Eat Real Food: 10 Tips for Adjusting Eating Habits

It seems obvious, but for so many years our food has been hijacked by corporate interests and greed. Companies just poisoning us with profit as a motive that was more important to them than our health.

Retraining ourselves is hard when we’ve been conditioned, advertised to, and have become addicted to processed junk food.

Along with that, many of the skills our grandparents or great grandparents had for farming and preserving their own food, weren’t passed down.

Also, the food that is healthy is being treated with chemicals that are unhealthy and therefore causing another host of concerns. This leads us to feel that the only way to have healthy and safe food is to grow it yourself or know and purchase from a local farmer who does.

I think this is all so overwhelming that most people just give up and keep on eating like they always have.

I have just tried to improve slowly over time. Avoiding everything “unhealthy” seems impossible, so we have to make changes that are realistic and become daily life routines.

10 Realistic Ways to Gear Yourself Toward Real Food:

1. Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store

This is something I’ve heard so many times, and I have been realizing- it really helps! Along the perimeter of the grocery store is where the fresh produce is, where the meat is, and where the dairy is. The stuff that is processed is in the middle. There are of course some things that are okay in the middle, like simple canned or frozen fruits and veggies, but for the most part- the perimeter is where you should be.

2. Try New Recipes

If you don’t like eating real food and you keep defaulting to the same old processed choices, you may need to try something new. You’ll may discover an amazing new recipe, or new vegetable or spice, that makes you like real food much more.

3. Cook at Home – Learn to Cook

Learning to cook happens by doing it more. When you cook at home daily, you’ll be making yourself a better cook.

4. Lessen the Bad Choices, Increase the Good Choices

You don’t have to cold turkey quit everything you love that is bad for you, but do them less, and do the good things more. You can increase the good choices over time and decrease the bad ones. This will make the adjustment less harsh.

5. Think of Your Favorite “Real Foods” and Start There

If you are currently facing the realization that you’ve got some bad habits with food like: eating fast food often, not cooking at home, not eating vegetables, not eating fruit, not drinking water, eating a lot of sugar and processed and packaged foods, then it’s time to change.

Make the change feel more fun for yourself by choosing foods that you love. Let’s say you are a huge fan of zucchini and onions, but you really don’t like a lot of their vegetables. Start with new recipes that feature zucchini and onions. Maybe as you try a recipe that features your favorite, it will incorporate a vegetable or other food that you haven’t tried yet and you’ll expand your palate that way.

6. Don’t Let Current Dislikes Limit You- Expand Your Palate

You don’t have to be ruled or limited forever because you don’t like _______ – fill in the blank. You can develop your taste as you change your habits. It’s not what you like- it’s what you get used to. So get used to good healthy vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy, and grains.

7. Choose One Bad Habit to Drop

Dropping every bad habit at once may be too much, but you can do one. What is one bad food related habit that you know you need to quit? Make up your mind today that you WILL NOT do it again. You’ll be that much closer to a healthier version of you.

A good example for this is to quit having a struggle food or beverage. For example, if you’re hooked on soda, chips, ice cream, fast food, etc. Choose the thing to give up that you know would make a big impact on your health. Commit to a change in this area. You can do it!

8. Choose One Healthy Habit to Add

What is one healthy habit that you know you need to start? Decide today to make to part of your daily routine. Make this one be checked off of your to do list because you now have decided you will always do it.

For example, I used to struggle with eating enough fruit. I decided to make a fruit smoothie every morning to make sure I eat fruit daily. This habit has even rubbed off on most of my family as well because they want a smoothie too! It’s a win.

9. Plan Ahead

One of the biggest reasons I have failed in the past with eating real food or home cooked food, was not planning ahead. I might find myself starving and realize there was nothing fresh available to cook on my fridge, so I’d end up eating a processed option. By planning ahead and purchasing the fresh foods, you’re much more likely to eat them! Set yourself up for success by being prepared with food and potential recipes.

10. Check out RealFood.gov

At realfood.gov, you can find the newest guidelines that HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy worked on and released recently. This is an amazing resource to help guide you, and the best part is, it’s so simple. “Eat real food!” You can do this! Work toward eating more real food and less junk until the junk is no longer appealing. The more real food you eat, the more grossed out you’ll be by the slop that our country has been selling us for years! Eat fruits, veggies, meat, grains, and healthy fats and get healthy. You’ve got this!

I’m so happy with the work that RFK Jr. and his team have done with the food pyramid. “Eat real food,” is such practical and obvious advice, but so helpful! To just be able to pause and go wait… is this real food? It’s a simple way to transform habits.

By making small changes consistently, you can transform your habits and be healthier! Make better choices starting today. Decide to eat real food!