New Month, New Habit

Hello there, February. My, you came quickly!

With the arrival of a new month, I am practicing a new habit from my 2012 Habits.

Last month's habit was to wake up at 6:30am, and start the day with prayer, silence & solitude. It was incredibly hard, with Aaron's ever-changing morning schedule. I enjoyed the benefits of getting up early and starting the day in a focused, centered way, but am not sure if that habit is very sustainable at this stage in my life.

Anyway, on to a new habit! This month's habit is simple: eat real food.

That means exactly how it sounds - natural, whole foods that are as close to their natural and original state as possible. No preservatives, no artificial additives, no chemicals. Real food includes fruit, dairy, meat, eggs, nuts, whole grain breads. I'm trying to stick to Michael Pollan's rule of thumb: "“Don’t eat anything that has more than five ingredients.” And if you can’t pronounce them, chances are, it’s probably not real food.

I anticipate some challenges with this one as well. Just five days into February, I have already had to say no to various foods. Some foods are obviously not real, such as Xplosive Pizza Flavor Blasted Goldfish crackers (yes, that is a real item!), or the neon blue jelly beans served at my friend's wedding. But I have also been surprised as I pay closer attention to ingredients in products. For example, many types of store bought whole grain bread and tortillas have lengthy lists of preservatives. So I will generally stick to safe things, like lots of farmer's market fruit and vegetables. I also hope to make more things from scratch, like bread, hummus, and other items we often buy from the store.

My hope is that my eating habits will change for the better, and that it will result in overall better health.

Does anyone want to join me in eating only real food this month? C'mon!