28-Day Challenge

Last night, I decided I need some change in my life - a challenge. I have joined Whole Foods Market's Health Starts Here™28-Day Challenge. It should be noted that I have bi-yearly physical, and I am in good health. I enter this challenge not because a doctor said that I need it, but because I realize that I need to look at food in a new way for me and my family.

I will follow Whole Foods Market's four pillars of Health Starts Here™ for the entire month beginning Monday.

• WHOLE FOODS: Eat unprocessed foods and put an emphasis on local, seasonal and organic. (That means I will pick brown rice instead of white rice, use no processed sugars, and use whole grain flours instead of white flour).
• PLANT-STRONG™:  A plant based diet with a heavy emphasis on vegetables and fruits. I will still have lean meats and avoid all dairy products. (Tillamook Cheese, this means we are on a "break," BUT I don't think we have broken up. ;))
• HEALTHY FATS: Nuts, seeds and avocados will be my main sources of fat. This means using no oils for the month.
• NUTRIENT DENSE: Choose foods high in nutrients when compared to their caloric intake. Using the ANDI scoring system works great for this, but remember to eat a wide variety of colors to get a wide variety of nutrients.

First things is first. I need to remove everything out of my pantry that is NOT allowed for the month. I don't want any temptation, and the fact is there are many food banks that could use this food.

All month, I will be posting recipes that I'm cooking if you'd like to join the challenge with me. If you join, please comment below, as I will enter you into a giveaway! Can't start today? That's ok! Follow my posts and start when you can. Here's a video to understand the importance of this journey.