Focus on foods to ADD and enjoy alongside traditional favorites:

• In-season fruits like pomegranate, clementines, apples and pears
• Frozen fruits, like berries and sweet cherries, slightly warmed, and drizzled with cream 
• High-fiber flax crackers, bean dips and hummus, popcorn, and roasted chickpeas
• Big batches of veggie soups for quick meals or sides

Here’s the remarkable thing that happens when you shift your energy to things to add to your plate versus take away: you start to naturally displace those very things you want to reduce, without having to keep negative, restrictive thoughts front-of-mind.

When you add fiber and water-rich leafy and tender veggies to your plate, their very purpose is to help add lots of volume to your stomach, naturally helping you to fill up faster. When you add lean proteins and healthy fats, you provide the nutrients needed to release chemicals in your body that tell your brain you’ve had enough to eat, naturally helping you eat less processed carbohydrates and sugar.

When you are just getting started, yes, you will most likely still have the other things on your plate, too. But, if you eat the things you added first, I am confident that there will be less of them.  This is where long-term change happens. In the small, consistent, daily shifts we make in our daily, weekly, and monthly choices. There really is no other place change can happen.