The #1 most important health goal is to eat meals.
The #2 most important health goal is to eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal.
The #3 most important health goal is to not give up on #1 and #2.
Keep on working. Keep on improving. Keep making small healthy choices.
Don't let one bad meal, snack or day let you feel defeated.
Don't throw in the towel because of one bad choice.
We need to eat every 3-4 hours, for our entire lives! There will always be another chance to make a change.
We have to eat every 3-4 hours, so there will always be chance to do better next time.
Whatever your healthy eating goals are, Hang in there, I'm rooting for you!
If you want to meet with a Registered Dietitian to talk about your health goals or to have someone help you with motivation, please let your family advocate know. We have the skills to help you succeed!
The #1 most important new years resolution you can make around health is to sit down and eat family meals together.
Why?
Because it's very difficult to eat well if you aren't in the habit of sitting down at regular intervals to feed yourself and your child.
Once you have the meal habit down, the #2 most important thing you can do for your health has nothing to do with eliminating sugar or fat. It's not a carb diet plan; it's not a diet plan at all.
Fresh Fruit like strawberries are like magic for your health.
The #2 most important thing you can do for your health is to eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal or snack, every day.
Eating fruits and vegetables is something everyone can do, it's gluten free, dairy free, kosher, vegan and diabetes friendly. All healthy diets (Mediterranean, blue zone, diabetic, etc etc) focus on eating more fruits and vegetables. You may be allergic to some fruits or vegetables, but probably not ALL of them.
Research shows that eating at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day can:
prevent heart disease
reduce blood pressure
help prevent diabetes
prevent certain types of cancer
prevent excess weight gain
prevent constipation
prevent gastrointestinal diseases
reduce risk of cataracts
And my personal opinion is that they simply make you FEEL better.
Are you convinced yet?
Often times, the barriers to eating more fruits and vegetables are
cost
lack of convenience
dislike of fruit/veg taste
Cost
One way to balance out the cost of produce is to stop buying other things (like fruit snacks, soda, chips, cookies) and to spend that money on fresh fruits and vegetables instead.
Buy frozen fruits + veggies. I rarely buy fresh berries, broccoli, cauliflower or green beans.
I almost never buy organic produce. It's better to buy MORE fruits and veggies than to spend a ton of money on organics
Convenience
Start with veggies that require NO prep, like bananas, oranges and baby carrots.
Canned vegetables and fruits are so easy and also still good for you.
Buy frozen whenever possible.
Try bagged salads that include dressing and toppings.
Dislike of Fruits and Vegetables?
Buy fruits and vegetables that you DO like. Slowly try new ones until you find a few different types that you like.
Try things cooked different ways. I do not like canned brussel sprouts, but I could eat cups of roasted brussel sprouts!
Here's a sample of how I will often eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetables in one day:
Breakfast
Add fruit to breakfast!
blueberries (#1)
cereal
milk
Snack:
Apple (#2)
peanut butter
Lunch:
tuna salad
bread
baby carrots (#3)
cutie orange (#4)
Snack:
green smoothie
1 banana (#5)
1 cup spinach (#6)
Dinner:
mac and cheese
steamed cauliflower - from a frozen package (#7)
canned peaches (#8)
Snack:
yogurt
frozen berries (#9)
Here's another example for EASY ways to add in more veggies:
Cottage Cheese and Pears
Breakfast:
eggs
toast
avocado (#1)
snack:
crackers
cottage cheese
canned pears (#2)
lunch:
hot dog
bun
broccoli with cheese (microwavable frozen pouch) (#3)
banana (#4)
snack
popcorn
fruit smoothie (#5)
dinner
spaghetti
tomato sauce (#6)
canned green beans (#7)
applesauce (#8)
Of course this requires some work.
All good things require work.
New years goals surrounding nutrition can be confusing and tricky. It's hard to know where to start. While I can't promise that eating fruits and vegetables will change you life, I know that it is the first step in eating well. I hope you've found something in here to motivate you to eat more!
The #1 most important health goal you can make in 2025 is to prioritize sitting down to eat with your kids.
That's it.
Seem to simple to be helpful?
It's been my experience in counseling patients over the past 15 years that almost everyone who DOESN'T eat family meals will struggle with the following problems:
kids who are picky eaters
kids who won't eat meals
kids who eat too much
kids who don't eat enough
parents who don't feel good about their eating choices
My first recommendation is ALWAYS to sit down and eat MEALS together.
As soon as families start eating meals together, their kids start eating better.
Parents start feeding themselves better too.
Of course, there's a few additional rules required to make this successful (quid pro quo's thank you genie from Aladdin).
This doesn't mean you can't have snacks: you just need to treat snacks like a meal. Have a set time for snacks, gather the food you want for snack and sit down to eat it at the kitchen table (or in a set spot on the floor if you have no table).
Don't let your child graze.
Stop giving snacks as a way to entertain your child in the car, at stores, at church, in the stroller, or at times when they need to wait.
Have consistent meal and snack times sitting down in the same spot.
Eat breakfast when you wake up and eat a meal or snack at the table (or in a set spot on the floor if you don't have a table) again about every 3 hours until bedtime.
If your child chooses not to eat, don't make them eat
If your child eats a lot, it's okay, maybe they are growing. They'll probably eat less later.
You'll be offering a meal or snack again in 3 hours, they can eat at the next meal or snack if they aren't going to eat right now!
That's it.
Did you notice how I didn't say anything about WHAT to eat?
How you eat is even more important than what you eat. That is partially because it's very difficult to eat well if you aren't planning and cooking meals.
