HealthRoots Nutrition

It's important to get LOTS of vegetables and fruit into our diet for optimal health, but what about all of those pesticides? Pesticides can leach into our produce and leave residues, despite washing and even peeling in some cases. Consistent, repeated exposure to these chemicals, on top of all the other toxicity we are exposed to daily, can have a negative impact on our health. While it's certainly better to eat conventional fruits and veggies than NO fruits and veggies, if y...ou're trying to reduce your toxic load and be cost effective, the following list may help you decide which ones to buy organic. The Environmental Working Group releases a yearly list of the "Clean 15"-produce that has the least amount of pesticide residues, and the "Dirty Dozen" which contain the most. This is the list for 2019. Buying local/organic (when possible) and in season is a great way to get the most nutrition out of your food and help support our local farmers in the process.

Our self talk affects how we treat ourselves, our ability to make positive choices and succeed in our goals, and even our ability to heal. Learning to be kind and treat ourselves with the same encouragement, acceptance, and compassion we give to those we love, might be one of the most important things we ever do for our health. I continue to work on this everyday.

One of the biggest struggles that most people face today is a hectic schedule. We’re so busy that it makes eating healthy a real challenge. Quick and convenient food often take the place of healthy, nourishing food when we’re on the go all the time. These less-than-ideal food choices put us on the hamster wheel of experiencing low energy, weight gain, and potential health problems. It IS possible to eat healthy foods, even with a busy schedule. It just requires a little bi...t of pre-planning to ensure success. You’ll feel better, have more energy, and your waistline will thank you too. Here are some tips to help you: 1. Prepare easy snacks Don't wait until you're starving to make food choices, as this usually ends up leading to bad decisions! Prepare easy-to-carry healthy snacks that you can grab and go when you know you'll be on the run. Choose foods you can keep in your purse, cooler or vehicle, so when you get hungry, you have options other than the drive-through window. Some quick, easy snacks include: nut butter with apple slices veggies and hummus or guacamole fruit-clementines, grapes, sliced pears etc homemade trail mix high quality beef jerky hard boiled eggs whole food snack bars (such as Larabars) 2. Use your slow cooker How many times have you come home from work just too tired to cook, so you order pizza or other fast food? Fortunately with a little prep the night before, you can drop the ingredients into the crock pot in the am and have a delicious, healthy meal ready to go by the time you get home. Do a quick search on the internet to find simple recipes you like. You can even prep ingredients for a couple of dinners at a time and keep them in the fridge ready to go for the really busy days ahead. 3. Make enough for leftovers Cook once, eat twice! If you're cooking for 2, double the recipe so you have enough for lunch or even dinner the next day. This makes eating healthy at work or when you know you're going to be busy super easy. Even with a busy schedule, you can still make sure that you are eating healthy, nutritious meals and snacks. By putting in a little bit of planning, you can ensure that you and your family enjoy healthy foods that support your lifestyle and your goals!