January 2, 2013

Rather than New Year’s Resolutions Make Lasting Healthy Lifestyle Changes

No NY resolutionsWith all the chatter about New Year’s Resolutions which for the most part fail to result in REAL CHANGE for most people, why not try a different approach in 2013? Consider these 5 key principles to a healthier lifestyle I recently offered at an American Association of University Women meeting after a showing of Food, Inc.

About Food Inc. I absolutely agree that our food supply and eating habits have gone thru an unfortunate evolution in the last 30 plus years. I also agree we have to slowly and steadily do the hard work to reset our food environment to 'make the healthier choice the easier choice.' Today, it certainly isn’t!  While I’m totally supportive of people eating organically grown foods, locally grown foods, growing their own foods and am supportive of many sustainable agriculture initiatives around the globe, I’m a pragmatist and realist at heart. I believe that for the majority of Americans we’ve got to keep in our mind’s eye the reality of our current eating habits. With these realities in mind we need to set realistic goals for ourselves, our population.

 
January 11, 2012

My New Year’s Muse – From Local Resolutions to Global Wishes

new yearsYes, it’s that time of year again where we reflect on the past and move into the future with goals to better ourselves in the year ahead. In my bailiwick the focus is squarely on eating healthier and being more physically active.

I’ve posted my resolutions here, along with a handful of global wishes. It is said that if you state your goals, actually say them out loud, you’re more likely to see them through. I figure putting them out in the blogosphere for all to see is one step better. I’ll report back on these at the end of 2012.

I’ve got five, what I’ll call local resolutions. Actions I want to take close to home, my backyard and kitchen table to be precise.

Here’s my run-down:
1. Prepare and stock homemade salad dressings, ditch the bottles: For several years I’ve wanted to rid our fridge of bottled salad dressings. But I eat a lot of salads and they’re, well, just so easy to open and drizzle. However, because I eat at least one salad a day, they’re a good place to target to taper fat grams, calories and particularly sodium milligrams, to make a significant dent in our daily intake. Homemade dressings will also limit our intake of unneeded additives and preservatives. Got any recipes for healthy salad dressings I can blend up in volume and stash in the fridge?