush them with some oil. I recommend avocado or coconut. Sprinkle them with some salt, and put them in the oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, take them out and flip them over. Turn the heat down to 325, and put them back in for 15 minutes. If you are using 2 pans, make sure you move them from front to back, and top to bottom.

Once it's been 15 minutes, take out pans and remove the chips that are crispy, and put the others back in the oven for 5 minutes.

They can be stored in an air-tight container, for up to 5 days. If they are soft after a couple days, you can put them back in the oven, at 325, for 5 minutes, or until they are crispy again.

-Jacey