Better Eating for Life
by Mary S. Choate, M.S., R.D.

Getting Ready for Better Health

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Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulated weight of our discipline and judgments that leads us either to fortune or to failure.
—Jim Rohn

There are many steps to good health: choosing a variety of nutritious foods, incorporating adequate exercise, pursuing the activities you enjoy, and taking care of your emotional and spiritual well-being, among others.

In the coming year, I’d like to help you to reach better health, step by step. Each month, we’ll work on one small choice you can make to move towards a healthier eating style. No one step will be a big dramatic change, but over time, you will notice the effects. Month by month, we’ll add one small modification which you will then have a whole month to try out and make into a healthy habit. You will find quick and easy recipes using both familiar and new foods and ingredients. Do you hate to cook? You’ll also learn about the best choices for ready-to-eat foods and snacks. We’ll build on these steps each month until, in a year, you’ll be eating more fiber, more whole grains, more fruits and vegetables, more healthy oils, and have 12 strategies for getting all those good foods into your day, as well as the fun foods you crave. You’ll have the basic tools you need to eat healthfully for life.

Small changes, small choices over time can really add up. At the end of the year, you’ll have moved towards the eating style recommended to help maintain a healthy weight and blood pressure and to decrease your cancer, heart disease, and stroke risk. Eating will be the pleasure it ought to be—nourishing our body, mind, and soul.

In addition, you will be moving towards better health with other Co-op members and customers. We will have a bulletin board area on the Co-op website where you may post your own tips, questions, or other comments and results as we go through the year.

Before we start, it’s important to reflect on your readiness to try some changes. Have you been thinking that you would like to learn about eating in a more health-promoting way? Have articles and books about healthy eating been catching your eye more often lately? Have you already started making some changes towards more healthful meals and snacks? These choices indicate that you may be ready to join us on this gentle year-long trek.

You can get ready for our year of eating healthfully in the following ways. If you like to cook, keep an eye out for interesting recipes to share. Next time you’re at the Co-op, walk through the bulk aisle and notice the grains you’ve always wanted to try, but didn’t know how to prepare. Give some thought to the things that you like about your favorite foods. Do you go for the crunch or smoothness? Do you like foods cold, hot, or room temperature? What times of day do you get hungry? What kinds of foods really satisfy your hunger?

We are going on an adventure in eating and will explore all of these ideas and much more. Won’t you join us? The series starts in the January Co-op News. See you then!

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