12 Tips for Better Health

Small changes can make a big impact on your health, says nutrition expert and author Patty James http://www.pattyjames.com/.

Start today!

James suggests taping this list to the refrigerator and adopting one healthy habit a week:

• Begin each day with a good stretch and some deep breaths.
• Plan a week’s worth of meals on your day off.
• Spend 30 minutes twice a week cutting up fresh veggies to have ready for snacks and preparing meals. Next time you want scrambled eggs (or tofu), sauté some veggies first, then add eggs.
• Keep seasonal fruit on hand for when hunger (or a sweet tooth) strikes.
• Vary your food; if you eat it on Monday, don’t have it again until Friday.
• Eat at a table and chew well. Be thankful.
• Make your own vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, a little Dijon mustard, a minced garlic clove, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle grated cheese on top of casseroles instead of mixing in larger amounts.
• Substitute raw nuts and seeds for processed granola bars.
• Have at least one day a week without meat—Meatless Monday, perhaps.
• Eat more leafy greens. Steam kale, chard, spinach, or radicchio, among others, for a couple minutes. Drain and set aside. Sauté some onions, garlic, and shitake mushrooms in olive oil for a few minutes. Add steamed greens, stir, and serve.
• Communicate well. Kindly speak your mind and be done with it. Don’t hold grudges. Forgive yourself and others.

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August 11, 2010