Eating clean is hard. Especially in the beginning. I ain’t gonna lie–it takes time and patience and flexibility to change your diet. But it’s not impossible. As a matter of fact, it’s quite doable, especially if you take baby steps. I’m a mom of 5 young kids, I home school them, run a ministry at our church, spend time with friends and love to run. I don’t work outside the home, but I do work. A lot. I don’t say that to toot my own horn, but to encourage you! When we first changed our diet, I cried multiple times not knowing how I was going to make it through. I wish someone would have told me to cut myself a little slack, cuz that would have helped me immensely. So, that’s what I’m doing for you right now. Cut yourself some slack! Oh, and follow these 5 simple steps to improve your life immeasurably by cutting out the crap and eating foods that nourish your body:

Don’t buy anything in a box!

Yeah, yeah. You’ve heard that one before. “Shop around the perimeter of the store, blah, blah, blah.” But seriously, it’s important. If it comes in a box, that means someone, somewhere fiddled with nature to make it last longer, taste better, and/or look better. You don’t want that junk. Really, you don’t. Just put the box down, and scoot yourself back to the outside of the store. You know, where all those green plants and sweet-smelling fruits are.

Show your kids some videos.

Seeing health advice come from someone outside the family is gold. Kids soak up this info. Check out my {poor quality} video on sugar and your immune system: Click Here . Or, watch the movie “Food, Inc.” Your kids will never look at food the same again. Another great video is “Food Matters.” You can find all sorts of resources just by Googling “health food videos” or “cutting out processed foods.”

Change your attitude.

Moping around, complaining about how much work it is to feed your family whole foods isn’t going to get you anywhere. And, if your kids see how much you hate all the prep work, they sure as heck aren’t going to want to jump on your bandwagon! Be willing to put in some extra time. Yes, I know that seems like an oxymoron to “simple,” but attitude is a HUGE key to success if you are changing your family’s diet. And of course, if you have kids old enough to help in the kitchen (and by help, I mean help, not do a job that you just have to do over again), recruit them and have fun with it! If you really want to have your toddler participate, go for it, just know that it doesn’t necessarily make the job more simple. Sometimes, just giving them pots and pans to play with (or tupperware if you want it quiet!) is the best way to go. Or if you really want to let them have some fun, bring out THIS fun gadget! They’ll want to be in the kitchen forever. 

Set 1 or 2 goals as a family.

Don’t feel like you have to change your world overnight. Think of a few attainable goals and go for them. Maybe your first goal is to just stop eating anything in a box. Or maybe it’s to cut out soda. Or maybe it’s to get rid of cereals for breakfast and replace them with healthy proteins. Whatever your goal(s) may be, make them a challenge, but don’t make them impossible!

Don’t try to be perfect–just try to progress!

As I’ve said before in previous posts, there is no perfect diet. What’s right for one person may not be ideal for another. Try not to label yourself under a certain type of diet. You will stray at times, and when you do, don’t allow yourself to count that as a failure. Just know you are on a journey to health. None of us is perfect. And if someone says they are, that in itself should be a red flag. A great way to kickstart your new lifestyle change is to do a Whole30. You can read about it HERE. It’s an excellent way to find out what foods aggravate you, and to see just how incredible you can feel by getting rid of all that junk. It’s not meant to be a longterm diet, it’s just a 30-day program to help you gain control of your {food} life. I highly suggest their book, “It Starts With Food.“

So, there you have it. Five simple ways to help you and your family eat clean. Are you ready? Go for it!