Have you noticed my theme for January?

The start of the year is always a time when we are open to being focused on improvements including how we eat. It is hard to make changes and keep them sustained for longer than the month of January so I wanted to inspire people with a simple thing.

One simple thing that can really make a difference to our health. One that doesn’t have to cost a lot, in fact can make our food shop cheaper.

One that can be as simple as opening a can and tipping it into whatever meal you are making. Or dipping into the freezer for a bag of peas, spinach or berries.

Mixing things up – trying different grains, different fruit, different beans.

More colour. More crunch. More texture. More taste.

More is easier to do than less. More is positive. More is fun.

One thing that the blue zones of the world seem to have in common is that they eat lots of plants. The blue zones are where people live long lives and stay healthy – they are healthy and active, less plagued with chronic ill health in their later years. There are other factors that support these long healthy lives but making change starts with one step.

That one step can be as simple as a bit of fruit at breakfast. A handful of nuts as a snack. Hummus in your sandwich or some cherry tomatoes in your lunchbox. Having a vegetarian meal once or twice a week for dinner. Or just adding a can of beans to that soup or pasta sauce.

Whatever small step you choose to eat more plants it will bring more fibre, more nutrients and make a little less space for those things that we could be eating a bit less of. Good stuff just gently nudging a bit of space from those things that we tend to eat too much off – without banning them or giving them up.

What are you waiting for?

If you need some help then Let’s Talk Food Publishing has come up with a little book to give some structure to adding more plants.

Hop over here to buy a copy.