Let’s talk about food. I love food. Who doesn’t? But let’s face it, it’s true that you will get out of your body what you put into it. If you eat like crap, you’ll feel like crap. At least I do.
For years, I had eaten foods that I thought were helping me, but now that I have either cut back, eliminated, added new foods or even just combine foods that I’ve always eaten a different way, I can honestly say that I feel better. I have a lot more energy, my hair looks better, and I’ve even shaved off a layer or two everywhere so that my muscles are much more visible. (Hello, six-pack!!!)

The first change I made was eating less red meat. I do LOVE steak, but we were eating it once a week. Now we have it maybe once a month, if that. Since I felt better eating less red meat, I thought why not cut back on all meats. I felt even better. We do still eat chicken and/or turkey, just not as often, maybe 3 times a week on average and the rest of our meals are vegetarian. An example would be instead of making mexican dishes with chicken or beef, we use pinto or cannellini beans.
I guess you can say that I’m halfway on the gluten-free bandwagon. It’s not necessary for our family that I know of, but hearing all this hullabaloo about gluten, I thought why not try a few “gluten-free” labeled foods. The two that I buy specifically are breads and pasta. Udi’s and Rudi’s breads are fantastic! I also get brown rice pasta (I buy it at Trader Joes or Whole Foods) instead of whole wheat. I also scored a FREE bag of brown rice flour from Whole Foods just for telling the cashier I had never tried it before! WOOHOO!!!!!
One more change that I have made is trying to cut back on dairy. I still eat regular cheese, but I only use almond milk in my cereal and coconut milk creamer in my coffee. Those swaps alone have made a difference in how I feel.
While I can’t list EVERY SINGLE thing I have in my pantry and fridge at all times (you’d get mighty bored reading all that!), I did want to share with you these small changes that we have made in our family that have made a huge difference in the way we look and feel. Go ahead and make some changes of your own and see how they make you feel! I’d love to hear about it!