WEEK 1: BUILD A BETTER BREAKFAST

Each week, you’re working on building a foundation of nutrition and all of these small changes compliment each other to create that foundation.

This weeks focus is starting every day with a healthy, balanced breakfast. It’s time to ditch the drive-through breakfast sandwiches and coffee-shop muffins.

WEEK 2: EAT A SALAD EVERYDAY FOR 1 WEEK

For the first week on your journey to better nutrition, the goal is to eat one salad everyday. Luckily for you, salads don’t have to be a boring old iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato ordeal nor do they have to be complicated. Check out some of our salad recipes on our Basic Eats page>>

WEEK 3: SWAP GRAINS FOR GREENS TO EAT MORE VEGETABLES

Grains offer a number of excellent health benefits but they don’t have to make up the base of your diet whether you eat meat or not. This week the goal is to swap out some of your grains for more vegetables.

Here are some ideas for sneaking more veggies into your diet by using them to replace some of the grains you eat. Remember, it’s not all or nothing so focus on 1 or 2 swaps this week and build from there:

• swap rice for cauliflower rice, parsnip rice or broccoli rice
• try zucchini noodles or another veggie noodle
• eat a big salad for dinner loaded with seeds, nuts and protein
• try cauliflower pizza crust
• make lettuce wraps loaded with veggies and hummus

WEEK 4: IMPROVE HYDRATION

Alright guys, so we’re still getting in our daily salad, eating a wholesome breakfast, and swapping the grains for green. Hopefully those habits are starting to feel like a normal part of your routine.

Many people are walking around chronically dehydrated without even realizing it. Try not to wait until your body gets to a point where you’re so thirsty. We’re often not aware that a lot of the ailments we’re experiencing day to day can be due to dehydration so focus on keeping those water levels topped up at all times. We just recorded a podcast on the importance of hydration that is going to launch on our Podcast this week. In the meantime here are some tips for getting in proper hydration:

• Start every day with a big glass of water
• Eat hydrating foods like cucumber, greens, melon, celery, radish and tomato
• Counteract diuretics such as water and caffeinated tea
• Boost your water with a pinch of sea salt, fresh lemon juice or some berries
• Cut out sugary drinks
• Consider a reverse osmosis system or filtered water system such as Santiveia or Burke
• Use a water tracking app if you often forget to drink water
• Have a good water bottle that you like with you at all times.
• Hydrate between meals not during them to allow for proper digestion
• Drink consistently throughout the day so you’re not drinking a lot too close to bed time

As far as how much water to drink, every one is different and it depends on factors like the climate you live in and how much exercise you get. One rule of thumb is to divide your weight in pounds by two, and drink that amount of water in ounces every day. Start there and see how that works for you.

WEEK 5: PREPARE HEALTHY RECIPES AT HOME

It doesn’t doesn’t have to be a something totally crazy, extravagant or complicated. Maybe it’s trying a new vegetable or whole grain you’re not that familiar with, or maybe it’s making a healthier version of one of your favorite meals.

Preparing meals at home is so important in feeling connected to your food and having control of over what goes into your body. The goal this week is to experiment and try a couple of completely healthy meals meals or even going plant-based for one whole day if you are up for the challenge.

WEEK 6: USE MEAL PREP TO SNACK BETTER

This week the focus is better snacking. While it’s not required to snack between meals if you’re hungry or feel a slump in energy, healthy snacking is a good way to maintain stable blood sugar levels and stay energized.

The goals for this week is to take time on Sunday to prepare some healthy snacks you can take on the road this week.

Snack Ideas:

• chop up bell pepper slices and broccoli 
• chop carrot sticks or buy baby carrots
• cook 2 cups of edamame 
• make roasted chickpeas
• make veggie chips
• stock up on nuts, dried fruit and portable fresh fruit like apples and bananas to take on the road
• Checkout some healthy snack recipes on Basic Eats>>>

WEEK 7: SWAP YOUR SUGARS

For week 10 we’re focusing on reducing or cutting out refined sugar in your diet. Get in the habit of reading the labels on your food and avoiding products that contain white sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, fructose, and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

WEEK 8: ADD FERMENTED FOODS

The goals for this week is to try to a fermented food every day. Fermented foods are an amazing way to upgrade your meals and your health. You can buy fermented foods or make them at home. Eating fermented foods is a great way to get raw, living, probiotic-rich, gut healing bacterias into the body.

It could be sauerkraut, water kefir, yogurt, homemade kombucha, pickled carrots, onions or anything really! Everything in the health world right now is pointing to gut health. You could be eating the healthiest food on the planet but it’s what your body can do with those foods that matters. You’ve got to get that gut in shape and fermented foods are a fast track way to get you there.

WEEK 9: SWAP PROCESSED FOODS FOR WHOLE FOODS

We are talking about heavily processed, refined foods here, not packaged foods. Processed foods are items found in the freezer section at the grocery store, items that have a long shelf-life or foods that have been refined so heavily they no longer resemble the whole food they once were. Processed foods often have oils added to them, excess sodium and added sugar.

The focus for this week is to take one or two food items you typically buy that’s processed and swap it for a whole food option. This could be frozen pizzas, frozen microwave dinners, processed snack or breakfast bars or sugary cereals. 

WEEK 10: SWITCH YOUR OILS & FATS

Replacing unhealthy fats an oils in your diet with healthier ones can have a huge impact on your health over time. Most people are over-consuming unhealthy fats such as trans fats and refined vegetable oils due to the prevalence of processed foods in the average person’s diet.

High omega-6 vegetable oils and trans fats, often listed as hydrogenated oils, can cause inflammation in the body and that inflammation is at the root of a myriad of disease and health problems. Making the switch is easy

1. Refer to step 5 and cut back on refined, processed foods.
2. Switch to oils like coconut, olive oil and avocado oil and limit their use.
3. Get your fats from heart-healthy, nutrient-rich foods like avocado, in particular focusing on omega-3’s from foods like chia seeds, hemp seeds, ground flax seed and walnuts.

WEEK 11: REDUCE YOUR SODIUM INTAKE

You’re now 8 weeks into taking small steps for better nutrition! The focus for this week is reducing your sodium intake. Let’s take a look at how we can do that!

Due to processed foods, many people consume in excess of the recommended 2400 mg of sodium per day. Excess sodium intake effects high blood sugar and heart health so it’s an important aspect of nutrition to consider.

Hopefully you’ve already reduced your sodium intake by focusing on whole foods, eating more vegetables, cooking at home and drinking more water. Now we can take it a step further by reducing the amount of salt we add to our food. When you’re cooking at home, it’s easy to add flavour to your food without using excessive amounts of salt.

How to flavor your foods without extra salt:

• Use fresh lemon and lime juice
• Utilize plenty of fresh and dried herbs
• Use dried sea vegetables for nutrition and flavour
• Try vinegars like white wine, red wine, apple cider and balsamic
• Use a variety of mustards like dijon, spicy and whole grain
• Use lots of ginger, garlic and onion
• Ditch table salt for himilayan crystal salt or other unrefined sea salt

WEEK 12: UP YOUR FIBER INTAKE

The focus for week 11 is upping your fiber intake. You should be getting at the very least 30 grams of fiber per day. It can help lower cholesterol, helps with weight control or weight loss, regulates blood sugar and promotes a healthy heart and digestive system. This week, try a few of these tips for getting more fibre in your diet. By the end of the week, you should be hitting that 25-30 gram mark.

How to up your fiber intake:

• Eat an apple every day
• Make a coconut yogurt bowl topped with high-fibre cereal, ground flax seeds and sliced strawberries
• Eat raw carrots and broccoli with hummus for a snack
• Have a serving of mixed nuts
• Add chickpeas, kidney beans or black beans to your daily salad
• Try a lentil dish 
• keep up with your daily salad
• Have dried apricots, dates, figs, peaches or pears for snack or dessert
• Swap all white foods for whole grain ones (pasta, bread, tortillas etc.)
• Eat edamame for a snack