A Quarter of Change
The beautiful wife was out shopping the other day and decided to get a treat, some guilty pleasure. "It was terrible," she wailed. "All the treats I used to like don't look good anymore." I couldn't tell if she was sad or glad that her tastes had improved, but it was clear that I was to blame. I didn't dare say it, but her woeful tale brought to mind the biblical story about Lot's wife, and her longing look back at Babylon. Or was it Sodom? Whatever, it was an encouraging sign of change for Skip's wife, who remains more sweet than salty.
We’ve said it before in this blog, but it’s worth saying again: Talk is easy—Change is hard. The purpose of this blog isn’t only to entertain, but more to guide the reformation of your diet. The tragedy of the 20th century wasn’t just the adulteration of our food supply by Food Inc, but the confusion about what to do next. The purpose of the 52 Healthy Changes is to provide a roadmap to a better diet, based on an ordinary man's common sense use of science, food tradition, and scripture.
We provided the Scorecard below at the end of the first quarter, to help you measure your progress. We even offered a prize for the best score.
Another Quarter of Change
Since then we’ve introduced 13 more Healthy Changes, listed below in brackets, following the title of the post, beginning with #14:
14. Eggs and Fertility (Enjoy eggs from healthy chickens, in moderation.)
15. Omega-3 Essential Fats (Include omega-3 fats in each meal.)
16. Your Choice: Chaos or Order (Shop with a menu-based grocery list.)
17. Family Dinner (Eat dinner together as a family.)
18. Stretching (Include stretching in your exercise regime.)
19. Vitamin A (Eat orange fruits and vegetables each day.)
20. Vitamins From Food (Get your vitamins the traditional way, with a whole food diet of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and a little meat—plus a little noontime sun for vitamin D.)
21. The Joy of Fasting (Consult your doctor about the wisdom of fasting for a day each month—being sure to drink adequate water.)
22. The Milk Wars (Until better milk is available, protect your health by drinking sparingly, if at all.)
23. In Praise of Whole Grains (Eat a variety of whole grains.)
24. A Family Heritage (Preserve your family recipes.)
25. Animals Need Vegetables Too (Include foods rich in vitamin K-2 in your diet.)
26. Sleep, Blessed Sleep (Get adequate sleep, 8-9 hours depending on the season, in the dark.)
Mid-Year Report Card
We've put together a report card (PDF format), listing all the Healthy Changes of the 1st and 2nd quarters. Print the card and give yourself a grade on how well you're doing (with a score of 1 to 5 points per Healthy Change). Once again, we'll have a prize for the reader with the best score. (In the next post I'll share my score, and confess to my shortcomings.)
Please comment: Share your score for the first 26 Healthy Changes with a comment on how you've been helped by eating and living better. Once again, the prize for the best score will be a copy of Mike Pollan's In Defense of Food.