Transition from boxed, unhealthy American diet to healthy lifestyle? BTDT?

[giftof6]

I may still be lacking the motivation to make a huge change like this, but I really NEED to.

 

Has anyone made the transition from a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle and what some might call the typical American diet (fast food, boxed food and sugar) to a healthy lifestyle? How did you do it? Cold turkey? Did all the healty food taste totally nasty for awhile until your tates changed? Did they change? Did the cravings go away? What form of exercise worked best for you (without gym membership)? Got any suggestions? Looking for some BTDT advice.

 

If you're interested, there's a little more info about me and my family below.

 

My favorite things to eat/drink are pizza, pasta, pop and chocolate in any form and on any thing. :blushing:

 

We do not, however, eat :spam: .

(HA! Finally found a way to use that silly picture!) :D

 

When I have tried to eat "healthy," I get terribly bored with my food options. I have a very limited palate.

We'll eat just about any fruit except melons. (watermelon is ok)

Can't stand green peppers nor squash of any kind.

Can't afford all the strange things at the health food stores. Gotta be a walmart/grocery store kind of thing. We're feeding 8.

 

I'm open to expanding our food choices a little and I feel like maybe we are in a financial place where we can afford more than macaroni and hot dogs. But barely.

 

As for exercise, there's usually none. However, I swam this summer. My first day I could only swim 8 laps. My final day I swam 80, which was a mile. :hurray: (It may be a minor accomplishment, but I was thrilled by it!) This morning I realized when I was swimming I wasn't craving junk food. Was that because my "oh that was a good brownie" high was replaced with the endorphins from the exercise?

 

(Oh, I feel it worth mentioning. I DIDN'T LOSE A POUND. :glare:

But, my clothes were beginning to fit better.)

 

So, I'm feeling rather exposed after sharing all of that with you, but I need to formulate a plan! :bigear: If my mom can quit smoking after 40 years, surely I can find some ways to take better care of myself.

 

If you read all of this, thank you!

[mytwomonkeys]

My favorite things to eat/drink are pizza, pasta, pop and chocolate in any form and on any thing. :blushing:

 

i certainly can't help you with much, as our own diet is still a work in progress:) i just wanted to give you some ideas that help me with the above:

 

pizza-we make homemade pizza & it is healthy! i make a whole wheat crust, homemade sauce (well, sometimes store bought), and we load it with veggies! so yummy & we enjoy it much more!

 

pasta-even switching to whole wheat will be a step up!

 

pop-try seltzer water mixed with your favorite juice. if i am craving a soda, i do 3/4 seltzer and 1/4 pineapple juice (but any juice will do). it really satisfies like soda for me.

 

chocolate-switch to a dark chocolate and treat yourself every now and again. this is also a yummy vegan chocolate cake (again...not necessarily very healthy...but a better choice): http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-chocolate-cake.asp

[CalicoKat]

I may still be lacking the motivation to make a huge change like this, but I really NEED to.

 

Has anyone made the transition from a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle and what some might call the typical American diet (fast food, boxed food and sugar) to a healthy lifestyle? How did you do it? Cold turkey? Did all the healty food taste totally nasty for awhile until your tates changed? Did they change? Did the cravings go away? What form of exercise worked best for you (without gym membership)? Got any suggestions? Looking for some BTDT advice.

 

If you're interested, there's a little more info about me and my family below.

 

My favorite things to eat/drink are pizza, pasta, pop and chocolate in any form and on any thing. :blushing:

 

We do not, however, eat :spam: .

(HA! Finally found a way to use that silly picture!) :D

 

When I have tried to eat "healthy," I get terribly bored with my food options. I have a very limited palate.

We'll eat just about any fruit except melons. (watermelon is ok)

Can't stand green peppers nor squash of any kind.

Can't afford all the strange things at the health food stores. Gotta be a walmart/grocery store kind of thing. We're feeding 8.

 

I'm open to expanding our food choices a little and I feel like maybe we are in a financial place where we can afford more than macaroni and hot dogs. But barely.

 

As for exercise, there's usually none. However, I swam this summer. My first day I could only swim 8 laps. My final day I swam 80, which was a mile. :hurray: (It may be a minor accomplishment, but I was thrilled by it!) This morning I realized when I was swimming I wasn't craving junk food. Was that because my "oh that was a good brownie" high was replaced with the endorphins from the exercise?

 

(Oh, I feel it worth mentioning. I DIDN'T LOSE A POUND. :glare:

But, my clothes were beginning to fit better.)

 

So, I'm feeling rather exposed after sharing all of that with you, but I need to formulate a plan! :bigear: If my mom can quit smoking after 40 years, surely I can find some ways to take better care of myself.

 

If you read all of this, thank you!

 

Baby steps. Pick one or two things that don't stress your brain and start there. Then make a list in order of priority to you and implement a change when the newest changes you made are status quo.

 

Good for you to want to make a healthy change! Make it a lifestyle. We're still in process and pizza sometimes is on the menu when stress is high.

[AK_Mom4]

You could start with something easy. Swap your pop for water. I got my family hooked on no longer ordering pop at restaurants and we don't buy it. We drink sugar-free lemonade for a treat at home and I often sneak a flavor packet into my water bottle when I am craving something sweet.

 

That's a baby step. Once you get that, maybe start cutting back on the carbs. The best way to do that is to get a low-carb cookbook and pick up some of the easier recipes to try.

 

For me, small steps are easier to keep going with than huge all-at-once changes.

[giftof6]

I've tried the seltzer water/juice thing for my kids--thought they'd really love it. No go!! But I had forgotten about it. Would still be better for me. Especially with our whole wheat veggie pizza. :001_smile:

 

Great ideas. Thanks.

[mytwomonkeys]

I've tried the seltzer water/juice thing for my kids--thought they'd really love it. No go!! But I had forgotten about it. Would still be better for me. Especially with our whole wheat veggie pizza. :001_smile:

 

Great ideas. Thanks.

 

my kids like water kefir grape soda. if you can get a hold of water kefir, it is super simple to make grape soda with it. both of my kids enjoyed that (me too!!:D). you could try seltzer and grape juice too. also, club soda might be better. both are good imho.

[meggie]

I think it depends on if you're the gung-ho, do everything now type or if you are a slow and steady type. My friend is the gung-ho type and she went through her kitchen and tossed EVERYTHING with high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, and any kind of preservative. If that's something you can do, go ahead and do it.

 

I'm more the slow and steady type. If that's you, the first thing I'd do is stop the soda and replace with a green smoothie. We've been doing green smoothies for about a year now and it's helped tremendously to get our palates accustomed to real food. Then I would switch all white rice to brown, all white pasta to the Barilla 51% whole wheat, and all white bread to whole wheat. I have found that overcooking the pasta and using extra water with the rice help with the switch in flavor.

 

There are some appliances that I have that make healthy eating cheaper/easier. I have a bread maker, a wheat grinder, and we just got a Vitamix two days ago.

 

I buy my produce at Costco. We get the big 10 pound bag of carrots, the 6 pack of red peppers (because I hate green. I don't really like the red, but I can eat them and set a good example for the kids), onions, broccoli, sugar snap peas and their big bag of spinach. We also buy various frozen fruits from them too. And I stick the veggies in wherever I can. I dice up some of the carrots and freeze them. The rest are used for snacks. My recipes are simple, but I add tons of veg.

 

I buy ground turkey from Costco (it comes in a four pack). I cook each pack with a diced onion and some garlic and separate it into two freezer bags. I buy chicken breasts from Walmart and crockpot them. I use them in recipes or use on sandwiches instead of lunch meat.

 

We are so far from perfect; I've tried desperately to be perfect only to crash and burn. It's a process here. A very long process. But I'm still proud of us, we're so much further along than we used to be.

[giftof6]

What in the world is water kefir?! :001_huh:

[KungFuPanda]

If you want to curb your cravings, see if your library has Fast Food Fix. It has recipes for healthier versions of tons of restaurant favorites. The Big Mac is eerily similar in taste, so you really don't miss the extra fat and calories. Most of the recipes are quick too.

 

Taking regular classes keeps me on an exercise schedule. I'm not one to exercise consistently without witnesses.

[angela in ohio]

The best book is called Refined to Real Food. She breaks down each category of food, explains what is healthy and what isn't, and then gives acontinuum of choices. So if you don't want to go all health-food-story tofu and bean sprouts :D like many books assumme, you can still make small steps toward healthier eating. I was able to switch things out little by little.

 

I think it helps to determine what kind of personality you (and your family) have. Can you make baby steps successfully, or do you backslide? Do you need gradual change, or can you handle a big shift? You can either make small changes one at a time, giving each one time to "settle," or you can go through your house, donate or throw out everything that isn't healthy, and start fresh.

 

There have been many threads here over the years about this very question, and many about "what change should I make first?" (Maybe someone who has saved them will link, if not, maybe search 'healthy nutrition changes' or something like that.

 

I think it helps to set specific goals. Instead of "we are going to be more active," say (for example) "we are going to walk for a half hour each day." And then just do that. You can start with 15 minutes, even, but the key is to keep your goal. For food, you could start with one thing: "we aren't going to drink pop for the next two weeks," "we are going to eat a vegetable with dinner every night Mon through Fri for the next month," or "we can only eat fast food one night per week for the next month." When you successfully handle a small step, it gives you confidence to make the next, and then the next.

 

The good news is that your tastes DO change. It will get easier. I grew up on Pop Tarts and Coke for breakfast, and dh had never eaten wheat bread in his life, and now we dread having to eat at a fast food restaurant with family because it doesn't taste good to us anymore. :001_smile: I crave water, not pop. Fruit tastes like candy to me. It gets easier.

[giftof6]

Meggie: Love the meat ideas especially. Oh, and I love your new motto. :001_smile:

[mytwomonkeys]

What in the world is water kefir?! :001_huh:

 

it's just a probiotic. i would just put that idea on hold though. i would focus on baby steps like others have said and come back to it a little later:) it really does make a healthy soda alternative & there are many flavors to create - but i wouldn't put it on your to-do list now unless you had access to it.

[Annabel Lee]

:iagree: There is so much to learn about non-mainstream eating & health that it can get overwhelming at first. I've found implementing one or two changes at a time (esp. more noticeable ones like going from white flour to whole grain flour) and letting everyone get used to them works best.

 

This may not be applicable at all, but until my younger 2 get used to more veg, I do "color matching" when I cook. For ex., dark green & purple hide well in chocolate. ;) Sometimes it's just making healthy additions or substitutes to familiar recipes.

 

That's where I'm at. I too hope to learn more as I go. To get healthier or organic food cheaper, see if there's a food co-op in your area (Azure is one to check with). Sometimes Azure's sales & specials are cheaper than those items would be in the regular, non-organic section of the regular grocery store up here.

[meggie]

Meggie: Love the meat ideas especially. Oh, and I love your new motto. :001_smile:

 

Thanks, it makes me feel better on days like today where I have huge mountains of laundry in my living room (we're going through and getting rid of stuff because obviously a family of five does not need two mountains of laundry!) And I'm sure the landlord will be stopping by later today too. DH told me to tell him we're having a laundry emergency:D

[PiCO]

I may still be lacking the motivation to make a huge change like this, but I really NEED to.

 

Saving dinner helped me a LOT. After my dh died, it was really difficult to keep my head above water- working, raising kids, trying to keep house. Our eating habits went way downhill.

 

A couple years ago I subscribed to Saving Dinner- it's a dinner menu plan, gives you three different menus each week to choose from, plus a shopping list. My kids really like (most of) the recipes, and the dinners are for the most part made with real food.

 

Go to SavingDinner.com, they have sample recipes you can try.

[Jenn in FL]

About a year and a half ago, I posted two replies to Molly (MJN) in response to her vegetarian meal ideas request. I haven't forgotten her, nor the many helpful replies in that thread.

 

My family is not strictly vegetarian, but I incorporate many of these meals on a regular basis. If you use whole wheat flour to make pizza dough, then even pizza becomes a healthy food choice--dependinng on your toppings of course

 

Walking is free and fairly gentle on the body.:001_smile:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146556

 

HTH,

Jen

[Farmgirl70]

We've done this over the course of time. Now we've been at it so long that some changes I don't even think about. We did just what people here have said: pick a change or two at a time and get really comfortable with it. Have patience, too. Your tastes will change. Real food will taste better than processed in not too long!

 

By the way, we've done this on a budget. My husband runs a small nonprofit and I stay home so we're not extravagant shoppers. I do find "real" food to be cheaper than processed over all--really.

 

Good for you for beginning to make changes to care for yourself and your family! You can do it--one step at a time!

[chepyl]

Find one new recipe a week to try. For the rest of the week, make the changes listed above (brown rice, I don't like whole wheat pasta - we get smart balance.) You don't even need to buy a cookbook. All recipes.com and cooks.com have great recipes.

 

You don't need to worry about calories, fat, etc. Just find things that are better than fast food :) The fresher the ingredients the better. I try to find some new crock pot meals every month or so. We do a lot of crock pot cooking. We also grill a lot. If you have a grill - start drilling chicken with your favorite seasoning. You can put this in anything: top a salad, pasta tossed in olive oil and lemon, sandwiches. Before we had our outdoor grill we used a George Foreman grill. Chicken tenderloin went from frozen to cooked in under 10 minutes.

 

For us, the healthy option has to he as quick as the not so healthy casseroles we love.

 

DH drinks tea instead of soda now. I am trying to transition, but it is slow going. I have cut back some.

 

:) It OS good that your clothes are fitting better....you may not be losing weight yet, but you are losing fat and gaining muscle tone. Clothing fit and size change OS a better indicator that pounds lost sometimes. :)

[Parrothead]

For us it is still a work in progress.

 

We had biscuits from McD's today for breakfast but will be eating vegetarian from scratch for lunch and grass fed beef for dinner.

 

I still use boxed white flour pasta but make my own organic marinara sauce from scratch. (IMO whole-wheat pasta with red sauce is disgusting. No sense making it and wasting it because no one will eat it.) But I emailed the top pasta companies and found one that does not use brominated flour.

 

So start slowly. Pick one thing to change this week and stick with it.

 

I wouldn't go from pop to water over night. I had a 30 year Mt. Dew habit to break. I hate the taste of plain water. So in order to get rid of a 2L a day habit I started drinking tea. Now if I want a soda I drink a root beer. I might have 3 or 4 cans of root beer a week instead of gallons and gallons.

 

Also instead of always taking away things, work on adding stuff too. Add fresh carrot sticks to meals. Add nuts to snacks. Add stuff you do like

 

Do what you can to shop the perimeter of the supermarket. Make a weekly menu so you can shop appropriately. That will help you from the 5:30 desperate search for dinner. We all know that leads to opening a box of macaroni and cheese product.

 

Don't worry about buying all organic right now. Just make the switch from convenience foods to real foods. Once you do that you'll have a better idea of what works for you and what your next steps should be.

[LibraryLover]

What are your favorite meals? I'd start by changing up ingredients, prep. Maybe post your fav meals and we can help change them up a bit.

[heartosunshine]

Yes, we did this. It's taken a long time & we're still working on it but we've come a long way!

 

I would say first off, make a commitment to eliminate fast food from your diet. Have you seen "Supersize Me"? We watched it as a family & now my kids rarely ask for fast food anymore.

 

Second, eliminate or cut way, way back on your soda consumption. Here's a visual for that: http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm. I measured out into a bowl how much sugar was in a can of soda & had the bowl on display in the kitchen as a reminder.

 

Those two things alone may take a while. That's ok. Those are huge improvements! After that, I recommend trying to eliminate the boxed type meals & cook from scratch as much as possible.

 

As far as exercise, as a family we bike, swim and hike. Again, we have a ways to go on this, but my dh & I are committed to maintaining family health. So we just keep trying!

 

Good luck!

[susankenny]

What are your favorite meals? I'd start by changing up ingredients, prep. Maybe post your fav meals and we can help change them up a bit.

 

I agree. In the beginning stages, don't change what you eat necessarily, just change how you eat it. For example, if you love pizza, create a healthy one. Most things you enjoy can simply swap out ingredients for a healthier version, so I would start there. As you begin to reap the benefits of your new diet, you can become more stringent in what you change and adapt. I eat mostly raw vegan now, but that was a very slow process and is still in the works.

 

You can do this!:grouphug:

 

 

Susan

[Hope in God]

With us it seems always to be a work in progress with some backsliding here and there. The best way to stay motivated is to read a book about why you are needing to change your diet or, better yet, subscribe to a health website such as mercola.com where they send you daily healthy living emails.

 

Just whatever you do stay away from aspertame. It produced harrowing results in rat studies (tumors, skin melting off, nasty birth defects etc...). The really frightening thing is that my friends sister, who drinks far too much aspertame, has been developing the exact same results that were seen in the rat study. She has developed many tumors in her abdomen and her skin is beginning to peel (all the way through the dermis). She drinks about 2L of diet soda a day.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I have been working on our diets for about 5 years. I first read Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons when I decided that I wanted to get out of my seemingly endless post-partum blues state. I tried Wellbutrin per the doctor's suggestion, but didn't like it, so decided to start reading about natural ways to make me feel better. That book was the catalyst to a whole new life for my family and for me. Since then, I've read tons of other books on health, nutrition, green living, etc. I've watched Food Inc., Food Matters, What's on Your Plate?, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, and most recently Forks Over Knives. Forks Over Knives was the most extreme so far, but the gist of pretty much all of what I've read and seen is that the Standard American Diet is killing us more quickly than anything else. It is a primary cause of a gazillion health problems. One needs to pay attention to what one is putting into one's body and know where the ingredients are coming from.

 

I started slowly, by cutting out "whites", like white bread, white rice, and other refined carbs. Then I cut out processed sugars. I'd like to say I've been 100% on track, but I haven't. We've had setbacks and reverted to eating some junk, but I feel so crappy (literally!) that I switch back very quickly.

 

I'd suggest starting slowly and changing a few things. Like, instead of frozen french fries, cut up your own potatoes, coat them in a little olive oil and bake. Make mashed potatoes from scratch. Don't buy white bread. Buy natural peanut butter instead of peanut butter loaded with sugar and added fats. Get used to that. Make sure a vegetable or fresh fruit is served with every meal.

 

In the past year, I've gone gluten free and discovered that what I thought for 20 years was irritable bowel syndrome was really a gluten intolerance.

 

I've also slowly switched over to buying organic produce and meats and trying to buy as locally as possible. This is more expensive, but I can honestly say that I've saved money on health care, because neither I nor my kids get sick as often as we did, say 5-6 years ago.

 

I am now seriously considering going vegan for myself. DH will never do it, and I'll give my kids a small amount of animal-based food, but they can choose not to eat it if they want.

 

If you want to kick cravings for junk, you need to get it completely out of your system. I can also honestly say that a big salad with lots of veggies and flax oil and lemon juice dressing looks way more appealing than a cheeseburger or a candy bar. Would never have said that 5 years ago. My body craves veggies and fruit. Green smoothies are awesome to help with getting over cravings.

 

Best of luck to you as you start this venture. Eating well takes effort and more preparation, and yes, can cost a bit more than eating junk, but it is SO worth it in the long run.

[Lily_Grace]

We have slowly done this over the past 4 years. We moved to a place without fast food, and what was available in the commissary was all frozen or boxed. Seriously, I wish I had taken a picture of our produce/meat/dairy dept. By Thursdays they were bare, waiting for the meager, half rotten food to come in on Friday.

 

Dh started learning how to cook and we slowly learned how to shop weekly at farmers' markets and butcher shops. It wasn't an overnight thing. It was one dish at a time, replacing it with a healthier option. The last thing to go were the seasoning packets. They were my crutch. I neeeeded them for gravy and tacos and stew... Bah. Food tastes so much better without the salt and sugar added to everything, or when we control it.

 

We still eat boxed food occasionally (especially Gilmore nights :D ) and eat out every once in a while but we like our fresh cooked meals better. Dh has gotten to be an amazing cook, which I never thought would happen when Hamburger Helper was in our kitchen 3 nights a week. :tongue_smilie:

[toawh]

This is the way we changed our diet. Everyone's different, but I thought I'd share for what it's worth.

The first change was no ready-made foods. That means if it came in a box we didn't eat it. It took more time on our part, but was a drastic improvement. I had to make my own cereals for breakfast, my own dough if we wanted a pizza, my own seasonings, etc.. That pretty much cut out 70% of the garbage we ate. It's amazing how many hidden calories and chemicals, and colors are in salad dressing, juice drinks, store bought cereals, instant dinners and other convenience foods. We never did and never will shop at fancy health food stores. Simply can't afford it. But fresh fruit has become snack.

After we got used to making our own food, we slowly introduced new changes as we heard about them or "discovered" them. Reading labels has become a habit. If the ingredients aren't things that I would have in my kitchen we don't buy it. For example if we're gonna get peanut butter, the ingredients should be peanuts and salt. No dextrose, or high fructose corn syrup, or sucralose, or any other odd thing I can't picture. Pop is a no-no.

Now, we've eliminated white rice and white flour.

As for the exercise, I've found if it's not something I enjoy I won't end up sticking with it.

You can be very fit without exercising per se. But by leading an active life. Try not sitting down all day except for meals. It does wonders. Walk if where you're going is less than 2 miles. When you drive, don't park as close as you can to the door. Go ahead and walk to your car. If you hang laundry :001_smile: squat down to pick up each new piece of clothing (or to put dishes in the washer if you use one). Rock your baby standing up. I'm not sure what your situation is at all, but I know some moms who ask their kids to run lots of little errands for them, like could you get me a pen or could you go to the room and fetch my purse. Do all this stuff yourself and you'll be exercising all day. If there are stairs in your house a bonus to you. I'm doing it this way and am losing pounds and changing my shape. Once in awhile when I get a chance I squeeze in a bit of ab work for my mommy figure, but the weight goes this way. The great thing about it is the more you do it the more energy you have.

Whatever you do, make little exceptions for things you really enjoy, and don't give up.

We're rooting for you!

[Tmhearn]

Check to see if there is a Holistic Moms Network chapter in your area. It is a great place to meet other moms who are trying to create a healthier lifestyle for their families.

[Rosie_0801]

I recommend three things to begin with:

 

1. Start serving salad with your pizza and pasta. Dressing made from decent quality oil, balsamic vinegar and wholegrain mustard will stop it being so boring while your taste buds adjust to it.

 

2. Start taking a calcium and magnesium supplement.

 

3. Snack on dates instead of chocolate whenever possible. (Dates contain calcium, which will help reduce the cravings. They also give you the sweet taste and serotonin boost you need.)

 

Rosie

[Guest IdahoMtnMom]

I did it cold turkey... but I didn't have a choice. It was medically necessary when I got out of the hospital (after 3+ months in) last December.

 

The only boxes used in this house are cereal (and only healthier ones), panko bread crumbs, low sodium chicken and beef broths (swanson), and rice milk. Seriously... thats it. The only can goods we buy are tomato paste, canned tomatoes (in the winter), no salt added french green beans (DS's favorite... eats them cold and plain!), no salt added corn (again, in the off season), evaporated, condensed, and coconut milk for baking, no fat refried beans (I can't make them AT ALL from scratch!), and a few cans of this and that should we get snowed in. In terms of condiments, we do use ketchup, mustard, mayo, jams and jellies, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, relish, salsa, etc that are store bought. I am not THAT crazy, lol.

 

We make our own pizza dough, some of our own breads, I even make my own condensed soups for recipes. We eat a lot of fresh pasta, rice, and potatoes as starchy side dishes. We have salads at almost every meal (with homemade dressings!). I make my own chicken nuggets/tenders for the kid, and so on... I buy all lunch meats from the deli and buy organic/low sodium versions, too. Bread I don't make comes from a local organic bakery.

 

I find keeping a good collection of spices and dried herbs, vinegars, oils, condiments, and baking items really helps make it all come together fairly easily.

[Parker Martin]

Cutting out sugar made a huge difference for us. After a couple weeks of that, all the healthy stuff started tasting a lot better.

 

Vegetables taste good with butter and salt. People will actually want to eat them.

 

If you cut out most carbs, you have a lot more room to use things like butter and cheese. Plus, your blood sugar stays more stable, and you feel hungry much less often.

[mo2]

What in the world is water kefir?! :001_huh:

 

Glad I wasn't the only one who didn't know. Now, what is a green smoothie and how does it help with cravings?

[twoforjoy]

One thing that helped wean us off of eating out a lot--we ate out nearly every dinner before our first was born and when he was a baby, and now we eat dinners out maybe once a week--was thinking "homemade" rather than "healthy." Otherwise we feel like we need to be eating brown rice, tofu, and veggies every night, and it's very easy to get discouraged and give up. If you aren't going to like what you have planned, it's going to be very hard to convince yourself to cook it.

 

I'd probably start by just planning to cook at home, from scratch. Don't worry about how healthy or unhealthy recipes are, just focus on cooking at home and not from boxes. Once you get used to cooking most nights, and you have recipes your family likes, you can begin to rotate in "healthier" meals and to tweak some favorites to make them healthier.

 

But the way we think about it, even eating something that isn't particularly "healthy" but is made from scratch is still much better for us than eating out (as well as cheaper). Tonight, for example, I'm making chicken parm and steamed broccoli: it's easy, it's fast, and everybody here likes it. It's certainly not "health food," though. Still, we're getting better nutrition from the meal than we would from McDonald's or Taco Bell or pizza or whatever we'd pick up if I didn't cook. So, while it's not brown rice, tofu, and veggies, it's workable for our family and a better alternative than what we'd do if we ate out.