Eating Healthy: Preparation is Key!

Question: I have never had proper healthy eating habits, but recently I decided to start taking better care of myself by eating healthy. I'm not overweight but I know I could be so much healthier with diet and exercise. I want to find a nutritionist or dietitian to help me plan out healthy meals because I have no idea where to start and I'm a picky eater. I love steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, shrimp, and other things that I know are healthy but I tend to eat things like Eggo waffles, Chef Boyardee, Campbells soup, a bagel with cream cheese, and other quick fix things. I use the excuse that I have a one and two year old but I know if I could just learn what healthy things I need to eat, I would be able to make time. I hope you can give me some advice... I need to exercise more but my energy and motivation for that is low, mainly due to my poor diet I'm sure. Please help me become a healthier person.
Megan

P.S. I forgot to mention any recipe with meats that includes sweet and meat together I can't stand... if I need to I will eat it but I can't make it a daily routine because I know I would end up breaking that routine.

Answer:
Megan, I loved your email because so many people can relate to your concerns. You want to eat healthy, but you don't because, with 2 small children, you need your life to be quick and convenient. You want to exercise, but don't because it's too hard to find the time. There are things you know are healthy, but you have to force-feed yourself because you don't like them.

Good News! First of all, you never have to eat anything you don't like. Eating should be an enjoyable experience! If you don't like fish, don't eat fish. There are other ways of getting omega-3 fatty acids. If you don't like sweet tasting things with meat, then don't eat that combination! There are so many different types of food and so many different combinations of all those food options, that there is absolutely no reason you should ever have to eat something you don't like. As long as your diet consists of some foods from each "slice of the pyramid" (see http://www.mypyramid.gov/), you'll be fine. And it doesn't hurt to take a multivitamin and calcium supplement for good measure.

Secondly, the answer to your major concern of eating healthy is PREPARATION! You need to plan ahead and that is the key. If you don't know what you are eating for dinner tonight, you will end up opening your pantry and grabbing that Chef Boyardee because it's there and it's quick. I will tell you what I do: Each Saturday morning, I sit down and make a list of what we are going to have for dinner for each day of the week. I make my grocery list as I go. I'll throw in a crockpot meal or a Lean Cuisine skillet meal for the nights where I know time is limited. I then add some staples and breakfast/lunch items to my list (such as bread, yogurt, milk, cereal, oatmeal, fruit, etc) and my list is complete. The process takes about 10 minutes once you've done it a couple of times. It saves a ton of time throughout the week because you can start making dinner whenever you have a few minutes (like during nap time) because you know what you're having and you have all the ingredients. It also saves a lot of money if you stick to your list and don't buy random things as you're passing through the aisles.

If you do the above and still feel like you want the guidance of "nutritionist of dietitan", I would highly recommend seeing a Registered Dietitian (RD). All RD's have a college degree in nutrition and have passed an intense registration exam following their degree and internship program. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, so you may not get the right advice by going that route. You can find a RD near you by going to the American Dietetic Association's website at http://www.eatright.org/

Please email me at mypersonaldietitian@gmail.com with any future questions. Thank you!