When you visualize "America", what do you see? For me, my mind goes instantly to giant hamburgers, side-by-side with an enormous pile of salty french fries. The world's largest, most greasy pizza pie. Baseball games, where the viewers chow down on hotdogs. Football games, where the viewers chow down on wings and chug beers by the minute. American culture is food. Everything that we do revolves around eating. Let's meet for lunch. Let's study over coffee. What's for dinner? I have to make snacks for this party. Christmas dinner. Valentine's Day chocolates. Food. Food. Food.
I will admit, myself, that I am also an addict. I love orange chicken and Hershey's bars just as much as the next girl. Maybe even more so. I, however, am on a mission. My body is a wreck. Overweight from too many Chicken McNuggets. Tired from not enough water and too many processed, sugary beverages. Overwhelmed with the ideas of trying this diet and that diet. Oh my gosh, I have to fit in this dress next week, so I just won't eat at all. I don't have time to cook. I don't have time to work out. I definitely have time to go for cocktails with my girlfriends, though. "Fairy Godmother, make over my diet" isn't working. Because I'm not letting it.
Day three of the 30 Day Reinvention Project is about learning more about whole foods, and how to incorporate them slowly into your daily routine. Do I want to feel miserable about my body? Do I want to lack confidence? Do I want to risk my health? Absolutley not. Research is something I've done a lot of in the past. I have read so many books, watched a ton of documentaries, and gone weeks with organic, raw juicing, and healthy eating. It's not that I don't know how to eat correctly, it's that I lack the motivation.
Melissa Lanz, a food writer and whole foods expert has a couple of websites that really have inspired me to try something new. Her tips for incorporating healthy, whole foods into your daily routine, and making a lifestyle change are as follows:
1. Make one small change per week. Take inventory on all of the foods you eat daily. What is processed? What is natural? If it's a food I really, really like, how can I use whole foods to make the same thing in a healthier way? My plan is going to be to keep a daily food journal. List all of the foods I eat for a week. Using a pink hi-lighter, I'll mark all the foods that are processed. Using a green hi-lighter, I'll mark all the foods that are whole. At the end of the week, I'll evaluate and figure out a way to make healthier changes.
2. Plan ahead. So many times, I'm rushed for time between shifts at work and don't make good decisions on what to eat. Melissa has an awesome website:
Click here to see it!
The website is called The Fresh 20. This sight gives you 20 fresh, whole ingredients that you can buy each week to make 5 healthy dinners. They are relatively inexpensive, and also includes a meal plan and recipes for how to use those ingredients to feed your family. Since I am a single, 24-year old that feeds myself, I decided to use this website as inspiration to create my own "fresh 20."
A: Create a meal plan.
B: How can I use whole foods to make those recipes?
C: Write a list of groceries. Can I buy a bag of spinach and use that for multiple recipes?
D: Narrow my list down to 20 ingredients.
I'm so excited to work on a change that's going to benefit my physical health, as well as my mood. How did these tips inspire you? What are ways that you incorporate whole and organic foods into your daily lifestyle? Please share!
