If you’re anything like me, you have a hard time making good food choices when you’re on vacation, especially when you’re eating out and have literally dozens of options, both healthy and unhealthy at your command.  This summer our family is making plans for a BIG vacation in August when we’ll be going to Scotland for a week and Ireland for a week.  And right now I’m in the process of losing some extra weight, especially before the trip, but also don’t want to go too crazy on vacation either.

So, here’s something that might help all of us make better choices both at home and away.  Today, my Frommers Travel Newsletter provided a timely link to MohrResults.com where I found this list of “47 Foods You Should be Eating“.  I’ve segmented the list into easy snacks for travel, then those with a higher likelihood of finding in restaurants, and last are the ones that you’ll probably find in the grocery store or in some cases, your local farmer’s market.

I would recommend posting the list in the kitchen, adding it to your smart phone or iPod or carrying a physical list around with you until you have it memorized.  Then on your next trip (or even your next local outing) when you’re sitting at a restaurant trying to decide what to get, look for one or more of these items in your food choices.  And of course, when you’re at the grocery store, make it a game to see how many of them you can include in your weekly menu.

I took my own inventory and discovered that I actually had 23 or the 47 items already in the kitchen!  Yeah!  I guess that means we’re off to a good start.  Plus I picked up a few more at the grocery store today.  Woohoo!

Also don’t be afraid to try some foods on the list that may be new to you.  Yesterday, (before I saw this list) I was at True Food Kitchen in Phoenix and tried their Tuscan Kale salad as a side dish and it was DELICIOUS!  I’ve always been leery of kale, thinking for some reason that it would be too bitter, but this was amazing with a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a wonderful lemon dressing.  If there were places like True Food all over the planet, then we wouldn’t have to worry about eating healthy.  They make it easy and scrumptious too!

So today when I was at the grocery store, I decided to broaden my horizons and picked up some kale in the produce section.  Then when I got home I did a little more research on this AMAZING super food.  Check out this summary of the benefits of kale.  Wow!

Now here’s the cool part.  When I was researching, I also came across the Kale Salad recipe from True Foods here.  So I made it for dinner!  Here’s the picture of MY Tuscan Kale Salad (below) with the addition of cucumbers and a few minor changes (I added some lemon zest and Queen Creek Olive Mill  Meyer Lemon olive oil (instead of EVOO) to the dressing) because I LOVE lemon flavor.  Be sure to watch the short video showing how easy it is to make.  

In addition, when I googled “Kale Salad”, near the top of the list was another recipe from the food blog, “Oh She Glows“.  The strange thing about that was that I had just finished reading my daughter’s blog post about her Top 5 Food blogs and she had mentioned this as one of her top five favorites.

So here’s the list as promised.  I hope it helps you to take a step toward healthier eating.  For me summer is always a better time to eat lighter when the temps are higher and the produce is fresher and less expensive.

47 Foods You SHOULD Be Eating

Snack options:

1. Pistachios
2. Almonds
3. Apples
4. Blackberries
5. Sardines  (if you don’t have to worry about the odor offending your neighbor)
6. Carrots
7. Red, yellow and orange bell peppers
8. Blueberries
9. Red grapes
10. Nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc)
11. Coconut (either fresh, where you crack the shell or unsweetened, shredded)
12. Tomatoes, cherry or grape tomatoes make great snacks (for meals – raw and cooked both have unique benefits)
13. Cherries
14. Pineapple
15. Raspberries
16. Strawberries
17. Plain Greek yogurt
18. Green tea
19. Black tea

Look for these in addition to those above on restaurant menus:

1. Wild salmon (fresh and/or canned)
2. Whole eggs
3. Spinach
4. Lean red meat (we prefer grass fed beef)
5. Cauliflower
6. Avocados
7. Garlic
8. Beans (black, kidney, chick peas, red beans, etc)
9. Sweet potatoes or yams (technically not the same, yet they’re often used interchangeably)
10. Broccoli
11. Red and green cabbage
12. Onions
13. Cinnamon
14. Mushrooms (all types)
15. Barley
16. Canola and olive oils (replace other less healthy fats with these, don’t simply add these to the diet)

1. Swiss chard
2. Quinoa (pronounced “keen wah”)
3. Rolled oats
4. Barramundi (often called “the sustainable sea bass”) can be found in the frozen section of Whole Foods & has half the calories, yet equal omega 3′s to coho salmon)
5. Pink grapefruit
6. Turmeric (benefits)
7. Kale
8. Pumpkin (we often add canned, unsweetened 100% pure pumpkin to our smoothies)
9. Unsweetened cocoa powder or cocoa nibs (also often added to smoothies or Greek yogurt)
10. Lentils
11. Oat bran
12. Beets (try this Summer Salad Recipe with beets)