You and Your Food
Building a Healthier Relationship

By Holly Shaw and Andrea Tortorella

The Fuel in Your Tank

What's one of the number one ways to be body beautiful? Put healthy fuel in your tank!

Healthy eating is the key to making sure your body has the energy it needs to propel itself throughout the day, and ensure peak performance not only in school, but in everything you do. And the healthier your eating habits, the better your chances of feeling great about your body and yourself.

A hectic lifestyle makes it easy to skip a meal or just grab less-than-nutritious food on the run. But a busy day doesn't have to stand in the way of great health. A multivitamin is great insurance for days when you do miss a meal or two, but real food should always be your primary source of nutrients.

Know your Carbs

No matter what any magazine diet tells you, it's not necessary—or safe!—to cut carbs from your diet because carbohydrates are your main source of energy. Cutting carbs will leave your tank empty. Keep your tank full by making quality choices. We've all heard the expression "Good Carbs/Bad Carbs," but have you heard the expression "Keep it Clean?" By keeping your carbohydrate choices clean: free of additives and preservatives, it will enable your body to run more efficiently leaving you with plenty of energy. This means staying away from things like refined flour and sugar.

The Skinny on Fat

Every cell of your body contains fat. It regulates hormones, insulates organs, keeps your brain functioning properly and is a source of stored energy. So instead of fearing fat, be wise and include healthy choices in your daily diet.

How is it Americans got fat when they went fat-free? Simple. In order to maintain the flavor when the manufacturers took the fat out of their products, they had to add sugar.

Stay Balanced

To build self-esteem, choose foods that keep your blood sugar stable. The food you put into your body not only becomes your hair, your nails and your skin, but your thoughts and your emotions. Every time you put a refined processed food into your body your blood sugar spikes and dips much like a roller coaster. When your blood sugar dips you may find yourself moody, cranky, frustrated and tired. That's when self-esteem may be low.

To build self-esteem, choose carbohydrates that are broken down more slowly into blood sugar keeping your mood stable. When your mood is stable you will feel better about yourself. Grains, vegetables and fruits are an essential part of a well balanced diet.

Tip:

Don't forget to drink water! If you're more into flavored drinks, replace sugary ones with water flavored with citrus fruits and berries. Water flushes out toxins, keeps skin radiant, etc.

Ask Dominique Dawes Dominique Dawes, Olympic Games Gold Medalist and uniquely ME! spokeswoman takes questions from Girl Scouts, and tells us what she thinks. Have a question for Dominique? E-mail her at uniquelyme@girlscouts.org Healthy eating can also be easy and fun. Check out Dominique's deliciously quick recipe idea! Dear Dominique, What's your favorite food? Girl Scout, 11 My favorite foods change almost every year. At the moment, my favorite food is salmon. Not only because of the healthy benefits but because it's grillin' season too. Nothing can top my blackened salmon dish! Dominique Dawes' Blackened Salmon Dish Ingredients: Fresh thyme Minced oregano Paprika Red peppers White pepper corns Salt Salmon Directions: Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Brush the salmon with olive oil and dip it in the dry mixture. You can either cook the salmon in a pan over high heat for about 5-6 min (depending on the thickness of the salmon) OR grill it. Be careful not to torch the dry seasoning. Once finished, sprinkle with a little lemon and ENJOY! — Dominique

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uniquely ME! THE GIRL SCOUT/DOVE SELF-ESTEEM PROGRAM was established in the fall of 2001 to boost self-esteem among girls ages 8 to 17. The uniquely ME! resources are available for all girls. For more information, visit the girlscouts.org uniquely ME! Web page.