Healthy eating:
It’s all about baby steps
| Anna Ekpenyong monitors the nutrition of her family as well as the community. For 11 years, she has run the weekly food pantry at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury. |
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As Anna Ekpenyong tells the story, she was out shopping one day with a friend when she saw a dress that she liked.
She tried it on, but her regular size didn’t fit. Her friend tried to be helpful and suggested trying on a larger size.
“No way,” Ekpenyong told her friend. “I’ll lose the weight. Some people have three different dress sizes in their closet. But I won’t buy a different size of clothes to accommodate fat.”
And off she went.
At 80 years old, Ekpenyong has earned the right to do as she pleases. Fortunately for her, her choices on diet and food and fat have been right from the very start.
She summered in South Carolina with her grandmother, who planted her own vegetables and raised chickens. Her grandfather built boats and, as a result, brought home a lot of fish. From an early age, Ekpenyong’s diet consisted of fresh fruits, vegetables and lots of fish.
She says she never really liked soul food, a Southern style of cooking that she found too greasy and fattening. Even now, when she cooks greens, she uses only olive oil, celery and onions. Her friends are surprised that her greens are just as tasty without using meat. Full story
Healthier weight with healthier choices
Don’t get Ronald Jackson started about the good old days.
Back then he drove a truck and worked construction, and eating was more a function of time than quality. He made time for pancakes in the morning and ice cream at night, but in between was all sorts of fast foods.
“I loved it all,” Jackson says now. “I was in and out of trucks a lot, so I was looking for something quick and easy. I needed to grab something on the go.” Full
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Read before
you eat
When shopping, read food labels to make sure you are buying foods that are low in trans and saturated fats and cholesterol, but high in fiber and other essential nutrients. Remember that the labels are based on one serving size. If you eat two servings, you double the calories and the nutrients.
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