I realize my lifestyle may seem extreme but it’s really just routine to me, not a hardship at all.  But if it seems overwhelming, here are five small changes anyone can make towards better health. No step is too small to make a difference:

1. Reduce or eliminate soft drinks. There is nothing redeeming in these beverages and even worse are diet sodas.  You could start by adding sparkling water to a variety of fruit juices. Orange juice with sparkling bubbly water is good, or start with a flavored bottled water but beware of “zero calories” which usually means artificial chemical sweeteners. I would rather have a drink with sugar than artificial sweeteners. If you’re hooked, try diluting your soda with sparkling water as a first step.
2. Vegetables With Every Meal. Vegetables, especially cooked vegetables, are your lifeline to good health. So no matter what you’re having for lunch or dinner, make sure there is some vegetable with each meal (preferably more than one). At home, a steamer makes this really easy. I routinely steam carrots, beets, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower. I add them on the side with casseroles and pasta dishes. When eating out, if your meal doesn’t include veggies, most restaurants have side orders of vegetables you can add and share at the table.
3. Make your own salad dressing. You are eating salads, right? 🙂 You don’t need the store-bought dressing when it’s so easy to make your own with heart-healthy, vital olive oil. Just stir it up with any vinegar of your choice or fresh lemon juice with some herbs, mustard if you like, salt & pepper. You can make it on the spot as needed or make it in a jar to keep refrigerated, like I do. Olive oil has numerous health benefits and is also great for your skin. (p.s. I just looked up a popular Ranch dressing – 😳 it has MSG and other things I can’t pronounce! 👎)
4. Learn to love dark chocolate. I like this part because I like sweets. I used to enjoy milk chocolate but knowing the health benefits of 70% dark chocolate, I learned to like it and now I love it. I started with bars with more cacao, from 40-50-60% and eventually 70%, which is where the heart health comes in. I love 70% dark chocolate and now I use it to make my own cashew or almond clusters. Don’t try too hard!  80 and 90% chocolate is a tough sell! Stick to 70% for the best taste and its many healthy benefits.
5. Eat less sugar. This is a challenge for me because I love sweets! But I’m working on reducing my sugar and you can too. I’m baking my cookies smaller or have half a cookie for dessert. You don’t have to give up ice cream, just eat less (and never out of the carton!  🥄) I rarely bake cakes any more and most of my desserts are a small cookie or one or two of my dark chocolate clusters. When eating out, when I had a fancy, rich dessert, I always felt overloaded. These days, I don’t even want it. So now we split dessert, if we have it at all. Going out for ice cream or gelato? Ask for a child’s portion or ask for a smaller serving. We go for gelato occasionally, and I just say, “That’s enough right there.” I enjoy the treat and feel better afterwards.

p.s. My husband then asks if he can have the part of gelato that I didn’t get! This is what I have to deal with…. ❤️❤️