I was raised on ice cream and soda so healthy natural eating is not exactly my expertise. However, I have picked up a few great tips along the way that have helped me provide healthy food options for my family. A few years back a friend of mine made me aware of trans-fats (Hydrogenated oils). Trans fatty foods tantalize your taste buds, then travel through your digestive system to your arteries, where they turn to sludge. Most trans fats come from processing liquid vegetable oil to become a solid fat. I try to stay away from them as much as possible: all natural peanut butter is one major switch we made. Also as much as possible I try to make things from scratch. I used to buy a lot more packaged goods, but when I started to look at the hydrogenated oils in the ingredients, I started weeding the products out. We do still consume trans fats, but in much less quantity. I have recently discovered coconut oil, which seems to be a healthier option for many things including cooking, baking and skin care. Lastly I am trying to use more natural sugars: raw sugar, honey and maple syrup. We very much live on a budget, so this has been a challenge for me.
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