10 Painless Ways to Improve Your Family's Diet

It is easy to fall into the trap of mindlessly preparing meals for your family. The recipe calls for a cup of oil, so you pour one in. A cup of flour is needed, so you use a cup of bleached, enriched, white flour. In general, foods we make at home are superior to convenience super market foods because they lack much of the sodium and other preservatives necessary for maintaining shelf life. However, with a little bit of planning and knowledge about healthy ingredients, you can get into the habit of improving the recipes you already make.

1. If a recipe calls for flour, use half 100% whole wheat flour. Whole grains are excellent for heart health, being richer in fiber and lower in calories than traditional white flour. Often, substituting 1/2 wheat flour in a recipe does not drastically change the overall taste. At the very least, avoid bleached flour.

2. If a recipe calls for butter or oil, use half applesauce instead. Applesauce is low in fat, calories and cholesterol. By using applesauce, you greatly reduce the fat content of your recipe. You may notice a small change in texture or consistency, but the taste is still great. If a half and half substitution is too much of a change for your family's taste buds, try using 1/4 applesauce in your recipes.

3. When possible, use milk instead of water. When making liquid based meals and drinks (tomato soup, hot chocolate, etc.) go for milk instead of water. When you do this, you add calcium and vitamins A & D to your meal or beverage. Using milk also greatly enhances flavor.

4. Limit sugar drinks. Kool Aid, sodas, juice drinks...all are loaded with sugar and have very little nutritional value. If your family is addicted to these drinks, phase them out slowly. Consider allowing your family members 2 cans of pop per week, for instance, then let them decide when they will drink them. Offer healthy, tasty alternatives. Offering Ovaltine, 100% juice drinks or even chocolate milk is better than letting your family fill up on sugar which will harm their teeth, attention spans and energy levels.