5 Daily Habits for Every Healthy Family #1

Everyone wants their family to be healthy.  Often that means making lifestyle changes and forming habits that promote overall health. Once you’ve decided to commit to a change, where do you start? The good news is that there are a handful of healthy habits that any family can adapt and grow with.

Here is Daily Habit #1:  Prepare and Share Meals 

A Meal Full of Veggies and Protein is Always a Winner

We are constantly pointing fingers as to the cause of the obesity crisis in our country. One link that I see is the loss of families sitting down to a prepared meal at least once per day. We are constantly on the go trying to get to the next item on our checklist. Eating has become just one more activity that needs to be completed as quickly as possible, rather than the sharing of a meal with good company. Meals that are prepared at home are not only much healthier, but also tend to be cheaper than grabbing fast food.

It's no surprise that a meal made at home will have better ingredients than one grabbed from the drive thru. Some benefits of a home cooked meal include promoting nutritional choices, limiting the amount of grain and dairy, knowing exactly what is in the meal (no extra ingredients like MSG, soy, preservatives, coloring, butane, or glycol that you may find in fast food favorites), and portion control. Not to mention enjoying a glass of water that you can super-size on your own, free of charge.

Meal preparation takes planning. We all have schedules that are pulling us in multiple directions. Coordinating schedules at the beginning of the week (maybe a Sunday afternoon or evening) will allow you to determine on which days and at what times meals can be shared. If there are days throughout the week that meal prep time is at a minimum, consider taking that Sunday afternoon to prepare a few meals that can easily be reheated come meal time. Or make the crock pot your new best friend. 

Avoid eating in front of the television regularly. It interferes with quality conversation and provides an environment for fast pace and mindless eating. If done often enough, eating while watching TV becomes a habit.  This will lead you to believe that you always need to have something to snack on while watching. If family TV time is a regular at your house, start the habit of eating meals at the table and set aside only one night a week for your “TV dinner” as a treat.

Choosing to have a healthy family is a great resolution. Making small changes into healthy habits is the best way to see lasting improvement in your family’s overall health. Check back later this week for Healthy Habit #2!

Dr. Dan Turo is the owner and chiropractor of Turo Family Chiropractic located in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. Follow him on facebook and twitter.