With diabetes and obesity continuing to rise in the South, it’s obvious that we all need to pay attention to what we eat.

It’s a common misconception that diets and weight-loss programs are the only ways to get healthy. However, Helen Lawler, nutritionist for the Floyd County Health Department, believes that that is not the case. “Instead of dieting, have a lifestyle change. Pick the most nutritious options and start small. Pick two small goals to accomplish in your eating habits, and once you successfully accomplish them you, over time, will eat better.”

Instead of being deprived from the beloved, tasty, food options that are bad choices, nutritionist for Redmond Regional Medical Center Tiffany Gokey, says “eat smaller portions and make healthier choices. The food decisions people make can help them or hurt them. Eat foods with antioxidants such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, beans and drink green tea.” Lawler says, “I am a realist and believe people won’t ever cut out something they love to eat completely. By all means, treat yourself to sweets or salty foods, but only once a week.”

Eating healthy should start in childhood, and according to Lawler it should start with parents teaching children about portion control. She says, “limit high-calorie, low-nutrient, pre-packaged foods as much as possible. I’m realistic, and I know people love sweets, but junk food intake should be kept at a minimum.” Gokey says, “When you come home from the grocery store, divide everything in correct portion sizes. You have to train your mind and your eye to get used to what a correct portion size is.”

Eating healthy can seem like an impossible task and incredibly boring to some because of terms like “cutting out” and “staying away from” the options that taste good but are unhealthy. However Lawler believes eating healthy can still be fun. She says, “Food science is a fabulous thing, and we have come a long way. Across the board for everyone, try to get a variety of foods, if possible one from every food group. Also, people shouldn’t be scared of carbohydrates. Instead of eating a low carbohydrate diet, try to mix carbohydrates with protein.

“It changes the digestive process and creates longevity in your system.”

Although, eating healthy can be hard, it is incredibly beneficial in the long run. Ultimately healthy eating habits and portion control when eating can help prevent common conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. So start practicing healthy food habits now, and start small. For example, when trying to satisfy a snack craving, instead of eating a bag of chips eat vegetables such as baby carrots or broccoli accompanied with some tasty salad dressing, and that’s a good start. Try These:

Summer Blast

2-4 large mangoes, cubed 1 pint blueberries, washed 1 pint raspberries, firm, washed

Blue Banana Smoothie

8 ounces milk (use your favorite such as skim, 1 percent, 2 percent, almond, soy, etc.) ½ cup frozen banana slices, ½ cup frozen blueberries

Potato Kale Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 1 large onion) 1½ cups chopped carrots (about 3 carrots) 1½ cups chopped celery (about 3 stalks) 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon whole fennel seeds Sea salt & pepper, to taste 1 can (15 ounce) white beans, rinsed & drained 6 cups cubed (about 1-inch pieces) potatoes 4 cups chopped kale (about 1 bunch) 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 4 cups water

Toppings: 6 ounces low-fat Greek yogurt ½ cup chopped fresh chives

Recipes for Bon Appetit Y’all photos prepared by Meals on Heels’ Kathy Patrick. Photos by Autumn Jones.