The taste of tender pork marinated in lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and hot chilli flakes; the savoury smell of turmeric, cumin and parsley mixed with fall's finest root vegetables; or, the first taste of the summer's sweetest raspberries, drizzled with maple syrup. Doesn't this sound irresistible?
Or, are you thinking about how these are impossible and time-consuming meals to prepare?
Slow down: "Eating used to be about family, social intimacy and friends," Béliveau says. Allotting ourselves 20 minutes to eat a store bought boxed dinner, or sometimes skipping meals all together contributes to poor health.
Discover family time: Get Dad in charge of making everyone's lunch, get the kids to take care of dinner once a week if they're old enough and if they're still young, give them a manageable task in the kitchen. Making meals doesn't have to be a grueling task, pump up the music, bond with your family and hone those culinary skills. Make it fun.
"When it's not complicated and you find it delicious, you will discover the pleasure in discovering a new style of cooking," Béliveau says. "And, when you have pleasure you'll do it more often."
3. Down with daily indulgences
The problem with the typical North American diet isn't the holidays, vacations or little treats we allow ourselves, it's the chronic condition in the daily. "It's the pop you drink every day, the French fries you eat three times a week," says Béliveau. "There's no problem eating French fries once every two weeks, the problem is that we eat too much of it day to day. When you're hungry in the afternoon you should have dark, 70 per cent chocolate or a cup of green tea."
• Stash some healthy snacks in your desk drawer so when the 3 o'clock munchies come around you won't find yourself walking to the vending machine.
• Try making treats a reward for eating your seven to 10 servings for fruits and vegetables daily for an entire week.
• When you're out, Béliveau suggests heading to the closest Greek or Japanese restaurant and order the dish that contains the most vegetables.
Page 2 of 3 – on page 3: find out what foods to stock up on!
