What is the first thing I would do to get healthier?

A lot of people ask me what they should do to eat healthier.  That’s a big question! I also think they expect me to talk about foods that I avoid or don’t eat.  But my favorite thing to talk about is what to eat more of. Can you guess what the first thing I’d say is?

Of course it’s veggies!

But that seems sort of basic, doesn’t it?  So, here are some guidelines for how best to get veggies to play a more prominent role in your life:

-Eat a veggie with EVERY meal.  When you’ve mastered that, try to eat two veggies with lunch and dinner.  GO CRAZY!

-Eat a variety of colors of veggies.  There are different phytonutrients in different colors of veggies.  

-Have veggies pre-prepped in your fridge.  Maybe have some pre-made salads. Find the easiest way for you to include veggies into as many meals/snacks as you can!

-Eat some veggies you haven’t tried, or maybe even thought you didn’t like!  Have you tried chard? Or eggplant? Or summer squash?

-Cook them different ways!  Or keep them raw. Some people believe that cooking veggies will make them less healthy.  That’s kiiiinda true. It really depends on what vegetable you’re talking about. (more info here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/raw-veggies-are-healthier/) And there are still a lot of mysteries about how molecules react with the human body, so even the information we DO know might not be enough.  So, cook them how you LIKE them. Or keep them raw if that’s what you prefer. Just eat them!

So, this may all seem like basic advice.  But, eating healthier can be made complex.  People can categorize foods into “good” foods and “bad” foods and make you feel guilt when you eat the “wrong” foods.  

Or, you could start with one simple step and see if you feel better.  And when you master this one? Let me know, we’ll work on another step to make you feel another step better.