How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions? Have you burst into a ball of flame yet? Have you turned into Cindy Crawford? Me Neither, but that is mostly because I didn't actually make any New Year's Resolutions - that's one way to be wildly successful, isn't it?!
The way I feel about things, is that living a healthy life takes life changes. Things that you do forever and ever, evermore, and not just for 30 days or until you reach a goal weight or until you stumble across that sleeve of stale Oreos in the back of the pantry.
In my life, I try and make the best choices that I can in the moment. That means Meal Planning when I can (because I know that makes me successful). Prepping food and snacks "before" instead of saying that I will get to it later. And making the little things count - and not giving up the whole show when something doesn't go right.
Maybe this week - Try Baking with Some Healthy Substitutions. It is much easier than you think, and you don't have to go all out - You can cut the sugar in half, or substitute half the flour for a whole grain flour. You don't have to give up chocolate chip cookies and only eat carob. You don't even have to be so brave as to add or cut half, do half or a half. One little step in the right direction, is Still in the right direction.
Try an in-season fruit or vegetable that you’ve never had. If you like summer stone fruits like peaches and plums, you’ll probably love persimmons, too. Have you eaten fresh cranberries, or tried a new citrus fruit - what about artichokes? Eating in Season not only is so much better for you, but foods taste better when they are fresher and they cost quite a bit less.
Stuck in a Rut with Pasta or Rice - Eat Well Utah - has some amazing information and recipes on cooking with whole grains. Use quinoa instead of rice, add barley or groats to your menu. What about making some veggie "noodles" with zucchini or rocking it old school with spaghetti squash!
Make-Over a Comfort Food - Instead of frying chicken, bread it and bake it in the oven. Try a creamy macaroni and cheese recipe, you can find recipes that are for beginning healthy eaters all the way to recipes that use cauliflower to make the "cheese" sauce. Use a substitution that is better for you than heavy cream to thicken a soup, use something besides mayonnaise to make a salad creamy.
Choose Your Beverages Wisely - One of the best things that we can all do for our bodies is to Stop drinking soda. Choose to drink more water, eat whole fruit instead of drinking juices, make low-fat and skim milk part of your healthy habits.
Change Up Your Breakfast - Start your day by making a choice to take better care of yourself. Start your day with a whole grain - or how about adding some veggies to your breakfast. If you aren't someone who regularly eats breakfast, start a new habit that will make you feel great. Lots of us feel like we don't have time to make a big healthy meal in the morning, and that makes weekends great for preparing freezer breakfast burritos or sandwiches to put in the freezer. You can pop something in the microwave and have breakfast made in less time than it takes to brush your teeth.
Choose Fruit - When those late night snack cravings happen, Choose Fruit. When you get that afternoon slump or those terrible 10am "how can it NOT be lunch yet?!" feelings. Choose a piece of fruit.
Try just one way to be healthier this week, or try each time once. Try something else that you have had on your list of things you want to do - Keep being brave, keep moving forward!
