New Year, New You

2.1
Happy New Year! It's 2015, ready or not. If last year seemed like a blur to you, as it did for me, now is the time to pre-savor the new year and all it holds. If you've been contemplating, or maybe you've begun, power pantry choices in your kitchen, welcoming the new year may give you the boost you need to seal the deal.

I thought I'd review a handful of great power pantry choices which are simple to make, and are quite rewarding for our physical health. One or two (or more if you're bold) of these may stand out as improvements you're convicted of to start 2015:

• Get rid of bleached enriched white flour, and all the bread, crackers and goodies containing it, and resolve to go with 100% whole wheat flour in your baking and buying
• Make brown rice your standard instead of white rice; wild rice is great as well, quinoa is a tremendous grain/starch addition to a meal (instead of rice), and even some interesting grains like millet can substitute white rice
• Once and for all, get rid of all the artificial sweeteners (splenda, aspartame, sucralose, and all their cousins) and high fructose corn syrup, and never go back. There is nothing healthful or of nutritional value with any of these, and they lurk in our drinks, dressings, snacks, cereals and baked goods. There's nothing wrong with raw (turbinado) sugar, agave nectar, stevia, raw honey, and plain old pure cane sugar. I've maintained a healthful weight and great nutritional balance for years with all of these natural sweeteners, in moderation.
• Lose the hydrogenated (and partially hydrogenated) oils. These are laboratory creations meant to reduce cost, and improve food textures and shelf life, and have no redeeming quality in our diet. And they're ubiquitous in baked goods, snacks, granola bars and cereals of all kinds. Going to extra virgin olive oil for cooking, and shopping for higher quality products is the way to go.
• Eliminate MSG (mono-sodium glutamate) from your pantry. You'll find it as a 'flavor enhancer' in soups, salad dressings, salsas, flavored chips and crackers of all kinds. This is a detriment to our metabolism, and in future decades, I think we'll wonder how and why we tempted our taste buds with fake flavor at the expense of our bodily health.

This list could go on, but those are a few essentials. A natural, whole-foods-based power pantry can be the start of a new you in the new year. So grab onto one or two of these that aren't yet part of your wellness lifestyle, and decide to make the change and never look back. That's what Jen and I have done over the several years that we've been living a wellness lifestyle. It's a big change, and takes an 'all in' commitment, but it is so worth it, you'll wonder why you waited so long to start.

By the Way

I often say that power pantry and wellness lifestyle choices, whether food related or for exercise or wellness in general, are best made with others. Don't walk your journey alone. Look for a friend, co-worker or family member to journey with you. It will create accountability, and you'll learn from each other. When launching into new territory, we're better together.