The first step: Change your food staples

The transition to change your diet from a "typical" diet to a "health promoting" diet might seem overwhelming. The best way to go about it is to slowly transition by switching your usual grocery staples for more healthful choices. Here is a list of foods you should start to switch out and a little background on each.

1. Loose the Butter and beyond...
Saturated fats are the the least health promoting you should cut out and replace the following:
- Butter
- Lard
- Shortening

A frequently overlooked, yet key factor for a healthy diet is the Monounsaturated (Omega3) and Polyunsaturated (Omega6) fats ration you take in. While Omega6 fats are not saturated they still promote inflammation in the body and contribute to chronic disease. You should aim for a 1:1 to 1:3 ratio (Poly:Mono). The average ratio in the US diet is 1:50 or higher.
The following are great options (all available at Whole Foods and also on Amazon: )
- Flax Oil
- Walnut Oil
- Grape Seed Oil
- Earth Balance products
- Canola Oil (least beneficial but good for very high heat)
- Fish Oils (not really used for cooking, just found in fish and supplements : )

If you can not live without butter every now and again, choose organic butter from grass fed, free range cows. When cows eat grass their milk, butter and meat will naturally contain Omega 3 fatty acids. (Happy cow = Happy you : )


2. Drop the white sugar...
A stable blood sugar is key to a healthy body and strong immune system. Refined white sugar raises blood sugar very quickly and very high and has what is called a high glycemic index. The only thing worse than white sugar is high fructose corn syrup. It is not available for sale, but it is found in many prepared foods, so read your labels! Lower glycemic sweeteners include:
- Agave Syrup
- Palm Sugar
- Honey
- Maple Syrup

Artificial sweeteners are chemicals and poison to your body. If you choose to replace sugar you can use Stevia, a natural plant extract. Personally, I am not big on sugar replacement. Reducing your sugar overall and using lower glycemic sweeteners is much better for you than drinking a lot of diet soda.

3. Expand your flour selection...
By expand I mean REALLY expand. Technically anything that can be ground into a powder can function as flour. Nuts, beans and soy work great as flower. The following are alternative flours you can buy preground from Bob's Red Mill:
- Almond Flour
- Chickpea Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Ground Flax
- Soy Flour
- and more...
If you have a food processor (even a small one) you can grind any nut into a flour by yourself though. I like to mix regular flour with flour alternatives for best results.
Oh, and by regular flour I mean Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour.