I have been an advocate of healthy eating my whole life. I give my mom full credit for this. She was into health foods and yoga during my teen years and her influence has stuck with me to this day.
Recently, my son (a University student in his 20’s) asked me for healthy recipes. What mother doesn’t love to hear that?! It was my pleasure to send him not only the recipes but my three simple rules for eating healthy:
Keep animal/poultry/fish protein to the size of a deck of cards
Eat until you’re no longer hungry rather than until you’re full
To further expand on each rule, here is what we do in our home:
Eat many different colored veggies, especially dark leafy greens
Eat mostly fish, poultry and vegan for protein
Eat slowly and stop when 80% full
I’m by no means perfect with this. Like many people I overdid it on the holidays and I definitely love my dark chocolate and snacks. I just keep it to an occasional treat rather than a daily practice.
Canada’s Food Guide gives an excellent visual of what our plates should look like. This is what we strive for on a daily basis.
The community in which I live is set to become Canada’s first city to adopt the Blue Zone lifestyle and I couldn’t be more excited! The principles behind this movement have been around for a while. I actually wrote about it back in April 2014 in How to Live to 100 and Stay Healthy.
If you haven’t heard about Blue Zone or aren’t sure what it is, here are a few basics:
What are Blue Zones?
A term to describe various regions of the world where people live active, healthy and much longer lives (more).
Why is it called Blue Zone?
During research, regions with the highest concentration of centenarians were (literally) circled on a map with a blue marker and then referred to as “Blue Zones” (more).
What is a Blue Zone lifestyle?
There are nine healthy lifestyle habits practiced by active, healthy, long-lived people:
Move more by adding moderate, regular physical activities throughout your day (walk everywhere, garden, hike, etc.).
Have a life purpose, something to live for beyond work.
Slow down at times by adding stress-free routines into your daily life (meditate, pray, nap, happy hour).
Eat (a lot) more plants and vegetables and lower protein intake (beans, whole grains and garden vegetables). If you do eat animal protein, keep your portion to the size of a deck of cards.
Eat in moderation by practicing portion control (eat until you’re no longer hungry, rather than until you’re full).
Drink alcohol moderately limiting to one or two glasses a day, preferably with friends and food.
Incorporate a regular spiritual or religious community into your life. The choice of denomination doesn’t matter.
Join a social circle or build a group of friends for companionship and to support each other.
Make loved ones a priority by spending time with your children, spouse and elders. Show them your love.
If you already incorporate Blue Zone habits in your life or this inspires you to make a few simple changes towards a healthier and happier lifestyle, I’d love to hear about it!
Simple Changes 
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