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Changing your eating habits is one of the best things you can do for your health, but it doesn’t have to be complicated or boring.

If you’ve been following along with Small Step for Better Health, you’re cooking more meals at home, which is already improving your health and nutrition!

Let’s take the next step by focusing more on what we are putting on our plates. We still aren’t worried about removing anything from our diets yet, because often we find that as we begin to fill up on nutrient-dense, fiber-filled foods, we naturally eat less of the foods that aren’t as good for us.

This week, try splitting your plate in half and filling at least half your plate with “plant-based” foods. Plant-based foods include:

• Vegetables, including: leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, greens, etc.; garlic, onions, peppers of all kinds, leeks, parsnips, potatoes of all kinds, radishes, turnips, squash, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, corn, peas, cauliflower, broccoli and cucumbers
• Fruits, including: bananas, apples, kiwi, oranges, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango, cantaloupe, watermelon, plums and pineapple
• Mushrooms of all kinds
• Legumes, including: black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans, lentils, lima beans and soybeans
• Whole grains, including: quinoa, brown rice, oats, barley, wild rice, whole grain tortillas/pasta/bread and couscous
• Nuts, including: almonds, peanuts, pistachios, cashews, Brazil nuts, soy nuts, hazelnuts and walnuts
• Seeds, including: chia seed, flax seed, hemp seed, pumpkin seed and sunflower seed

If eating half a plate or more of plant-based foods at each meal sounds daunting, it’s OK to start with one meal per day and slowly work your way up. Choose one meal per day this week to change, and try to add another meal per day to your routine next week.

Remember, consistency is the most important thing, and making the changes sustainable and simple means you’re more likely to stick with it over the long term.

If you haven’t been eating many plant-based foods up until now, it may take you a little while to find your footing. You may not like the first vegetables you try. Keep trying! There are so many options and types of foods you can try, plus lots of different cooking methods. If you didn’t like broccoli raw, for example, try drizzling it with olive oil and roasting it. Try adding different seasonings that you like.

Take it slowly and have an open mind.

The benefits of eating more plant-based foods cannot be overstated. A plant-based diet can improve most areas of your health and can prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic diseases. It can also:

• Lower your risk of heart disease
• Improve digestion
• Help better control blood sugar
• Increase energy levels
• Increase your health and longevity

Small Steps, Better Health

Every two weeks we will introduce another Small Step for Better Health. Follow us on social media for more tips, and sign up for our email newsletter, True North.