When I think of ways to Live Well, the first thing that comes to mind is how to treat my body better. Its no secret that many Americans have become so immersed in the fast and convenient food hype that a lot of us don't even know where to begin. We were raised on these types of food.
I've researched a lot and there are so many differing opinions on what type of diet you should be on and what type of foods you should avoid. If we were to put them all together we'd probably all starve to death!
I decided that instead of putting my main focus on what I shouldn't eat, I would start by adding more foods that I know I should be eating.
We all know that adding more fruits and vegetables to our diets is a good thing. No-brainer right? I knew I needed to go further than that though. I've bought the same ingredients over and over again for one reason: "That's what I grew up eating"!
No offense to my momma, but those foods are not doing anything for my health. Well, not much anyway. I've felt so sluggish and slow for so long that I hardly noticed it, just thought it was normal. It's NOT! Our food should make us feel good, it should provide energy for our bodies.
Do you feel energetic after you eat? I didn't for a long time. Quite the opposite actually, I usually felt like taking a nap!
I decided to start by supplementing my diet with healthy natural foods. Remember though, after a few failed attempts at "living well" I decided that if I'm going to do this, I'm going to look for the easiest things first. It didn't help at all to get overwhelmed and quit.
I began by buying just a few new ingredients per month. Healthy stuff that I'd never bought before to try it out. My first purchase was Chia Seeds because I'd heard
alot about
the health benefits of incorporating them into my diet. After that, it was
flax seeds,
turmeric,
raw honey, and
coconut oil.
I started noticing small changes as began using these various new ingredients and that made me want to do more.
I decided to make something that I could put on most of the foods that I already eat. Why not, we do it with salt and pepper right? I used to season everything I ate with salt and pepper (except for desserts!)
Keeping it simple and easy, I wanted to use flavors that I already knew that I liked and mix in a few new ones. This is what I started with:
1 Tablespoon of Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon of Onion Powder
1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
Mixed it all up in a seasoning bottle (
ebottles.com has these in all shapes and sizes) and sprinkle on your food as you would your salt and pepper.
That was it to start! Easy right?
Another thing that has been very helpful to my whole family is ground flax seeds. These are great for adding fiber! Buy them whole, grind them, and store in an airtight container (NOT a clear one) in the fridge. I sprinkle this on our food as well, especially my 3 year old's who has a history of
tummy troubles.
The whole family will eat Chia seeds on their salads but I'm the only one who likes it in my oatmeal and on various other dishes. Its not that they don't like the taste, Chia seeds are tasteless, they just can't seem to get past the texture.
Have you added any of these ingredients to your meals? How is your journey to living well coming?
Another great tip for living well is to sleep well! Visit
Celebrate Woman Today for some better sleep tips.
