Confessions of a tea-addicted geek

I am on a learning how to eat healthy for myself kick these days. It seems that while a lot of us KNOW how to do it, it’s putting it into practice for oneself that is the trick. I’ve learned an awful lot from reading 80-10-10 by Dr Douglas Graham, Engine 2 Diet by Kip Esselstyn, and Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr and I feel I know intellectually how I should be eating and what constitutes as “clean eating”. It’s just a matter of tweaking my diet and learning new habits so that theory becomes practice.

Start with what you eat while you’re at work or school, for breakfast, and when you come home. What do you normally crave? Are you a person who goes with variety, or are you more likely to eat same or similar meals out of convenience?

From there, take a look at the specific foods and start making substitutions. For example, I will be swapping out tortilla wraps for my lunches with romaine lettuce to make veggie wraps with. And while I’m at it, here’s why romaine lettuce is an underrated and wonderful food. I have also long swapped out regular hummus with an oil-free version. I eat very consistently healthy for breakfast, lunch, and snacks at work, and sometimes get home and lack the time to do anything other than eat out, albeit in a healthy fashion. So I make a lot of smoothies, juices, and do quick-and-tasty meals involving brown rice, quinoa, steamed veggies, and sometimes steamed tofu as well. Snacks usually involve fruit and/or a small amount of nuts. I also like Ezekiel English Muffins with organic peanut butter and sliced bananas on top.

Clean diet can be described pretty simply: whatever you can eat that doesn’t come from a can, a box, or a bag. In short, food which is natural and grown with minimal to no processing. The more you can eat that isn’t processed, the better! Apples, bananas, pears, and oranges are examples of the original fast food. Leafy greens should be consumed in one’s diet as much as possible, and I’ll frequently stuff my sandwiches and wraps with baby spinach as a result, and I also am quite fond of kale in salads, steamed, roasted, or in juices.

What steps can you make over time to improve how you eat? Think about it. Small changes make a difference over time, and I can guarantee you that you’ll love the way you look AND feel!

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