The one most important thing you can do for your health

Long before I decided to pursue a formal career in nutrition and wellness, I was passionate about finding the key to good health. There must be some secret. Something magical. A formula that if I just got it right, I’d find myself the vision of perfect health, fitness, and weight.

Since I’ve become a nutritional therapy practitioner, the top question I get asked is: What’s the one most important thing I can do for my health? What’s that one key change that is going to make all the difference?

Well… I am about to unveil that mystery. But first, indulge me for a moment and do a little play-along exercise. Grab a scrap of paper and pen.

#1. Write down the top five changes you could make RIGHT NOW to get healthier, fitter, and become your ideal weight.

#2. Look at the list. What feels the easiest? What do you feel is really doable, maybe even a little fun?

#3. Pick that one thing.

#4. Do it.

#5. Do it again, every day for 21 days.

And now… drum roll please as I unveil the mystery of true health…

That’s it. You just wrote it down. That one thing you think you can do and do for the next 21 days is the thing that is the one most important thing YOU can do for your health.

Disappointed? Looking for the magic formula? Ideal action? Worst or best food to eliminate or add to your diet?

Well, my friends you’re not going to get that from me. Because let’s face it. We all know what to do. Cut the pop. Eat more vegetables. Eliminate sugar. Drink more water. Eat less refined food and more whole foods. Exercise more. Get to bed an hour earlier. Have one less drink on the weekend. The list is endless when you get going. But none of that helps, because we all KNOW that, but we don’t DO it.

The most important thing you can do for your health is DO it. Do something. Anything. Pick one thing that feels easy, that feels right, that feels doable. And then commit to doing it. They say 21 days creates a habit they say, so commit to doing it for 21 days. Make it a habit and see how you feel.

And in 21 days, do the exercise again, and add one more thing. And you’re rocking and rolling.
Because it’s far more important that you actually DO something than that you wait to figure out the perfect thing to do.

So get out there. Follow Nike’s sage advice and just get the heck out there and do it.

Spinach toasts - slightly tweaked version of an old favourite

One of my fondest memories is my Gramma making me creamed spinach on toast when I was little. I can still remember hanging out at the old chrome-rimmed kitchen table, trying not to play with the violet that was always the table centrepiece (no one could grow violets like my Gramma), mouth watering with anticipation. I think my future as a nutritional therapist was solidified in those moments - what other little kid craves spinach?

I came across this recipe for "Spinach Toasts" on Dr. Andrew Weil's site and it looked suspiciously familiar. He made some changes to my Gramma's recipe (how cool that he knew her! ;) and I made some further tweaks to his. Here's the result:

Spinach Toasts

Description

Cooking spinach takes very little time, but you need to wash and drain it carefully, and remove tough stems first, which may take 5 or 10 minutes. Plan accordingly. The spinach on these little appetizers is a great source of iron and vitamins A and C.

Ingredients

3/4 cup purified water 2 bunches fresh spinach (about 2 pounds), stemmed 8 pieces thinly sliced sprouted wheat or gluten-free bread 1 small onion, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil 1/2 cup whole milk, organic plain yogurt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint Freshly ground pepper to taste 11/2 tablespoons chopped raw walnuts GARNISH 1 red apple, cut in thin wedges

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°F. Pour the water into a large stainless steel pot and bring it to a boil. Drop in the washed spinach and cook for 3 minutes, stirring several times. Drain the spinach in a colander over a pan to catch all the water, which you can save to make vegetable stock. Squeeze excess water from the leaves. Cut the bread slices on the diagonal to create 2 triangular pieces, then cut again to make 4 triangles. Put them on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil in a medium nonstick sauté pan over low heat until onions are softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Put the spinach leaves into a medium bowl, along with the onions and the garlic. Add the yogurt, mint, pepper, and nuts and toss thoroughly with a fork. Spread the spinach mixture on the toasts just before serving. Garnish with apple wedges.