Happy New Year!

Are you like me? Do you like:

Fresh starts?
Clean slates?
New beginnings?


Me too.

It's the day and season of fresh starts, and if you are looking for a fresh start (or a jump start to healthy eating that went awry during the holidays), you are not alone.

I can't wait to continue our family's healthy eating journey in the new year, and I hope you will journey with us as we:

Eat better.
Feel better.
Live better.

To me, the end goal of healthy eating is a healthy body, a healthy outlook on life and an overall improved quality of life.

So here's two quick, practical, and relatively easy ways to begin this year's healthy eating journey:

If you have 15 minutes: spend 15 minutes each weekend or Monday, or really, whenever fits best into your schedule and plan your week's worth of meals*. Menu planning will invariably improve your health since it leads to more home cooking, less eating out, and will heighten your awareness of what you are eating. Usually, the more aware you are of your eating choices, the better you will choose to eat.

If you have a mere 1 minute: take 1 minute each time you plan to eat or find yourself craving a snack and stop and think before you eat. Think about how everything you eat is not merely to satiate your hunger, but also affects your health, and how you will feel after you eat what is before you.

The one minute trick is a huge help to me--I love, love the way the smell of french fries wafting through the air smells, but if I fast forward and think of how I feel after I eat the french fries, I usually choose to pass. With fresh baked cookies, this trick doesn't work so well...which is why I am a huge proponent of the 90/10 rule, allowing yourself treats now and then. But just taking that one minute to think things through usually leads me down a path of better eating.

So whether you have 15 minutes or 1 minute, choose to take the time to:

Eat well.
Feel well.
Live well.


*Each Monday I share our meals for the week, if you need a weekly inspiration. Also, may I suggest the "Recipe Index" tab at the top of the blog for some really great recipes?

Life is sweet,
SPC