About 5 years ago I began a quest for better health. At the time I felt like my health was crumbling. I felt like absolute junk, day in and day out.
I’ve always felt like the power to improve our health is within our hands.
The thing I felt I could control the most and easiest was the food I was eating. I began to just be aware of what I was eating by reading labels, and wow, were my eyes opened.
When you begin to pay attention to what is in your food you will be amazed at how many ingredients there really are in just a basic loaf of store bought bread.
My goal is to eat 90% whole foods. That means, unprocessed, real food, from scratch cookin’.
Eating 100% whole food is a bit daunting. I dove into it head first. I began soaking bread dough before baking, and sprouting my flour before grinding it. Making crackers, making bread, making cultured butter, making EVERYTHING!
Well, I got burned out.
I’ve learned a lot in the last 5 years and luckily it’s become easier to stick to a whole foods diet.
I’ve come up with 3 tips for those who desire to eat a diet higher in whole foods but are feeling a bit overwhelmed. I hope this will help you on your journey. With time it does get easier hang in there!
1. 90/10 or 80/20:
Don’t go for 100% perfect whole foods diet. You’ll end up pulling your hair out from the stress. It’s a lot of work, especially if you eat all processed foods right now. Strive for 80-90% clean eating and give yourself a break 10-20% of the time. Holidays, parties, and vacations happen and it’s not always feasible to eat perfect all the time. Realize that every now and then it’s ok to eat a treat and it won’t ruin your health. It’s when we eat junk food 80% of the time that our health is ruined.
2. Spend Time Making The Most Nutrient Dense Foods:
Pick a few things you are willing to put in the effort making and stick with those. Also take into consideration whether you enjoy making it or not.
As much as I love eating warm bread fresh out of the oven, I really don’t enjoy making bread AT ALL. Instead I read all the labels at the grocery store and picked a brand that has very few ingredients that’s locally made that I only spend 2$ a loaf. It’s the kind of bread that actually starts to mold within a week, that’s when you know you’ve got real food…no preservatives! I use flour very little so I don’t bother sprouting the wheat and grinding my own, I just buy a bag of white wheat flour at the store and have saved my sanity instead!
A few things I am willing to spend time in the kitchen are cultured/fermented foods. I make milk kefir and fermented veggies. I feel like the nutritional benefits far out weigh the extra work it is for me in the kitchen, so I am happy to spend the small amount of time keeping my fridge stocked with both. They both contain high amounts of probiotics which are so important for a healthy immune system.
Another thing I am willing to do is make breakfast 5 days of the week from scratch. That means oatmeal, egg on toast, german pancakes, waffles, smoothies and basic things like that. We eat cereal just a couple days a week.
Lastly I make dinner each night from scratch. I grew up that way and have continued the tradition of cooking dinner and it’s actually something I enjoy planning and preparing so that’s where I spend my time.
3. There Is More To Health Than Food:
I’ve been guilty of putting 100% stock in what I eat and how it affects the way I feel. The reality is your health is built upon more than just your diet. Diet IS a big part of your health but there are other factors as I have realized more and more lately. You can eat the cleanest diet and not exercise, not sleep well and have a negative attitude and you may still feel like junk.
I like to look at health with a holistic approach. Other areas that affect our health are our relationships, our amount of free time, stress levels, exercise, you’re thinking, the amount of sleep you get each night, fresh air, spirituality and more. All of these facets of health are so important so just remember to eat good most of the time and then also pay attention to these other areas of health you will be in good shape.
It’s all about making little changes each day and over time you’ll see big results. If your whole food diet is stressing you out then you know you need to cut back in some area. Start with just changing 1 meal at a time rather than everything in your entire house! Remember to give yourself some slack because it takes a while to build up recipes, knowledge and skills to eat better.
Where do you draw the line? Do you make everything from scratch? What do you buy? How can I help YOU eat a diet higher in whole foods? Please carry on the conversation below or on facebook!
Have a wonderful, healthy day,
~Hannah
