Fit Tip Friday - Making it a lifestyle, not a diet

Before you can really start to eat better and make it a lifestyle - not a diet - there are some important things you can do to help you get started.  First you need to purge unhealthy items.  You will want to get rid of things that will be tempting.  Then you will want to get some important pantry staples. See below for a great list from Darin Olien's book - Superlife.

Kitchen Purge and Re-Stock

Before you begin, do a quick grocery cleanout, followed by a trip to get some necessary staples for your pantry.

Items to toss

·        White refined sugar (anything containing it too)

·        Homogenized, pasteurized nonorganic milk, yogurt, or butter

·        Margarine

·        Ordinary table salt

·        Refined white flour an anything made from it (breads, tortillas, crackers, pasta, cereal, and so on)

·        Deep-fried anything

·        Polyunsaturated refined oils (sunflower, corn, soy, canola, and so on)

·        Meat and poultry raised by factory farming methods – meaning, most supermarket meat and packaged or cured meats of all kinds

·        Eggs from factory farms

·        Synthetic beverages (Coke, Pepsi, Kool-Aid, Tang, Sunny D)

·        Instant or microwave oatmeal

·        All processed microwaved foods (popcorn, instant meals, and so on) And get rid of microwave, too!

·        Non-organic corn (non-gmo)

·        Soy sauce

·        Boxed processed foods, mixes (cereals, rices, instant, packaged meals)

·        Plastic storage containers and bags

·        Chemical cleaners

·        Anything containing high-fructose corn syrup

·        Drinks containing sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate

·        Foods with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a preservative

·        Sodium nitrates and sodium nitrites (processed lunch meats)

·        Blue, green, red, and yellow food coloring (the artificial colors blue 1 and 2, green 3, red 3, and yellow 6 have been linked to thyroid, adrenal, bladder, kidney, and brain cancers)

·        Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

Now that you’ve cleared out some space, here are few staples to buy. Get organic and or wild harvested products when possible:

Pantry Supplies

·        Herbal Teas

·        Fermented beverages such as kefir and kombucha

·        Nut milks, including almond and cashew

·        Natural salts such as Celtic and Himalayan Sea Salt

·        Spices – cinnamon, clove, cardamom, allspice, turmeric, etc.

·        Fermented products such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso

·        Garbanzo miso paste

·        Apple cider vinegar

·        Sweeteners such as stevia, coconut palm sugar, yacon syrup, molasses, agave, and raw honey

·        Amino products like coconut secret aminos and braggs liquid aminos

·        Steel-cut oats

·        Cold pressed, organic extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, grape-seed oil sacha inchi oil, avocado oil, and toasted sesame oil

·        Raw organic nuts and seeds, socked and sprouted whenever possible

·        Ezekiel sprouted bread

·        Ezekiel sprouted corn tortillas

·        Organic local fresh herbs, veggies, and fruits

·        Organic sprouts

·        Organic free-range/pasture-raised meat, if you’re eating meat

·        Unpasteurized organic grass-fed milk and butter and organic free range eggs

·        Glass storage containers and bottles

Some kitchen appliances you may want:

·        Vitamix (high-powered blender for smoothies, soups, purees, and so on)

·        Dehydrator (low temperature cooking for preservation of nutrients and enzymes; a great kitchen tool for making snacks such as kale chips and dried fruits and veggies)

·        Toaster oven – for conserving energy; faster than a bigger oven

·        Steamer – keeps the veggies out of the water an in the steam minimizing nutrient loss

·        Coffee grinder – for grinding dried spices and seeds