Eating Simply

We have so many choices to make every single day. What to eat? What to wear? Which way to drive to work? And those are just a few of the simple ones. It can be daunting at times. With so many choices, the idea of simplifying starts to sound pretty good.

So let's start with food. Why eat simply? Eating fresh, whole, unprocessed foods may not be what our bodies are used to these days, but they're what we're made to ingest and digest. Here are a few ideas about how to simplify your diet and incorporate fresh healthy, real foods.

• Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store for produce, dairy and meats. Most of the fake food literally hangs out on the shelves among the center aisles.
• Make fruits and vegetables as available and convenient as packaged snacks.  
• Replace your 100-calorie pre-packaged snacks with an apple and a handful of almonds.
• Don't fear the fats. Natural, monounsaturated fats found in olive oil, avocados and nuts can actually improve your (good) HDL cholesterol.

We know. You've heard this before and it's probably hard to see yourself giving up those oh-so-convenient trans fats. Small, incremental changes can result in wonderful changes to your long-term health. Pretty soon, you might even start craving the simple stuff.