Eat Right Challenge – 66 Days to Eat Clean so we can Stay Clean

Eat Right Challenge – 66 Days to Eat Clean so we can Stay Clean

Events

Food is a very important part of our lives.  Like fuel for a car it helps us to function, getting us from point A to B and so much more.  To emphasize the importance of food, March has been recognized as National Nutrition Month. The Dieticians of Canada have focused their efforts on unlocking the potentials of food to fuel, discover, prevent, heal, and bring us together.  For more information on this click here!

EAT RIGHT CHALLENGE

To bring awareness to the importance of nutrition to overall health, we have begun the #EATRIGHTCHALLENGE at our office.  Follow us on Instagram by clicking here to see if we can make it.  We have challenged ourselves to make clean eating and healthy a habit and in doing so, we plan to create healthy meals for 66 days and post them everyday since it takes 66 days to make anything a habit.

It isn’t always easy to eat healthy especially with tight schedules and the busyness of today’s lifestyles.  Although we have just begun our challenge, we have already found ideas and tips that have helped us maintain our goal.  So what 5 things can we do to make it easier to eat clean and stay clean?

1.  A well stocked fridge/freezer and pantry with healthy food options will make a huge difference.  How does this help? Well if it isn’t there, you aren’t going to be able to eat it. So if you’re craving something sweet, you won’t be able to eat cookies if they aren’t there.  You could have that wonderful fruit you purchased for your fruit basket instead. 
2. It is recommended that we eat 3 meals a day and snack 3 times a day.  That may seem overwhelming to prepare for and sometimes finding options for these that’ll keep things in balance are difficult.  This is where leftovers and keeping meals simple are important. Sure it’s nice to sit down to a meal so beautifully prepared which you’ve slaved over for an hour but realistically who has time to do this?  Mix and match for upcoming days with your leftovers and be your creative self. Turn that piece of chicken you had with sweet potatoes for dinner into a chicken salad for lunch the next day. Take those sweet potatoes and make them into a soup.  It’s all about simplicity and maximizing the use of what you have. As for snacks, a piece of fruit, nuts, yogurt, and cheese are great options. These don’t really require any prep and are easy to toss in a container and into your bag.
3. Pick a few simple recipes that you know are winners and keep ingredients to these recipes always in stock.  This way when something unplanned pops up and you have to quickly make something to feed your family, you don’t succumb to the nearest McDonald’s drive thru.
4. The food itself is important for eating clean but to stay clean, having options for food storage are just as important.  If you’re on the go like our family, packing food in appropriate container(s) for lunches and snacks will ensure that all food groups are met.  Containers are also important for storage in the fridge for leftovers and pre-washed fruit.  Using a vacuum packer is great when purchasing items to freeze in bulk or maintaining the freshness of refrigerated items. 
5. Know what you’ve got!  It’s important to know what you have available and also what you need to shop for.  Whether you keep a list in your pantry or you use a Boogie LED board to list the foods in your fridge, knowing your options will again help you figure out what you’re going to have for the day.  Grocery shopping has never been this easy. Using apps on your mobile phone are great for this especially when you can sync with a recipe you want to try out and also sync it with someone else who does the grocery shopping in your home.  If you have interactive smart home devices such as Google Home or Amazon’s Echo, all you need to do is link your mobile phone’s shopping list app to these interactive smart home devices and verbally dictate to them items you need to shop for.

To do our part in helping you eat clean and stay clean, the dental hygiene team at Credit River Dental Centre will be providing a complimentary nutritional assessment to those of our patients who are interested in knowing if they are making the good food choices.  Our job is not only to keep your teeth sparkling clean but also to help you reach that goal of optimal overall health. Call us today at (905) 278-4297 or email us at dentistry@creditriverdental.com to book your assessment.