Do Yourself a Favour in 2017, and Eat More Whole Foods.

January marks the start of a brand new year, and with it the yearly guilt fuelled focus on health and wellness.

The time of year where we all (myself included) make magical “resolutions” that we hope will make us better people.

I posted last year about how to create more successful resolutions, but what is the best New Years Resolution you can make this year for your health?

My answer: Eat more whole foods.

Why whole foods? Why not a calorie restricted, low carb, reduced fat, gluten-free, non-dairy, vegan diet?

Well, as I mentioned in earlier posts there has been a lot of controversy over health guidelines when it comes to diets that focus on carbs and fat.

One thing that has always been clear and has never changed is that people who eat less processed foods are healthier.

What do I mean by whole foods? Basically, anything that you can buy at a store that is not in a package or hasn’t been highly processed. Examples: Fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh cut meat, minimally processed whole grain products, unsweetened milk products, etc.

You do not HAVE to run to the farmer’s market everyday or buy the most local heirloom variety of tomato to eat wholesome foods. The everyday run-of-the-mill tomatoes will do fine and, paired with the right ingredients, will be just as delicious.

Obviously there are always exceptions, and in this case canned vegetables, legumes and fruits packed in water, are important processed (less) foods to still include and are often cheaper than their fresh counterparts.

“So I don’t eat raw onions or heads of cabbage, are you saying I’ll need to cook more to include more of these “whole foods”?”

Yes.

BUT, DO NOT WORRY.

I’m not here to say cooking is easy or that you have to do it every night. I don’t. What you should be thinking about is trying to cook from scratch one or two more nights per week. One or two!

Cooking does not have to be hard or take a super long time, there are many ways to fit it in to a busy lifestyle:

• Check out this section of my favourite food site Serious Eats, for quick meal ideas
• Prepare vegetables the day before
• Use a pressure/slow cooker
• Plan weekly meals, to reduce the trips to grocery stores
• Roast vegetables / meats at higher temps to cook faster
• Head to this great article on the kitchn for more!

Including more whole foods will automatically improve your cooking skills, waistline and the amount of added sodium, flavours and preservatives in your diet. To me, the most important change will be how much more delicious your food will be!

Losing weight and being healthy needs to be a life long commitment, where enjoyment and satisfaction is paramount. It’s not about a quick fix diet, or killing yourself at Boot Camp. It’s about making a change to be more mindful of your lifestyle, and how you eat is the most important piece of that puzzle. Making a choice to include more whole foods, will get you on your way to a healthier 2017.

Just like that ol’ tortoise and hare, slow and steady wins the race.

J.

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