Are We What We Eat?
What we put in our bodies does directly impact our health (contrary to what the “eat what you want” people say)! You can’t take the best supplements and eat Doritos all day, and then think you’re going to feel your best.
This is where my journey began….changing the food we consumed to clean and whole, about 85-90% of the time, to better care for my family. I sat down with people I respected and knew I could learn valuable insights from~and methodically went to town to change, not only our diet, but our lifestyle (and we’re still a work in progress!!) I even had a friend go to the grocery store with me and read labels. I knew this one simple step, of nourishing foods, would be the building blocks of our whole health.
I began planning a garden, buying organic produce from local farmers (more on this in another post), researching simple, yet wholesome recipes, and fully embracing my “crunchy mama” tendencies! This subtle shift happened over the course of time~it has been a marathon and not a sprint as my goal was a lifelong change and not just a quick fix.
There were three things that really helped clean up our diet and menu-planning:
1) Mindset: I looked at this change as a fun challenge~a new skill to learn. I knew I could feed my family well and it still taste yummy. (Don’t be fooled, though, I’ve had my share of epic flops in the healthy food making world!!) We didn’t have to sacrifice flavor on the alter of healthy living!! I first made simple adjustments, like avocado oil instead of canola oil. I followed the Dirty Dozen produce list as much as possible. I shopped the perimeter of the store more than the inside aisles.
2) Consistency: I was pursuing intentionality~not perfection. So, if we had pizza a couple of nights a month, I was ok with that as we eat pretty darn clean the rest of the month. I was, honestly, aiming for long term rewards, so choices and decisions needed to be sustainable. A small change here and a small change there, done consistently and with purpose, equaled big results.
3) Grace: I recognized very early on that our journey was ours, and I didn’t need to compare to anyone else. I could/do learn from others, but if, say, I couldn’t buy all organic I wasn’t going to beat myself up. I worked with what I had and prioritized the changes that would set a solid foundation for our family. I gave myself grace and accepted that to switch and swap out good habits for bad habits, I’d need to be committed and be focused (but gracious) to myself (as the gatekeeper to our home) and to the journey.
On Monday let’s talk about simple swaps in the kitchen to better nourish our families.
Cheering you on,
Noelle
