Hey Guys,
This is a post is a throw back from a couple years ago. I have re-shared this before but reading it just inspires me to always keep working hard at making long lasting changes.
Molly is a RKC instructor, AMAZING Yoga instructor, Corrective Exercise Specialist and a Rock Star Mommy. She helped me from Day 1 figure out how to make the first steps to becoming a healthier, more natural eater. She shares with us her story and her baby steps to regaining control, rewiring our brains, and baby stepping towards healthy choices.
Enjoy!
Baby Steps to Eating Healthy
By Molly Bird, CES, RKC II, Yoga Instructor
Tonight I am making a delicious crock-pot meal. I've chopped my veggies, loaded the pot, and set it on low. It's 7:15pm and this will cook over night then be eaten for lunch and/or dinner tomorrow. As I was making it, I was thinking back on my stages of improvement with nutrition. It might go something like this (over the course of a few years, and with lots of influence from others and self research):
✓ Start eating fruit and veggies every day.
✓ Start cooking my own meals every night (or as close as possible).
✓ Eat more veggies than fruit every day.
✓ Reduce dairy (and no low fat crap). Reduce processed foods.
✓ Start buying all fresh fruits and veggies over frozen or canned.
✓ Eliminate gluten and high fructose corn syrup.
✓ Seriously reduce all sugar (I can't lie and say eliminate).
✓ Start buying organic and reduce processed meats.
✓ Go to farmers market and buy local, fresh foods.
✓ Buy farm fresh eggs, locally raised, free range beef, antibiotic free chicken, and wild-caught fish.
✓ Plant my own garden and eat fruits & veggies according to what is in season.
✓ Start juicing and drink only fresh coconut water straight from the coconut.
✓ Give up coffee. Drink only water, tea, or fresh coconut water (and let's be honest, the occasional alcoholic beverage).
Like I said, these changes happened slowly over the course of a few years. There were many little stepping-stone changes that I probably can't even remember, but those are some big ones. The latest one was coffee and this happened a few weeks ago, although I have done it before. It's not that I think the coffee is necessarily bad, but the urge to use creamer in my coffee is. I've tried coconut milk and a whole list of other things like honey and cinnamon, but it doesn't work for me. So now I drink green tea in the morning, which I love. I happen to like the “Yogi” brand of tea. It tastes great, but it also has these great sayings on the tab that hangs over your cup and I actually look forward to reading a new one each morning. Today it said, “Goodness should become human nature, because it is real in nature.” I've had better, but that's a pretty good one.
So back to my meal tonight, I am starting to smell it now as it cooks. Here it is in all of its crock-pot glory. Look at all the beautiful colors. Honestly, isn't it pretty? Different colors in vegetables mean different nutrients and benefits for the body. One way of keeping a balanced diet is to keep your meals colorful. Here is the ingredient list:
3 celery stalks, 2 yellow eggplant, 1 red pepper, 2 jalapenos, 1 turnip, 1 yellow onion, 1 red onion, ½ butternut squash, 3 garlic cloves, a handful of cilantro, and an antelope back strap on the bottom, covered by the heaping pile of veggies. I might add some unsalted butter.
*A round steak, roast, venison, or chicken could be substituted in place of antelope.
Now let's talk cost. I hear it all the time, “It's so expensive to eat healthy!” Try going to the store and only staying on the outside perimeter. You'll visit the produce section and the meat department, maybe the organic isle every once in a while for almond flour or coconut oil, etc. When you aren't buying all of the crap in the isles, you have a lot more money to spend on GOOD food. Skip the cereal, pasta, cookies, fruit snacks, and frozen meals. Maybe you don't save money, maybe you stay about the same, but you are eating healthy. You are fighting off illness, cancer, and type-2 diabetes. In the long run you will spend less on medical bills. So what is the cost of my meal tonight?
Celery, .99 cents for a bunch, I used 3 stalks, so let's say .50 cents. 2 eggplants, these were free from a friend with a garden that had more than they could use, but let's say $1, you can usually get 2 for a dollar at the farmer's market. A red pepper, this came from the store, $1.49. Also, two jalapenos from my garden now frozen in bags, free. Cilantro, also from my garden, free. One turnip, .50 cents, at the farmer's market. Two onions, 3 for a dollar at the farmer's market, so let's say .75 cents. Half of a butternut squash, 1.50 farmer's market, so .75 cents. Three garlic cloves, .89 cents for a whole head of garlic, so maybe .20 cents. Antelope roast, free, came from a friend who goes on hunting trips and comes back with more than they can use. (Are you seeing a trend here. . . when you eat healthy and make friends who are healthy, you get free healthy food!) If you purchased it in a store it might cost $15 or so on the high end. So what is my total? The final cost is $21.69 for a huge meal that will probably last us for 3 nights and is amazingly fresh and healthy. And in all reality it cost me only about $5 because of my nice, healthy friends.
Bottom line is, you need to eat healthy to be healthy. Exercise is great, but you can't out train a poor diet. Progress may happen slowly, but be proud of the changes you make. Keep striving to be better, while at the same time being grateful for your motivation to change at all. You may have setbacks and “bad” days, get right back on. Don't use the cost excuse, but if you really can't be persuaded that it isn't more expensive, then just consider it an investment in your health and quality of life.
If you like what you've read here and want more healthy recipes and ideas, visit me on Facebook at my page, Simply Strong. I like to keep things simple, which is why the “primal” or “paleo” diet works for me, but I also recognize that different things work for different bodies and there is more than one way to be healthy.
Thanks for reading, Namaste :)
Stay Strong,
Kris
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