When I introduced this series, I suggested that the first step I felt each of us should make as we worked toward eating a healthier diet was to simply begin adding more fruits and vegetables to our diets. As I got ready to publish that post, I asked my husband what he thought was the first step people should make toward healthy eating. I wanted to see if he and I were thinking along the same lines.
Matt thought for a moment and then he said, “Well, the first thing anyone has to do if they want to start eating healthier is to make the decision to do it. If they’re in it with half a heart, they’re likely to stay in unhealthy eating patterns. But if they decide that eating healthy is what they need to do, then a big part of the journey has already begun.”
And then he said something like, “Laura, you look absolutely beautiful today.”
Okay, he didn’t really say that part. I just made it up. I mean he has said that before…but not usually when we’re talking about vegetables and making healthy food decisions.
Anyway.
While I think that my “eat more fruits and veggies” idea is a good first step…I agree with Matt. The first, first step toward healthy eating is that you have to make the decision that you’re going to do it.
You have to decide that eating nutritious food is best for you.
You have to decide that eliminating bad food is best for you.
You have to decide that making tough changes are possible for you.
You have to decide that the difficulty of making dietery changes is worth it.
You have to realize that it won’t be as hard as you think.
You have to know that you aren’t alone and that you’ll have help.
You have to decide.
And that’s all there is to it.
Sometimes it’s hard. You may have a hard time getting your husband or children on board with you. Your friends and family may think you’ve gone bonkers because you used to love poptarts and now you are on a mission to find a local farm source who will provide you with grass fed beef. Your local grocery stores may not supply many of the foods you are now looking for. You might still crave cheetos. You may feel overwhelmed with trying to make all the dietary changes. You might not know what to do with all the boxed, processed food that is in your pantry. There is so much information out there you may feel like you don’t even know where to start.
But you’ve made the decision to eat healthier…and that is the most important first step.
And you’re reading this, which means that you’ve come to the right place. Not because I have all the answers, but because I’ve likely been exactly where you are. I know how it feels. I’ve walked the journey. I’ve felt the frustration and been completely overwhelmed with where to start and where to turn.
I’m going to help you do this! We’re all going to help! This is a team effort. You are not alone!
Making the decision to eat healthier is hard. Realize that if you’ve made the decision, you’ve taken a huge step into your journey already.
Woohoo…here we go!
Are you on board?
yes i am am ready to learn and ready to eat with a healthy diet
YES! Finding you was an answer to a prayer. I felt the same thing a few months back when people thought I was insane to change the way I ate to the way I’m trying to eat. Including my children! But it’s a challenge worth taking. Hands down!
Yes I am ready. I am currently on a strict cleanse and will be making wholesome foods and preparing our home so when I am done, we will be eating better. Its very exciting this new world we are starting to explore.
I would love to say yes, but I think if I am completely honest with myself, the answer would be no. No, I am not ready to make that change or jump on board. “Why?” you ask. Well, probably because I am scared and a bit lazy. We already drink raw milk, buy only grass-fed beef from a local farmer, grind our own wheat, and don’t use very many processed foods. You would think we would already be doing a great job of eating healthy, but the that would not be true. Actually, I hardly ever cook. We eat out probably 4/5 days a week, including lunches. My husband often calls and asks if we want to have lunch with him, so we do. And often in the evening I am so exhausted, or busy until dark, that I don’t have the time or energy to cook a big meal. Our biggest problem is that we don’t eat very many fruits or veggies. We are all pretty picky, and we all have different things we like. It just makes cooking so overwhelming. I read your blog daily and have tried many of your recipes. We have planted a garden for the first time. But, still I just feel overwhelmed. So much of the fresh produce we purchase goes to waste because we usually eat out. I would love to feed my family nutritious food, but I just don’t know how to do it in a way they will like. I will definately read the rest of this series and give it some serious thought.
I appreciate your honesty. I hope you realize you are not alone. Feeling overwhelmed is so isolating. I like that Laura is only asking for us to make one small change at a time.
Me too!! and she doesn’t beat us over the head w/it either, making it feel overwhelming.
Well you are definitely not alone. But you are further ahead than I am. I JUST found a local farm who delivers on Tuesday mornings, WHEN I WORK!
Marla – I LOVE that you shared this. Your honesty is fantastic and I know that this comment will be such a comfort to so many people who are in the same “place of the journey” that you are. I just think it’s wonderful that you’re giving thought to making improvements and working to do what will work best for your family. Thank you so much for being open with this. You’re so awesome. I appreciate you so much.
I can completely relate Marla, on a few levels. We are very picky too
(especially me) We fall into the eating out trap frequently. We don’t
eat many fruits and veggies and we just planted our first garden. One
thing that has helped tremendously is that we are now under VERY tight
budget constraints. That works to prevent us from eating out very
much at all. I have committed to planning our meals and eating at home
as much as possible. It really is working, I feel a little less
overwhelmed, except when I ahve to plan the week’s menu. I plan fruits
and veggies, even if I don’t eat them. I can still get eveyone else
to try a bit. Our garden has been fun too, now that we are starting to
eat some of it’s produce.
How old are your kids? Mine are young which I think helps, but know
that you are not alone. We can all make progress in the right
direction!
Kim, I feel you, we are on a tight, one income, just under poverty line budget. I could get WIC, but I know that there is nothing in it that would fit into this new lifestyle. I am right now trying to figure out how to get a grain mill and a first order together at azure so I can get started. Its a tight squeeze. But on the upside, I have found many local farms for everything from produce to meat and milk. The only problem is finding one close enough. I wanted to start grinding flour and making some bread products now and then work on canning and keeping fresh produce on hand afterwards. The u-pick farm that is pretty close isn’t open til next month, so that is a bummer, but gives me time to concentrate on baking and grinding for now.
Danielle — I want to encourage you to just take it slow. The road to healthy eating does take time. if you go too quickly, you will probably get overwhelmed and quit. My family’s road to healthy eating has taken many, many years. 2 years ago, we were right where you are now. We ate out constantly. With 5 kids, all picky, I had many excuses not to cook dinner. Eating healthy is expensive and takes time. I really do not like too cook. Anyway, that was where we were then. Generally eating healthy, but afraid to commit to bigger changes. THEN my daughter was diagnosed with cancer at 6 years old. There is nothing like that type of health catastrophe to really wake you up. I made that commitment make healthy eating a priority during that first scary long week in the hospital. I quickly learned to just say no to the really bad stuff. I guess Fear motivated me most, and a belief that changing our eating habits would save my daughter. I’m happy to say that I realize that God is completely in control, not me, but I think He is happy with us eating things more in line with His design. Anyway, nearly 2 years later, I’ve come to hate eating out. I just feel so bad when we do (bloated, uncomfortable, yuck). My kids have come to love my homemade muffins made with freshly ground spring white wheat and local honey and my kefir/fruit smoothies. I sit down and make a menu each week, and I shop the same day each week so that it is something regular and planned. I keep it simple — I still do not like to cook! And I surround myself with blogs and other people who encourage me to keep going. You can do it!
i love it!! i’ve been following your posts on the healthy eating and your journey and love learning all the knowledge you share with us. i made your mini apple pies yesterday and taste tested them compared with my original white flour/white sugar ones. Yours were superb. in fact i took your advice regarding breakfast and had the whole wheat mini apple pie and was not hungry at all and had no cravings. had i eaten the white flour/white sugar one i would have just craved more sugar. my husband even liked them and that is saying something!! we are definitely eating more veggies and starting our journey to healthier eating!! i’ve found our whole foods store, farm to buy pure milk (although i haven’t been yet), learned azure standard now delivers to our area (yeah!), visiting the farmers market, started our garden, and much more. keep teaching us!!!
Thank you for this series, I am enjoying it! After our girls health issues this winter (not related to food!) we are encouraged to move further along in healthy eating, not that we are eating junk, we just want to do better!
My first step was to sign up for an organic CSA box every 2 weeks knowing I can switch to the bigger box every 2 weeks or go to every week as needed. The funny thing is that when I look at what we get I am pretty sure it is cheaper than buying it non-organically at the grocery store and so much tastier!
What is an organic CSA box?
CSA is community supported agriculture.
Basically I am buying a box of organic produce directly from
the farm. It is wonderful!
How do you find these farms? I live in northcentral Ohio and am not sure where to find one. Thanks!
Jennifer – I just googled the area and CSA, so start with Ohio CSA
and then start narrowing it down from there. You might need to try
variations of Community Supported Agriculture, weekly produce delivery,
etc.
You can also ask around at farmer’s markets.
Eating healthy is a journey my family has embarked on in a BIG way, and I’m loving reading about yours, Laura! A dear friend (also named Laura, coincidentally) recommended Sally Fallon’s book “Nourishing Traditions.” I’m working toward soaking all our grains. Grinding whole wheat and spelt and other grains for our baking. Raising our own chickens, turkeys, and goats for milk, eggs, and meat. Growing a bigger garden than I ever expected I’d tend. Digging a root cellar to store all this wonderful fresh produce. And we’re doing all this in Alaska, where we call it “combat gardening” only half-joking. Our growing season is 60 days if we’re really lucky. So if we can do it, I really believe anyone can! Thanks for your encouragement, Laura – in healthy eating and so much more!!
I am looking into getting our own chickens, weigh the cost vs the outcome. However, my husband does not want to slaughter the chickens (he knows how as he in from Mexico and has done it since he was young, but does not want to). Where can I find a small-scale place to slaughter chickens? We want maybe around 10-15 and live in washington. Do you do your own? or do you use a service? thanks, if you cant help-no worries.
Erin, we slaughter our own. Messy job, but we get it done.
Don’t know where to direct you to get slaughtering done – see if there
is a slaughter plant in your area. Look in the phone book under Meat Processing
or Meat Packers. Small-scale plants are all over the place. They are often
a good source for locally-raised grass-fed beef and other meats as well.
As for cost vs. outcome on the chickens, we haven’t figured it out, although I’m fairly
sure it costs much more to raise your own than it does to buy them
at the store – possibly even to buy organic free-range chickens! But I
know exactly what these chickens ate, how they were treated, etc. Same
for our goats and turkeys. You can’t put a price on that.
Well as far as I can tell, the price does seem worth it based on what you get. I want my girls to have some animals around here to learn the responsibility, they are young (4 and 1.5 yrs) but when we were in mexico, my now 4 year old (then 1yr 9mo old) was so enamored with all the animals (they had chicken, duck, roosters, sheep, and turkey).
My husband is starting to come around to it, he told me yesterday that he would, IF I helped him. Well here is the thing, I don’t know if I can stomach it. So alas, I continue looking for a place to take them that can process them or someone to help him that can stomach it. I would prefer to not have to slaughter them all at once, as the freshness is what I am after. In Mexico, you go to the market and get chicken that was slaughtered that morning and the taste is unreal. LOVE it!! How do you do it? Do you hang them or put them in cones (saw those on an ad yesterday)? BTW, thanks for your help!!
Erin, I won’t go into the details here – just suffice to say we get it done. I don’t want to gross anyone out. You can do it! Just get past being grossed out and think about something else. That’s what I do. :-)
I am here with ya all. I am not perfect…we are totally not perfect, but I keep at it.
Biggest change for me? Eating with the kids at mealtimes instead of cleaning up. I would barely eat all day grabbing a cracker or easy food, then at night I would be STARVING, now I eat with the kids and it has helped me sooo much!
I am taking your advice Laura about spending money on food, because we need food.
Guess what? I am in the market to buy a grain mill….egads, I am so excited ( I am such a foodie nerd!).
it’s definitely a struggle. we’ve always eaten a good amount of fruits and veggies, but now i’m working toward buying organic of the dirty dozen.
i still struggle with seeing a really good deal on a packaged food or pesticide laden fruit, and the urge to buy it to “save money”.
not ready to grind my own grain yet, but i’m sure i’ll get there.
Well, I was just thinking this morning that if I don’t really decide to make some changes, then nothing will change. We actually started this journey to healthy eating about 6 years ago, and now eat much healthier than we ever did before, and much healthier than most of our friends. But three kids later, I have still never given up some of the sweets and snack foods, and as a tired and busy mama, I’ve let some convenience foods slip back in. So it’s tough decision time again. Thanks for the encouragement!
Shannon
I’m on board! I’d like to find out more info on raw milk. You’ve mentioned it a couple of times. I googled it and read a little and it looked like there are a bunch of health benefits. When I suggested it to my husband, he freaked out. He said they were talking about raw milk on NPR and there was a lady who lost a kidney because of it.
Hi Tiffany. A good place to start learning about raw milk is the
Weston A. Price Foundation Website. They have a lot of information at
realmilk.com
We’ve been drinking it for 1 1/2 years now, and it’s awesome!
Hi Tiffany. Funny you say that about your husband. My husband is open to everything I’ve tried so far, except when I’ve mentioned raw milk. He wants it pasteurized and thinks it helped stop many diseases and deaths. Thanks Jen for that link. I’m gonna check it out!
Yep. I’m ready.
I’ve actually made some changes to my eating habits already, and I’m doing ok, only I would love to some motivation, so I’m going to hang with you guys on here. I’ve sort of fallen off the bandwagon with my veggies, and I’ve just added fruit to my diet (I’m on low carb) in the form of strawberries and melons, which I love. Can’t wait to see the next post!
I definitely want to move toward eating healthier. Any suggestions on how to help other family members make the same decision?
One problem I’m encountering is that we receive free food from WIC. And the more I learn, the more I realize that it’s not the healthiest out there. We get a LOT of pasteurized milk, a LOT of cold cereal, and a LOT of juice. It can be hard to just turn it away, so I’m working on translating those ingredients into healthy meals.
How timely. We just made the decision yesterday to go to a whole foods diet after experiencing the latest in a long string of inappropriate emotional outbursts from my son. I’m praying that we can treat this problem with nutrition, because I will admit that our nutrition stinks right now. I’ve been reading your site for about two months now and watching while my BFF makes the changes, but with a new baby I was not ready to commit. Now, I have to do this, or my son and the rest of the family will suffer due to my laziness. I’m scared, excited, overwhelmed and anxious. Sounds like I’m getting married, or something! LOL.
I am going to start this challenge determined to eat healthier! Thanks for the inspiration.
I had already made the switch to whole grains, honey instead or sugar, and more fruits and veggies. I am very overweight and my 2 sons are borderline. My husband is quite thin but has high blood pressure. We are vegetarians and I NEVER buy chips or junk foods – honest. But something obviously was wrong so I had started making the above changes.
THEN – my oldest son had a kidney stone. He’s only 12. Pretty scary. The doctors were like “no big deal,” but to me it was huge.
So now I am doing a lot more organic and especially checking sodium on everything. The rude awakening is that I basically have to do everything from scratch to keep the sodium down. There is sodium in everything! It is definitely a challenge to do it from scratch. I have done your soaked pancakes in huge batches and frozen them as a convenience food, along with beans. As vegetarians beans is the staple of our diet, but they are full of sodium in the can! So freezing those ahead of time is a help.
It is a real challenge but I believe it is really the last thing I can do to help my family’s health, as we have already done so much without good results. I have to do it. Thanks for your website as it definitely provides a wealth of information, and I use many of your recipes. They are much easier then some of the other “healthy eating” sites. Thank you!
Yes, I’m in! My biggest challenge is that I’m single and work full-time, and with a busy life, I find myself eating on the run a lot and don’t have a lot of time to cook – something I want to change! I guess it’s one step at a time. Looking forward to all you have to share with us!
I am so ready. I have been trying this for a month on my own and it is tough!!!!!! But my kids want to eat healthier too.
I’m trying to start a baking class, but I have no clue what to make. So my mom suggested that I look on your website. Thanks for the recipes!
I’m with you Marla (it’s funny my name is also Marla). I keep feeling God leading me towards a healthealthier eating plan, but it is so hard. I love the taste of all food that’s bad for me. I also am working on overcoming a food addiction. I know that I need to eat healthier, but I’m having a real struggle. I have been working on ways to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet in addition to trying to use only whole grain rice, pasta, breads, etc. But I struggle with sweets and salty chips, etc. Any my real big addition (besides food) is diet pepsi. I’m hoping that through this blog, prayer and support that God will begin to change me from the inside out. Thank you for listening. Maybe this is the support I need. Have a wonderful day. Marla :-)
Marla — I can so relate to you. I was very addicted to diet coke — had drunk it for over 30 years! About 9 months ago, I watched the YouTube video on sugar (I cannot remember the link, but it was about how much damage sugar does to our bodies), and I committed right then and there to give up my sodas. It was TOUGH for 2 weeks, then it was HARD for another 2 weeks. But then it got easier. Now, I don’t even want it. And I used to have the worst sweet tooth. I found that having a diet high in protein is really effective at curbing my sweet tooth. I start the day with a smoothie made from 1 cup of milk kefir, 1 banana, 1/4 cup frozen berries, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 2 raw egg yolks, and a dash of cinnamon. This satisfies my appetite extremely well and totally suppresses my sweet tooth for the rest of the day. The other day, I did not have my breakfast smoothie, and I struggled all day against wanting to munch on chips and sweet stuff. It really surprised me. I’ve also cut WAY DOWN on grains. That has seemed to help too. I’ve even lost a couple of pounds, but I was doing it to see if it helped my painful joints, and it does seem to help. But, more importantly, eating so few grains and breads means that I am eating more proteins and fats, and I eat less and am more satisfied. I am not against grains at all — I think they have a firm Biblical basis. I just realized that they were the foundation and bulk of almost all of my meals, and I felt that that was a problem. Anyway, God bless you and guide you on your journey!
Amy, thank you for the reply. I have quit the diet pepsi before and then I think I wil lbe okay to just one and next thing I know I’m back on it full-time. Thank you for the smoothie recipe. It sounds very yummy. My husband and I have been wanting to get into smoothies. I think we will give this one a try. I will let you know how we like it. i’m anxious to see how it curbs my sugar and salt cravings during the day. God bless you also. Keep up the good work.
Two friends of mine introduced me to this website a while back and I am just now starting to check it everyday and read your posts. I find the information extremely helpful! Thank you! I also am ready to start eating more healthy! At the beginning of February, my husband and I saw the documentary “Food, Inc.” Boy, was it an eye opener!!! Since then I can’t even eat chicken or beef that is not organic and free of hormones and antibiotics. We have pretty much stopped eating out…maybe three times a month is about it. I do struggle with finding time to prepare food that would be good for my young boys for breakfast and especially lunch. Their ages are almost 3 and 17 months…plus, I am expecting another boy that is due September 1st. So with them running around, getting into all sorts of mischief, and me being tired from the pregnancy it is VERY hard to have time to do a lot of cooking. And I do not have family that lives near by to baby sit the kids a few hours in the week so that I can make things ahead and freeze them. It is super frustrating and at times overwhelming!! If you have any advice I would love it! Hopefully soon I plan to purchase a Nutrimill and Bosch mixer and start baking with the flour.
I have lots of little ones, boys 7,5,3,2,8 months and am 3 months pregnant. I understand, I make hamburger
and sometimes extra hamburger at lunch so i can just add to it at dinner. I find i am more motivated before
nap. It is very hard with little ones and being pregnant. I am planing to make a few things to freeze every
day but it has not happened yet. Just start with one meal, lunch or dinner and work to more. I love my
nutrimill, grind a lot and freeze it. If you wait until you need it with little kids you will not do it.
I’ve been slowly making changes. Looking forward to having others share in this battle.
I am so ready for this. We have been slowly implementing better eating habits but i just don’t know how to get started.
Well, I’m on board –I think. Actually I’m more at the dipping my toes in the water point. Like others have said, eating out is a big problem. I like cooking, hate to clean up and also despise how unorganized my teeny tiny kitchen with very little counter space is. It’s a rental so I dont want to shell out money we dont have adding to it and this place is super cheap so ;I dont think the land lord would be willing to upgrade either. So after whining a bit we’ve decided (meaning I’ve decided and hubby pretty much agrees) to find a decent board that I can lay over some of those plastic drawer bins you can get at Walmart and use that for my counter space. That would also give me a bit more storage space as well. Not the absolute best solution, but it’ll work. Money issues keep me from trying everything I want to at once, but I’m determined to keep plugging at it. The next few days I want to work on getting a menu up. That way I can come up with a grocery list and get healthier stuff to work with. Now a question. I’m not ready to buy a wheat grinder but I dont want to continue with white flour. But when I buy whole wheat flour it seems to be the darker variety. Does anyone know if hard white wheat flour is available?
Hi. I’m ready to keep taking a few smaller steps. We are already pretty healthy when it comes to eating, but sometimes I get a little overwhelmed when I start reading the literature and actually quite frustated.Last night I made my first soaked recipe and it is still soaking. I have been reading the book “Nourishing Traditions”. So then, I look up more about phytic acid and there seems to be some benefits to it! Like here, on wikipedia…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid
Or, I was reading a blog 2 weeks ago in which an “expert” on the panel went so far as to say it’s better to consume white flour then unsoaked or not sprouted wheat bread. That was so discouraging to me. I guess I’m trying to achieve a balance and keep my sanity at the same time!
I’m ready! I’m so glad I found this site :) Looking forward to more posts on this topic!
Yes, Yes, YES!! But, could I finish the chocolate Pepsi cake on my counter first? LOL
This is a great series and I can’t wait to read the rest!