Tiny Tips for New Real Foodies
life is hard; food doesn't have to be #98 [vol3, 8.4]
A friend texted this week:
I’m not a huge healthy eater but went to a new doctor today for a well visit and she basically told me I had to completely change my diet for better gut health (and added some supplements). She told me I had to go cold turkey and eat clean. I’m going to need your help.
Baby Steps
While going cold turkey is one strategy, I think the most successful strategy for lifestyle change is baby steps.
I called my friend and asked her to share more. Tell me more about what you’re eating (a lot of processed food). She knew the key to eating better is meal planning. She confessed, “I don’t like to cook. I don’t know how.”
I corrected her and said, “Just like any life skill, you can learn. Let’s change your mindset to, ‘I need to learn more skills for my health and that of my family.’”
Where to Start?
My recommendation was to start with learning to cook a whole chicken with bones. once you have the cooked meat, possibilities are endless: soup, casserole, wraps, salads, etc. Beyond the protein, the broth is so healing and nutritious. Since she was particularly concerned about healing her gut, I strongly recommended adding a mug of broth to her daily diet. Here is all you need to know about cooking a whole chicken and making broth.
Crowd Sourcing
I asked friends on Instagram where they started a real food journey. Here are some of the answers:
switch to farm fresh eggs, or best quality you can find. Details here.
nutrient dense breakfast - I recommend eggs or baked oatmeal
buy meat directly from a farmer, in bulk. Here’s a post I wrote on baby steps for buying better meat.
drink water instead of sugary drinks
snack on cucumbers or celery with nut butter - here’s a post on 6 ways to eat more green veggies and salad isn’t one.
reduce sugar - this one is haaaard. Read labels and ruthlessly eliminate high fructose corn syrup.
switch out some things for healthier alternatives - Just Ingredients on Instagram gives ideas for healthier alternatives
chop up a whole bunch of veggies on Sunday; try to use them during the week any way I can
cut out processed foods like chips and cereal - it starts in the cart, just don’t buy it.
aim to shop the outside of the aisles: veg, dairy, meat
read labels and try to avoid food dyes
simple meals seasoned with good salt, butter or olive oil
switch to mineral rich sea salt or Himalayan. Try to find one that has salt as the only ingredient — without anti-caking agents
Instead of sugary peanut butter with unhealthy oils, try natural peanut butter - or mix the two together for a while.
Learn to make salad dressing - here are my favs.
Consider the Entire Day
If you find yourself in the category where 67% of your calories are from a package, what is one meal you could eat that is “from scratch”? And by scratch, I mean in the closest form that it was created. Maybe at breakfast, you choose eggs and fruit (skip the bread and highly processed bacon or ham). Maybe for kid lunches they’re limited to “one package”. Dinner is the meal that our family strives to sit and catch up face to face. Dinner is a big priority for me. Here are recipes that are on repeat at my house.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Baby steps are the most lasting for long-term change. Take 30 seconds and think of one change in this email to implement this week.
Life is hard, food doesn’t have to be,
Julie
PS
I’m launching my oldest to college tomorrow! We’re driving to Arizona and I’ll fly back. He’s going to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. I’ve been a blubbery mess the last week and I’m sure it won’t get better for a while.
He had sinus surgery two weeks ago. He had a second surgery last Thursday: reconstructive eye surgery - I used allll the remedies for him post-op. The doctor prepared us for 2 weeks of bruising and a month of swelling. After a week he looks so good! Almost back to normal and I attribute this to his youth + arnica (for bruising and swelling) and bromelain (enzyme specifically for swelling of face, sinuses, etc.). The first 5 days after his eye surgery he was in considerable pain and discomfort but seemed to turn a corner yesterday. I am so thankful.