New year.. new goals!
New year… new habits!
New year… new life!
Or so it goes, right? And then something crazy happens… it’s called February. Right around the second week of February, we pack up our resolutions the way we packed up our Christmas decorations. Then, like the tinsel, they aren’t thought about until 12 months later.
The sad thing is, when it comes to our health, breaking healthy resolutions is as dangerous as driving without a seat belt or rollerskating on a sheet of ice.
Very often, the average person has to have an “eye-opening experience” – something that causes them to evaluate and re-evaluate how they eat and how they feed their family. My number one goal in this post is to either keep you from having such an experience or to remind you of one you had.
A Personal Eye-Opening Moment
A few years ago, a much-loved (and young!) family member had to have a stent put in. Sitting in the heart hospital’s waiting room was an eye-opening experience in many ways. Naturally, I was scared for my loved on and very distressed that he was going through the very unpleasant experience. I was also very moved by the other families (many with teary eyes and clutched tissues). I was especially caught off guard by the number of patients I saw and heard about who were under 60.
I remember when the phrase “heart patient” immediately conjured up an image of a man or woman who was 70 years old or beyond. Not today. Heart patients are all ages and the whole prospect is horrifying.
As a nation, we eat an unbelievably unhealthy diet and we’re paying for it. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s – some of the worst monsters of our time can be avoided simply by eating healthier.
While raising our three daughters, I always tried to cook as healthy as I thought was possible. Today, when the majority of my cooking is for me, my husband, and our cats (they really fancy my baked cod, let me tell you) – healthy food is in the forefront of my mind.
Even with my food blog, I’ve always tried to provide healthy recipes, food reviews, and tips.
So what you’ll see isn’t so much a huge transition on the blog, but more of a renewed devotion to finding the healthiest foods, drinks, and meals possible.
Below are just a few examples.
- I am not as big on “avoid this, avoid that” as I am on “eat plenty of vegetables, drink green tea, fall in love with chia seeds…” that sort of thing. HOWEVER, there are absolutely foods that we should all cut back on – some even WAY back on. Sugar is one such food. And it’s not about calories – it’s about the unhealthy things sugar does to our bodies. Am I saying to avoid it completely? Heck, I know I can’t even do that, so I’m not about to tell anyone else to! I’m saying we should all cut way back on it. Read labels. It’ll knock the wind out of you when you see how much sugar is added where it has no business being. Look for foods with little to no sugar added.
- I am fanatical about vegetables. FANATICAL. They are delicious, beautiful, and the healthiest thing for our bodies and minds imaginable. I’m a huge component of getting as many vegetables in, daily, as possible. I slip them into soups, omelets, cheese quesadillas, tacos, salads (hello, obsession of all obsessions), meatloaf, stews, burgers, and so on. The more the better! I ‘ll be adding recipes and tips that have one thing in mind: getting more vegetables on your plate!
- I’m trying out lots of healthy foods and drinks and will be reviewing them on the food blog. There are some phenomenal products out there and I can’t wait to tell you about them.
- I’ve read quite a few wonderful books about eating healthier and will be reviewing them either here or on my Self Help Blog.
- I’ll be having a Healthy Food of the Week beginning this week actually (which reminds me, I’d better get cracking!). We’ll see why we need to eat more of this particular food, along with some ways to work it into more meals.
- If you haven’t already made a vow to eat healthier and feed your family the healthiest meals possible, I hope you’ll do so today.
It’s not about wearing a smaller size of jeans, flattening a belly or de-jiggling this, that, or the other. It’s about being healthy, feeling great, living a long life, and keeping your loved ones out of waiting rooms and yourself out of hospital gowns that open in the back.
Monday’s Call To Action!
Ready for a Call to Action before we end? Here goes! THINK about what you DRINK….
- If you (as of right this minute) drink soft drinks or diet soft drinks, give them up. If you have a 24 pack in the refrigerator, throw it out! These drinks are absolutely horrible for your health and the sooner you give them up, the better.
- If you add sugar to your coffee and/or tea, stop. It’s unnecessary and not even remotely good for you. Did you know that sugar has even been linked to pre-mature aging?! Yikes, right?! See: Ideas for Giving Up Sweet Tea for Unsweet Tea (it’s my own personal account because sweet tea had a hold on me for many, many years).
