👎 Ditch This / Choose That 👍

Here I am again trying to help people make better choices with some pretty easy swaps everyone can do. Most of these changes involve very little effort. Try any one of these switches and you can know you’re one step closer to better health… or one step closer to telling me to mind my own business! But here goes anyway…

Ditch chocolate bars.  Choose → homemade 70% dark chocolate clusters with nuts or a mix of nuts & raisins. I keep cashew clusters in my fridge at all times and it’s usually all I have for dessert.

Ditch soft drinks. Choose → real fruit juice mixed with sparkling water or club soda.

Ditch rotisserie chicken. Choose → skinless chicken breast, which has less salt and less saturated fat. Poultry fat is the worst kind.

Ditch store-bought bread. Choose → homemade bread. Store bought bread usually has too much salt and added preservatives. And homemade bread is easy to make – it’s just flour, water, yeast and salt. Try to find that ingredient list at the store!

Ditch bottled salad dressing. Choose → homemade olive oil-based dressing with vinegar or lemon juice. Olive oil is vital to good health (and skin & hair).

Ditch potato chips. Choose → home popped popcorn. I use a whirly type popper. Packaged microwave popcorn is usually made with palm oil and too much salt plus added preservatives. I pop mine in coconut oil, topped with my melted “buttermix” (mix of butter + olive oil)

Ditch fruit-flavored yogurt. Choose → plain yogurt and add fresh fruit and a little sugar if needed. I really enjoy plain yogurt with a little vanilla and sugar.

Ditch diet soda.  Choose → anything else. Diet soda is bad for the kidneys and liver and the chemical sweeteners can trick your brain into craving more sweets. It’s bad news all the way around.

Ditch peanut butter.  Choose → almond butter, preferably homemade, processed with nothing but toasted almonds. Peanuts cause inflammation and they aren’t even nuts anyway.

Ditch “fat-free” anything. Choose → foods with healthy fats, like olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, and fish. Fat is essential to your health. It’s needed to absorb certain vitamins, provide energy, and is vital for brain and heart health.

Ditch ham and salami. Choose → nitrate-free sliced turkey breast for sandwiches.

Ditch pepperoni.  Choose →…. wait a minute! Let me re-think this. Sometimes, pizza isn’t worth having without pepperoni. I know that. I mean there are times when veggie pizza just doesn’t cut it. So I’d like to walk this back and say, “Choose pepperoni but ONLY on special occasions, like a birthday, a job promotion, a gender reveal, or Friday.”

Bottom line: Look at ingredients. Too much sodium? Don’t eat it. Too much saturated fat? Don’t eat it. Too much sugar? Don’t eat it. Too many mystery ingredients? Don’t eat it. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. I hope this helps. And if you can’t do any of these simple swaps, feel free to send your best excuse… 😀