Basic Tips:
- Don’t skip breakfast. Don’t eat just before bed or exercise.
- Eat when you are hungry. But avoid snacking unless it’s packed with nutrition. Opt for fruits, seeds, and nuts.
- Eat local, what’s in season and organic when possible.
- Eat a varied diet, try new things. Eat every color of the rainbow.
- Eat whole grains, seeds, nuts, cool pressed and unrefined nut and seed oils, fruit, sprouts, and legumes avoiding processed and pre-packaged foods.
- Eat lots of raw food, including high-quality cheese, fish, and of course, veggies.
- Chew your food. Taste it. Enjoy it. Sounds simple but in this fast-paced world sometimes we have to be reminded. Chewing slower makes your body produce more digestive enzymes which actually help control weight.
- Avoid food with additives and preservatives (if you can’t pronounce it, should you eat it?)
- Avoid animal products produced with antibiotics and hormones.
- Avoid fried food and charred or burnt food.
- Avoid refined foods like white flour and sugar.
- Use sweeteners minimally (processed sweeteners such as agave nectar, stevia, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and honey)
- Grow your own food and herbs when possible, it’s a most therapeutic activity for all humans. What you focus on will surely grow! Tend to these beautiful living creatures now and they will nourish you later.
- Do a simple alcohol, sugar, caffeine, & meat break a few times a year and reset!
- Do Listen to your body! If you are having intense food or sugar cravings do some research and try to figure out why. You might just be surprised by what your body is trying to tell you.
- Do keep a food/wellness journal paying attention to things like energy level, mood, ability to concentrate, sleep patterns, ability to deal with stress and ability to rest. Look for patterns and connections and eliminate the things that you feel may be bringing you down.
- Do relish in the act of cooking and eating. It is a sensuous, intimate experience. It’s hydrating, comforting, nurturing. Share your kitchen and recipes with friends, sharing is caring!
