What's in your refrigerator?

(A sneak peek into our January 2013 Lawson Refrigerator) 

There's no secret about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  You've heard the phrase since you were a child, the simplicity of 'diet & exercise'.  I cringe when I hear friends talk about going on a new diet or even look at magazines in the grocery line that always boast about celebrities dropping weight off a 'new found diet' that eliminates an entire food group from your daily routine.  To me, it's more than just a quick diet to allow you to lose weight... it's all about a LIFESTYLE choice.  

Maintaining and incorporating a healthy colorful diet into your daily lifestyle is the key. 

Open up your refrigerator at home and what's inside? Looking inside your refrigerator can truly paint a vivid picture and show you what your daily diet looks like.  And if that picture is full of processed foods and sweets instead of whole-grain options and fruits and vegetables, then it goes without saying that there is room for improvement on your refrigerator report card.

CL Helpful Diet Tips (aka: lifestyle choices i live by): 

1.  To make better choices, be conscious what you put at eye-level in your refrigerator.  These should be things like fruits, vegetables, and snacking options like cottage cheese & yogurt. 

2. Fill your fridge with actual ingredients, not pre-packaged foods.  It's easier than you think to cook from scratch (not to mention cheaper!) You'll only use three to four ingredients and the end result is much healthier than something that is frozen or processed.

3. Make sure your fridge is FULL OF COLOR! This means you should see lots of green, orange, yellow, red, purple, etc.  This makes sure you're getting your daily vitamins in your fresh ingredients and fueling your body with good nutritional food.

4. Add some Smoothies Juices to your refrigerator.  In the hustle-bustle of life, it's always nice to grab a 'to-go' drink from your fridge and know that it's packed full of delicious fruit that are loaded with anti-oxidants that are helping fight free-radicals (cancer causing) from your body! My favorite brand is "Bolt House", as pictured below.  A Bolt House individual juice and an apple makes for a perfect light 'to-go breakfast or lunch on the run'. 

5. Only drink 100% Juice.  This will make sure that the sugars you drink are natural.  I always incorporate Juice in the winter months into my diet to give my immune system that extra boost with it being cold-flu season. 

6. Allow yourself 2 meals a week that are your "cheat meals''. Whether that be pizza on Saturday night or some french fries paired with your sandwich (instead of a side salad or soup).  If you neglect yourself from those items, you're bound to slip off your lifestyle choice of eating healthy and go right back into old habits due to neglecting yourself and cravings of those foods.  So a 'cheat' meal once in a while isn't that bad in retrospect.
7. When shopping at the grocery store try to use the outside perimeter of the store.  That's where all the fresh produce is located.  Everything that's in the middle aisles are always your processed 'boxed' foods.
8. It's all about portion control! As American's we are served the biggest plates.  At your next meal, stick with 1 serving size.
9. Drink a glass of water prior to dinner.  Not only will this help fill up your stomach (so you won't eat as much) but this also will allow for better digestion of your food.