health Here are some handy tips I’ve incorporated to my daily life and now share with my health coaching clients to help them make small adjustments each week that lead to a massive overhaul for their health and well-being. My best advice for using these tips is to take it slow. Do not be in such a rush to incorporate all of them at once, although I know how incredibly exciting it can be, trust me and take it one at a time. Pick one to work on for a week or two and really become masterful at it, make it your business and get to the point where it comes almost as habit before adding on the next. I would so much rather have you be extraordinarily successful with just one of these tasks then have you being mediocre at a bunch of them. You will find so much more success and reward from doing it this way so bookmark this page, pick one, keep on reading and come back to this page in a week or two for your next assignment. A great way to keep on track with these little “challenges” is to start keeping a check list in your calendar, it helps you build momentum and feel accomplished. There are also some great apps available to keep track of streaks. 1. GET YOUR GREENS IN I’m all about setting “green goals.” Adding greens to your normal diet will help crowd out any of the junk that needs to fall to the side and it will leave you feeling more energized and nourished. Challenge yourself to eat greens at two meals a day, or even all three if you want to take it to the next level. It doesn’t matter if it’s kale, spinach, swiss chard or even if you have to start with something more mild like a romaine or butter lettuce. Just start making it a habit to start incorporating greens in your meals and over time you’ll get more comfortable with the darker, more flavorful varieties. 2. PUT COLOR ON YOUR PLATE Nature’s beautiful colors that is, not some artificial red dye made of God knows what. Start making an effort to put a rainbow on your plate, a good place to start is to aim for three different colors at each meal. Nature had a lovely way of grouping our vegetables and fruits in colors based on some of the key nutrients. Start opening your mind to all sorts of different vegetable and fruit combinations and really allow your eyes to paint your plate. Maybe you’ll make some weird meals but more than likely you’ll stumble upon some winning combinations! 3. MAKE THE FARMER’S MARKET YOUR FRIEND Look up your local farmer’s market, ask your friends about any markets they like, most towns have at least one. Once you find it, plan a date with yourself every week to go check it out. Make your farmer’s market date your “me time,” let yourself relax and just explore the whole thing with childlike curiosity. I’m not making buying anything part of your homework here, all you have to do is get yourself there, get interested, chat with some of your local farmers and make this outing part of your weekly schedule. 4. BECOME AN INGREDIENT SNOB Yes, it’s time for you to become THAT person. The person that always has to ask what’s in something before you put it in your mouth. Well let me tell you a little secret, people that put better ingredients in their bodies, get better, healthier bodies! So you are only punishing yourself by not being inquisitive. Look at labels, not for the calories but for the ingredients. The ingredients should read like a shopping list. If there are some items on there that you either wouldn’t know where to buy in a supermarket or would never put in a recipe yourself then skip it. It’s best if the ingredient list contains no more than five or six different items, the less the better. It’s hard to say “stay away from all processed foods” because almost all foods that are not in their natural state when you ingest them are processed because they go through some sort of process to get into the form you are consuming them in. So I find the “processed” term a little too broad for me. Instead, I think in general it’s best to avoid mass-produced foods. If you’re going to eat pasta, go to a restaurant where they make it in the back instead of buying a box of from the supermarket or eating at a restaurant that does. Apply that principal to anything that’s processed and you’ll be putting a better version of it in your body. 5. STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE One of the fun things I did when I first went on my elimination diet was try a different vegetable each week. I would go to the supermarket or the farmer’s market if I could and pick out something I had never eaten, cooked or heard of. I would buy a couple of whatever it was and cook it in various ways and with different meals. I found this incredibly fun and extremely educational. I learned about vegetables I would have never tried, created some really yummy recipes and discovered some vegetables that I absolutely love eating. I can’t recommend it enough, even if you use some vegetables you already know to start off but play around with using them in different ways than you wouldn’t normally do. It really opens your mind to all the possibilities and helps you build a bigger repertoire of healthy go-tos. Cassandra Bodzak is the happy, healthy living guru featured on ABC’s “The Taste.” She started GoSweetandSkinny.com, where she shares her healthy recipes and tips for living your happiest life, and is the proud author of “Juicespiration,” her no-nonsense guide to do-it-yourself juice cleansing. She works with clients all over the U.S. to help them stop dieting, start eating right and achieve the body and life they love! CASSANDRA BODZAK TIPS FOR EATING MORE REAL FOOD NOW
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