It can be hard to eat healthy foods when there is a McDonald’s or an Arby’s on every street corner. It can be even more difficult for those who work from home. Telecommuters have flexible hours, unpredictable work schedules, and do not always have the time to make the best food. So it is understandable why so many work-at-homers are interested in fast, easy ways to make delicious, nutritious, and healthy foods. There are a few different strategies that the work at homer and the telecommuter can employ to make sure that he/she has lots of easy, healthy foods on hand.
The first step to getting healthy is purging your environment of all things unhealthy. This includes just about anything that is fried, dunked, dipped, or battered, everything that uses high-fructose corn syrup, and the Itos food group (Fritos, Doritos, Cheetos, etc.). It is easy to leave these foods stashed in convenient places around the house, especially in and around the work area. It has all got to go. Everything. It might hurt a little at first, but nothing kills junk food cravings like giving up junk food.
Now that all of the unhealthy food has been trashed, it is time to restock the pantry. Fresh foods are the staple of any healthy diet. Normally, fresh foods line the perimeter of a grocery store, with offerings such as fruits and veggies, fresh meat, cheese, milk, eggs, and the like. This is where the majority of shopping time and resources should be spent. Fresh food has more vitamins, nutrients, and flavor, and is also digested and processed much more easily than processed or packaged foods. Journeys to the center aisles of the store should be limited, and items should be listed to avoid being lured by the bright packaging and empty promises of the happiness characteristic of today’s food marketing. The best foods found in the center aisles include brown rice and flour, beans and nuts, and certain canned foods (ones not too high in sodium). (A word on brown Vs. white foods: Any time a food like rice or flour is offered in brown and white, it is because one has been “enriched” or “processed”. “Enriched” and white together mean bleached. If you would never drink laundry supplies, please avoid white flour and rice.)
Okay, so now that the pantry is chock full of delicious, healthy foods, it is time to eat! But who has time to cook a full meal, three times a day?! Not somebody who has a flexible or unpredictable schedule. A good way to provide some structure to a new eating routine is to cook in bulk. One day a week, make three oversized entrees. That way all the leftovers can be individually frozen, reheated, and eaten on the spur of the moment. Replacing the old snack foods for something natural, with lots of complex carbs like carrots or beans is a fast track for healthy success. These new strategies should help reduce the desire to default back to the –Itos food group, and help maintain a new happy and healthy lifestyle.
