Today I thought I’d share some of my favorite ways to eat a little healthier, without even noticing that I’m doing it.
Now, I should probably confess that I genuinely ENJOY eating healthy. I am one of those people who actually gets excited when I see things like brown rice, tempeh, and kale on the menu. With that said, I do not eat every single meal in a vegan, macrobiotic restaurant (though I would sorta, kinda love that).
Living a healthy, upgraded life is not about being perfect all the time and impeccable with your food choices. Upgraded living is about making the best choices in each moment that will enhance your experience of yourself and your life. You may be surprised at how easy it is to make those kinds of upgraded choices without even ‘minding’ it. You may even love it!
Please note, that I am speaking about eating for HEALTH – not necessarily ‘weight loss’. It is my personal belief, based on my own experience, that when you figure out how to make your body as healthy and high-functioning as possible, the weight loss starts to take care of itself.
So here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite easy-breezy, no-big-whoop, simple ways to eat for HEALTH:
Choose olive oil over butter.
Drink wine instead of hard liquor.
Start with a salad – or have a side-order of vegetables as an appetizer.
Buy organic whenever possible.
If it contains the word ‘hydrogenated’, ditch it.
If it contains ‘high-fructose corn-syrup’, ditch it.
Eat brown rice instead of white.
Purchase the whole-grain version of your favorite chips, wraps, breads, pastas, etc.
Dip more veggies than chips in your hummus, guac, bean dip, etc.
Eat high-quality dark chocolate with more than 70% cocoa (I eat some every single day of my life. Yes. Chocolate every day).
Load your salads with beans and vegetables.
Choose avocado or guacamole instead of cheese and/or creamy salad dressings.
Try not to purchase or eat anything with more than 9 grams of sugar per serving.
Switch to decaf (or at least stop drinking caffeine after lunch).
There are so many more, of course, but these have easily become second-nature to me. How about you? What are your favorite ways to “healthify” your meals? What is one healthy food that used to seem weird to you, but is now just another part of your life? Please leave your comments below!
Thanks!
Nicole
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Wow! I’m thrilled to see that I’m already doing some of these things! Some I still need to work on (particularly the sugar) but what I think is so cool is that when you’ve experienced the healthy version enough times and for long enough, the processed, preservative-laden version is actually unappealing. Even for someone with a sweet tooth like mine, I have to say I’m turned off when I can actually smell the sugar from ten feet away (seriously!) OK I’m encouraged.
That’s great, Abby! And – yes – I totally agree about no longer craving the junky stuff. It really starts to taste nasty after a while! Keep up all your good work – and thanks for the comment!
Hey Nicole! I’ve actually been on something of a “detox” this week – after spending last weekend having pizza for breakfast, quesadillas for lunch, and – oh – ice cream for dinner. Wow.
I’ve discovered that the texture and color of food are fun for me – if something is crunchy, snappy, juicy etc. it’s like a little adventure for my mouth – likewise with colors. My lunch a couple of days this week was bright orange, yellow and red bell peppers (color+snap+crunch) and nectarines and cherries (juicy+color) and then sugar snap peas (fun to pop out the little peas and then crunch on the pocket itself) and half an avocado with just a tiny sprinkle of salt. The avocado made me feel satisfied because it was a little “indulgent” compared to the other things, and the buttery, smooth texture helped trick me into thinking it was cheese or a thick spread. Plus plain avocado with a hint of salt is about the best thing ever.
I let myself have a couple jellybeans or dark chocolate goji berries as a snack, and I made sure to stay hydrated – the raw veggies helped on that front too. And strangely, I found that I wasn’t as hungry over all – I wasn’t starving when it came to dinner time, and in fact two nights in a row had a veggie crepe with smoked gruyere and it was fabulous and fullfilling!
That said, I’m having a cheeseburger on Sunday and pizza tonight – so I’m living it up! But it’s ok because I’ve earned it…
Wow, Sam! You are chock full of awesome ideas (and awesome food). Color is so important, I think, when you’re putting a meal together. We eat with our eyes first, as they say. I love that you’re being so playful! And I completely agree about the avocado with a little salt.Yes. Please. Thanks for the comment! I hope you’ll come back soon!
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