#two grocery stores in easy walking range and a third one in moderate walking range my beloved

[thefoodiewithamoodie]

Everyone always worries about food. Should I eat this or that? Why am I not losing weight? Is two eggs a day too many? etc. etc.

It seems that as the world moves forward in many areas, we move backwards when it comes to food and health choices. Heart disease is the number one cause of deaths in the US (and in the world), and this can be closely tied to diet, among other factors.

It can be intimidating walking through a grocery store and having, literally, thousands of items to pick from. And especially if you go when you’re hungry, you’ll likely end up grabbing what’s familiar, quick, and easy to prepare - a lot of which tends to be empty-calorie foods with little nutritional value.

I’m living in my third country / third continent, so I’ve experienced at least a few different lifestyles. However, the only place I’ve had the opportunity to do my own grocery shopping and cooking is in Texas. There, a significant percentage of the population is overweight or obese. But at the same time, there are so many grocery stores and restaurants working to increase healthy options, including plant-based foods. As this happens, consumers slowly realize that it’s possible to make better choices, but the hard part is actually making them.

Eating right is never going to be an exact science ... or at least we’re very far from figuring that out. But my advice is to go for raw, natural foods. If you do this, you’ll be able to experiment with a wider range of recipes that you maybe wouldn’t have found in the pre-packaged, processed meals. If you don’t have time to cook, there are a million recipes online - just search “quick and easy recipes” on Google or Pinterest and you’ll see. When you start eating natural foods, without any preservatives and such, you will start to feel healthier and more energized. You’ll start to crave fruits and veggies as snacks, rather than chips and cookies.

One last thing - if you’re trying to avoid eating or drinking something, my advice is to cut it out completely, rather than reduce it little by little. The reason I say this is because, although it’ll be hard for at least a week (maybe even a month), at one point you’ll stop craving it altogether. I challenged myself to say bye to chocolate for a year - it was extremely hard for me during the first month, but after that, I didn’t really crave it. You might be wondering, well chocolate can be healthy - and of course it can be, without all the dairy and sugar, but honestly the darkest chocolate I eat still has some added sugars. I still eat it because it makes me happy, and I can eat it in moderation without a problem.

I included a link that I came across earlier - it looks at whether we can actually know what to eat. I think about all this pretty often in the midst of food uncertainty, and my biggest conclusion is: listen to your body and what makes you feel energized. It may take some time and experimenting but you’ll get there!

#food #foodie #health #healthy #eat #drink #snack #energy #nutrition #advice