ASK THE NUTRITIONIST: How to avoid bad eating habits?

Dear readers,

This week’s question comes from Barb in Newmarket. Barb wants to know if cold turkey is the best way to quit bad eating habits. Barb wants to quit coffee and sugar this year and wants to know the best approach. What a good question!

I don’t think cold turkey is the way to go when it comes to nutrition because willpower can only last for so long. At some point we know we are going to have a bad day or a busy day or a stressful day and we can easily fall back into old habits. “Just for today”, we are told. At this point, it is very common to go back to the habit as if we had never stopped. So no, cold turkey is not the best way to make dietary changes, in my opinion.

I prefer the substitution method. Essentially, with this method, we substitute a healthier substitute for the unhealthy food or drink. The advantage is that in the event of a pinch or a stressful situation, we are prepared and have something to turn to, rather than just trying to avoid the thing we don’t want to consume without any plan to meet the desires or situations that may arise.

Let’s say it’s the sugar we’re trying to quit. And honestly, I recommend starting here with health goals. There is no health benefit to consuming sugar! None! Zero! Zipper! It damages teeth, bones, arteries, digestive system, nervous system, metabolic health, brain health, reproductive health, longevity, and our sleep! The only thing it has going for it is taste and a high before it crashes, but sugar is no different than any other addiction. We get a buzz and destroy our health in the process. The problem with limiting sugar to a little or once a week is how addictive it is, especially when we first stop it or have developed insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. We can fight all week to successfully cut it, but once we get some, boom! The cravings are back like we never stopped! Rather than giving up the sugar cold turkey, I suggest finding a healthier substitute for sugary foods. Here are some examples :

• Zevia soda instead of regular or diet soda. Avoid artificial sweeteners, as they cause their own health issues. (I find it at Superstore)
• Homemade air popcorn with butter, monk fruit and cinnamon instead of sweet snacks. (I find sweeteners at Superstore, Healthy Planet or Amazon)
• Stevia or whole ground or raw honey for coffee/tea, rather than sugar.
• Homemade baked goods with xylitol or monk fruit or raw honey instead of sugar.
• Chocolate bars sweetened with monk fruit, stevia, xylitol or palm sugar. I avoid those that contain malitol because they create explosive gastrointestinal issues in many people. (I find these bars at Shoppers Drug Mart)
• Homemade sweet nut spread instead of Nutella. You can use almond or hazelnut butter. I call mine Almond Butter Bliss. Find the recipe here. It’s delicious on celery sticks or low carb/high protein bread.
• Homemade honey roasted nuts. Basically get some quality nuts and toss them in melted honey with a little coconut oil and sea salt. Roast on parchment paper in a 350 degree oven until they start to hard to brown. Then remove and let cool.
• High-protein, grain-free homemade granola cereal using honey or wholesome sweeteners instead of canned granola or sugary cereal. Find my recipe here.
• Homemade barbecue sauce instead of store-bought sweet barbecue sauce. Find a great recipe here.
• Homemade ketchup instead of high sugar store bought one. Find a great recipe here.
• Homemade popsicles instead of super-sweet store-bought ones, which have about 47 grams of sugar in just one serving! Here you’ll find great low carb versions for all your iced coffee cravings!

The goal is to be prepared with another food to replace the one you want to quit. The substitute must be nutritionally superior, made up of quality ingredients, and you must have it on hand. Then it’s much easier to swap it out when the mood strikes. This requires planning, but any dietary change requires planning. There really is no way around it.

You may also notice that homemade is almost always superior! Why? Because you have full control over the ingredients you use. Omitting sugar is easy when you’re making something yourself. And you can control the quality of the fat and other ingredients used. Let’s look at some other healthy recipes to replace store-bought foods that are not good for our health:

Basically, if you have a food you like and it’s unhealthy, you can find a superior version that’s homemade or made by a specialty company. For these foods, I suggest shopping at your local health food store, farmer’s market, or specialty stores like Low Carb Canada.

Alternatively, you can find a nutritionist or home cook in your area who prepares the healthy foods you want. Yes, the cost is higher for these foods, but the health care savings and time off for health issues make it an investment. The cost of food is not only calculated by our wallets, but by our health, longevity and quality of life. Hiring someone to cook meals for us has other benefits as well. This benefits a small business owner who may be struggling or a stay-at-home mom. And we know that the department stores won’t stop filling their shelves with hyper-processed, unhealthy foods until we stop buying them! Raising our expectations will only transform the food industry for the better. The more we search for healthy substitutes, the more the industry will produce. It really is a win-win!

Let’s explore some hacks as substitutes for other unhealthy cravings we might have. I know a lot of people love pizza. At home, we buy a frozen pizza whose crust my son likes. We then chop/prepare our own toppings to make them healthier. Think garden-fresh roast vegetables, quality sausage or bacon, fresh herbs and garlic, and grated cream cheese. It only takes 20 minutes and the results are much tastier and healthier! I don’t like the crust, so I make oven-roasted chorizo ​​bites with gravy, vegetables, herbs, and cheese on top. They are like mini bites of pizza. It’s super easy and I guarantee no flavor is lost!

My craving is a fish sandwich. For this, I make air fried fish fillets with a pork rind crust on lettuce boats with a lemon dill tartar sauce and bell pepper rings, using the mayonnaise recipe from a minute above. It’s a delight and I don’t miss the take-out version at all.

Almost any food you love can be hacked to be healthier:

But yeah, you’re going to have to cook it – or hire someone else to do it. There are a ton of home chefs creating healthy meals for busy families. Maybe you can’t make the time to do all the meal prep yourself. When both parents are working, it’s incredibly difficult to prepare healthy meals at the end of the day! Housekeeping is a full-time job in itself and those who are retired often get tired of cooking big meals, but someone has specialized in that! Money spent on takeout and ready meals could just as well be spent supporting these local entrepreneurs. I don’t know who they are in your community, but I found Facebook Marketplace a great place to find these home cooks and entrepreneurs. I encourage you to prioritize cooking or sourcing home-cooked foods to improve your health.

Thanks, Barb, for the great question! I hope readers have found inspiration to make a healthy change in their lives. As always, if readers have their own health questions, I welcome them! Just send me an e-mail. And if you’re looking for more specific health information, check out my website.

Namaste!
Nonie Nutritionist