What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to holistic wellbeing and feeling good on all levels? Is it eating healthy, is it moving your body regularly, are your own thoughts holding you back, your environment, your family?
The most common reply to this question is: Implementing healthy eating into everyday life – especially when people live with family members who are not interested in eating raw, vegan or vegetarian foods – or anything that looks just the slightest bit of “healthy”.
Personally, I’ve been lucky enough to almost always have supportive and even more, curious people around me. However, I also lived with someone for a while who was almost hostile towards my raw vegan creations, at a time when I was very excited about raw food and kept offering every new recipe, only get a stronger “No!” response every time. This was many years ago, and I learnt a lot about how to have healthy eating habits, despite the surroundings. So here my best tips how you too can integrate more healthy foods into your life.
1. BE NICE TO YOURSELF + TRUST YOUR BODY
Maybe you already often make a (green) smoothie for breakfast or as a meal for work, and love a salad, fruit or vegetables for lunch, but then revert to other, possibly unhealthy eating habits in the afternoon and evening.
In that case, firstly tell yourself: Hey, well done. Even though I don’t yet eat as well as I’d actually like to, I am on my way.
The thing is, once your body notices how good something feels, it will want it again and you will start craving more and more fresh foods.
2. GET YOUR LATE NIGHT CRAVINGS UNDER CONTROL
If you find yourself stuffing yourself more than you would like on a regular basis, and especially in the evenings, think about what the reason could be.
Is it habit, or does your blood sugar drop so low over the afternoon that you’re too hungry and low on energy to prepare a healthy meal and instead just grab whatever you can get your hands on?
Have small snacks ready so you are prepared – and make sure you drink enough water. Often we think we’re hungry, but in reality we just haven’t had enough to drink.
3. MAKE RECIPES THAT TASTE GOOD RAW + COOKED
What do the people who live with you like to eat?
There may be more recipes than you realise which they enjoy and which can be eaten both raw and cooked, or that can be adapted quite easily.
Take Pasta recipes for example:
- Zucchini noodles and regular spaghetti
- a raw vegan sauce that can be heated as well
This doesn’t only help to always have plenty of foods at hand and can help with uncontrolled eating, but you then also don’t have as much work in the kitchen every day.
Great recipes to prepare ahead are dips and spreads, as you can store them for several days in your fridge.
Even better, many of those recipes have a basic version which you can then turn into several versions, such as classic hummus, beetroot hummus, ginger hummus.
Use them as spreads on crackers and breads, as a dip with veggie sticks, in wraps or dollop onto your salads.
Anything dehydrated can also be stored really well, for weeks actually.
Take any recipe for bread or crackers, make a large batch of the basic version so you can then add mixed herbs, spicy or mild paprika, or curry powder and raisins to a portion each.
Another super versatile recipe would be kale chips – prepare the leaves, then make a batch of chips with nutritional yeast, BBQ spices, or even sweet ones with raspberries or cacao!
4. PEOPLE WHO MAKE DIFFERENT FOOD CHOICES THAN YOU
As hard as it may be for you – let them. Live by example, show them how well YOU are doing, be the best version of yourself, but don’t try to convert anyone. This rarely works, and even then it usually only works in a very inharmonious way.
What works quite well, however, is to prepare your food and let others taste it.
You don’t even need to mention that it’s something vegan or raw – just make sure to offer “beginner-friendly” foods, for example energy balls, or a spread, chocolate or cake, or even a sweet smoothie, and not “advanced” recipes, such as a smoothie with lots of spirulina in it, this will just scare most people away.
Instead, as mentioned above, ask what ingredients the person likes and then use exactly those when you prepare something that you want them to try.
This increases the likelihood that your offer will be well received.
Last but not least, remember how far you have come already, be patient and kind to yourself, and to everyone around you – and you will see, little by little, your habits will evolve in the right direction, because you already are on the path that works for you.