Hi friends!
I know it can be quite overwhelming figuring out where to start on this whole healthy living journey. I previously wrote a post where I shared what you can find in my pantry, but I thought I’d do up a quick and easy little primer for some of the most basic switches you can make to improve your health. You can start slowly by replacing a couple things every time you shop so that you’re not overwhelmed or taking too big of a hit in the pocketbook. This post is a great second step to take after you’ve followed my Where to Start guide from my very first Dear Cait! I often get asked now that I know how what I’m eating makes me feel, where do I go now? And so this post was born!
I’ve divided this list into Inflammatory foods and Healthifying foods. In the inflammatory column you’ll find things like refined flour and sugar, diet and regular soft drinks, and vegetable oils, all of which promote inflammatory responses in the body. You can check out my post on the dangers of vegetable oils for more information. I’ve also included peanut butter because it is often contaminated with mould and it’s a food to which many people are allergic. With so many other delicious nut and seed butter options out there, why waste our time on a less than optimal food? Since there’s a finite amount of food we can reasonably eat in a day, we should be focusing on getting the most nutritional bang for our buck with every meal! So check out my guide below to help you get started on your very own pantry (and life!) makeover.
Easy Pantry Switches to Healthify your Life
| Inflammatory | HEALTHIFIED |
| Vegetable oils: Sunflower Oil
Safflower Oil Corn Oil Canola Oil Soy Oil Peanut Oil |
Olive OilCoconut Oil
Avocado oil Walnut oil* Hemp oil* Butter Lard (from pastured animals) Sesame oil
|
Refined and Whole Wheat FloursGluten-containing Flours
|
Coconut FlourAlmond Flour
If grains are tolerated: Rice Flour Millet Flour Quinoa Flour Chickpea Flour Fava Flour
|
| Margarine | Organic and/or grassfed butter |
Conventional Dairy
|
Grassfed and/or organic dairyCoconut milk
Nut and seed milks
|
| White SugarSucanat
Agave Corn syrup |
HoneyMaple Syrup
Coconut Palm Sugar or Sap Stevia Xylitol
|
| Regular and Diet Soft DrinksSugary Juices | Coconut waterFresh Squeezed or Sugar Free Juice
Flavoured water infused with:
|
| Conventional Peanut Butter | Organic nut and seed butters:
|
* Do not heat these oils as they contain unstable omega fats which go rancid upon exposure to heat and light.
So that’s my handy little guide for some easy pantry switches to take your health to the next level. You can download the PDF here for easy reference when you’re shopping: Easy Pantry Switches. Thanks for stopping by friends and have a wonderfully whimsical week!
Cait xo
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