Healthy-planet friendly food: a cheat sheet
It seems crazy to me how complicated diet and nutrition has become.
Vegan, plant-based, paleo, keto.
Organic, all-natural, fast food, slow food.
Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Subway.
Most people think the only reason to pay attention to what you’re eating is if you want to lose weight. Otherwise, just take a pill if you’re sick or deal with it if you feel like crap but the doctor says “nothing’s wrong”.
The fact is, food is POWERFUL. It fuels every cell in your body. Food (among other things like good sleep, sunshine, and movement) has the power to make you feel great or to make you feel like crap.
Food has the power to keep you healthy and resilient or sick and weak.
Food has the power to reverse climate change and make the world a better place now and for future generations.
The problem is marketing. Big food companies want us to think sourcing and preparing food thoughtfully is below us, not worth our time. Don’t worry, they can do all the work for us. But their goal is not to create a healthy society, their goal is $$$. If you ask me, what food companies have done to us is unacceptable. It’s criminal and it’s unforgivable. (here’s a perfect example that makes me sick)
So how do we get ourselves out of this trap?
Maybe you don’t even fall for all the crap. You avoid fast food, try to be as conscious as possible when you go food shopping, try to prepare meals at home…but it feels like a lot to figure out. It seems too expensive and time consuming, but you do your best regardless.
You don’t need to be a climate expert, nutritionist, and a chef to consciously feed your family good food. Here are some simple steps to get you started:
Replace industrial seed oils with healthy fats.
Removing industrial seed oils (like vegetable, canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, and corn) from your life is the easiest AND most impactful change you can make for your health. Fats are an important source of fuel for your body; they can make a lot go right but also a lot go WAY wrong if you are eating the wrong kinds of fats. Not to mention the negative impact that comes from growing and producing these oils. Phase out or simply toss any of these oils you have in the kitchen and beware of them in packaged foods too (they’re everywhere!). Replace them with healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter, and unrefined coconut oil.
Replace processed, packaged junk food and fast food with real, whole food.
Avoid packages and labels as much as possible. Don’t buy food you see in commercials. The convenience is not worth it in the long-run. Make it a goal to have 20% or less of your food come in packages. It’s possible, I promise!
Begin to phase out conventional animal products.
This doesn’t mean you need to go “plant-based” (in fact, that’s not the solution). Yes, buying better quality animal products is more expensive. Here’s how to get started: pick one animal product – like eggs, butter, or ground beef – and find a way to source just a little bit better quality. You can also explore options like local farms, farm shares, or delivery boxes. You don’t need to be 100% perfect right away, start small and slowly work it into your lifestyle and budget. We know that the way animals are raised conventionally is a major contributor to climate change; and the toxic, inflammatory products that come from these animals also have a major (negative) impact on your health.
Work on learning some new skills like shopping for ingredients instead of convenience food and cooking meals at home. If you need help with this, start with my free guide which walks you through sourcing, cooking, and using up the leftovers for a delicious roast chicken dinner.
Look at your priorities and put sourcing, preparing, and eating real food in your top 5.
If you want more detailed, step-by-step guidance on how to really make these changes happen in your home, sign up for my 5-day Kitchen Cleanup Challenge right here. The changes are simple and your kids (no matter how picky) will barely even notice.