If you’ve missed the other posts in this series…you can go back and read them here!
Today, I really just want to offer encouragement to all of you who want to eat healthier but don’t know where to start. Or to all of you who don’t want to eat healthier, but know that you should anyway. Or to all of you who are overwhelmed about changing your eating habits, but are trying very hard. Or to all of you who have picky eaters in your house. (Does that about cover everyone?)
I think that when many of us think about eating healthier…we feel like we have to give up all the yummy things we enjoy. We feel like we’re trading in rich ooey-gooey tasty foods for dry, bland rice-cakey fiber filled ickiness.
Please believe me when I tell you that since we’ve started eating healthier foods…we’ve discovered truly how delicious food can be.
The food is delicious because we’re eating REAL FOOD!!!! Do you hear me? REAL FOOD I say!!
Just think for a second…Which sounds more delicious: A juicy pot roast cooked with carrots and potatoes, served with gravy…or a chicken nugget dumped out of a box? There is NO COMPARISON! Real food tastes SO GOOD!
Here are a few ideas I will offer you to help you know where to start if you want to Get Real With Food:
1. Begin by thinking about what is a real, whole food and what isn’t. I’ll cover this in more depth in another post soon, but in the meantime, think back to the basics (meat, milk, grain, vegetable, fruit). All food starts out real…but some of it…by the time it goes through several machines to make it become whatever it is in a package…is nothing like it’s original form. (What in the world makes a piece of corn become a Cheeto anyway?)
2. Start looking at the ingredients on a package. If you don’t recognize several of the ingredients….you may want to re-consider eating it. I’d so much rather eat something with the ingredients: milk, eggs, vanilla….than something with the ingredients: calcium and sodium stearoyl, lactylate, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides… I have no idea what those last ingredients are. But one thing for sure…they are not food in it’s original form. They were produced from something to become something else.
3. Here are some small things you can change that are practically painless. (In fact…I bet you’ll find yourself really enjoying these changes because remember…real food tastes better!)
*Make brown rice instead of white.
*Use real butter instead of margarine.
*Make a transition from baking with white flour, to baking with whole wheat flour.
*Begin cooking a simple breakfast instead of opening a box of cereal or a box of poptarts. There are so many yummy breakfast foods that are….real.
*Drink more water instead of sugar-filled drinks.
Okay…I think that’s enough for today. Don’t feel overwhelmed…just pick even one thing and make a change. Any change is better than no change. I really want to help you see how delicious these changes can be!
You can do this! You can eat a healthy diet and serve healthy foods to your family!
I can’t wait to share more. I have loved all the emails and comments I’ve been receiving from all of you who are searching for a healthier lifestyle! Keep them coming. Bring on the questions!
I’ll continue to share some ideas of small changes you can make in your diet to become more healthy…and I’ll share some of the reasons why you should make these changes. (Why is brown rice better than white anyway?! If I shouldn’t drink pop…what can I drink? I thought margarine had less cholesterol? Should I eat organic, or not?) (And oh, so much more…)
Please stay tuned… 
More Works for me Wednesday here!
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