Pantry & Fridge Makeover
When a lightbulb burns out and you don’t have extras, you can’t fix it. The same idea is true for being on a healthy or weight loss journey. If you don’t have the proper tools to fix the problem, nothing will change. There are many people who know the WHY they want to change their lifestyle habits in more productive and positive ways. Yet, keeping trigger foods in their fridge, pantry or freezer speak volumes. What are you holding onto? The “what if” I need something sweet, salty, or greasy needs to go, along with your past mindset that you will fail.
Once you have figured out your WHY, you must then prepare for your health journey. Purging your fridge, pantry, and freezer of pro-inflammatory junk food is the first step. Yes, your groceries cost money and it’s hard to part ways with your $8.99 bag of hemp seed chips that seemingly are good for you. Read that ingredient label and count the rancid seed oils and sugars. They’re there – look.
Top Tips For Upgrading Your Kitchen:
Boxed & Packaged Foods: Say goodbye to all of your boxed and bagged foods, such as “healthified” and “non-healthified” chips, crackers, snacks, bread, pasta, granola, cereals, protein bars, protein cookies, sweets, dried fruit…all of it.
Seed Oils: Why the American Heart Association says consuming seed oils is ok is a mystery. There is a lot of medical research done showing that these industrialized seed oils are rancid and toxic to our cellular health, making us sick & fat. Dump the following oils: canola, vegetable, safflower, sunflower, soybean, peanut, grapeseed, cottonseed, corn, and rice bran.
Engineered Plant-Based “meat”: If your meat didn’t have a mom & dad, get rid of it. Yes, plant-based alternative meats are all the rage right now, but it’s highly processed, engineered food that requires many ingredients, often including rancid seed oils (see above) and sugar to enhance the flavor. If you’re a vegan, I’d rather you combine whole food groups to obtain a complete protein and supplement with amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that you will be missing from your diet. If you’re not a vegan and eat animal protein, why on earth would you even look at faux meat? Single-ingredient, whole food, such as animal protein is a no-brainer.
Low-Fat & Non-Fat Dairy: Over 70% of the global population is intolerant to bovine dairy products. However, if you’re one of those that can enjoy dairy, then absolutely get rid of all low-fat, non-fat, flavored, and non-organic options. Instead, upgrade to grass-fed, organic, and full-fat options of yogurts and kefir. Upgrade a level and try raw goat or sheep milk-based products as well, which are much more easily digestible than bovine sources.
Alcohol: I’m not saying forever, but if you want the best opportunity to start a health journey or weight loss journey, or better sleep journey, then pour the alcohol down the drain. Drinking alcohol will rob you of your chance to get it right. Once you hit your goals, I’ll bet that you reconsider how important that cocktail really is.
Shop locally: Fill your pantry, fridge, and freezer with locally grown and raised products. Farmer’s markets are not just for fruit and veggies. Try out the locally raised meats, poultry, eggs, and cheese.
Lifestyle changes are challenging to make. Wipe your slate clean and start fresh with no trigger foods and drinks. Commit to building a better toolbox. Each of us requires our own unique toolbox that works for our body, our genes, our lifestyle, and our health goals. You made need support to build that toolbox from the ground up. Build your support team that may include a functional medicine doctor, nutritionist, or health coach.
This blog is not to be used as medical advice or for making any lifestyle changes to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having.