Ten food experts give their best advice
One of favorite questions to ask food and health experts is “If you could get the general population to change ONE aspect of their eating habits, what would it be?” It comes down to this — know your food, as awareness is a crucial element of eating well. Cook. Eat more plants and less animals. And don’t eat too much of anything. Here are 10 of our favorite answers.
- “Care about who is responsible for your food — whether it’s a farmworker, a restaurant worker or your mom!” — Sanjay Rawal, Documentary Filmmaker
- “Reduce their meat consumption! Even if it means replacing a single meat meal with a vegetarian option. That’s a start.”—Palak Patel, Chef
- “Stop supersizing everything. Let’s recognize how precious food is and stop wasting 40 percent of it (here in the U.S.).”—Simran Sethi, Journalist/Educator
- “Just encouraging the understanding of where your food comes from, how it has been raised/developed/handled, and using your money as a vote to help sustainable enterprise/farmers.”—Audrey Snowe, Blogger
- “I agree with Michael Pollan, that we as a society need to get back into the kitchen. There’s something magical and exciting about creating nourishment for your body with only a few simple ingredients. Whenever I cook my food, I don’t feel stress or guilt. It’s hard not to feel stress or guilt when food isn’t made by you and becomes a mystery.”—Noni Vaughn-Pollard, Nutritionist
- “Know where your meat comes from.”—Emily Van Raay, Wellness Model
- “Eat more whole foods!”—Jill de Jong, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
- “I want more people to realize that a plate doesn’t need meat to be a complete, substantial meal. That mentality is so frustrating to me. I think people are getting better about it, but I can’t tell you how many times I get the question “what do you eat?” when I say I’m a vegetarian. There are so many foods out there that don’t come from animals that are full of protein and are nourishing and filling.”—Emily Summerlin, Environmentalist
- “Moderation! You don’t necessarily have to cut anything out, just reduce your consumption of it to achieve a good balance.”—Matthew Preston, Dig Inn Seasonal Market
- “Eat one plant-based meal a day.”—Matthew Kenney, Vegan Chef
If you want to build healthier eating habits (e.g. eating less meat, eating more plants, eating less processed food, cutting out added sugar, quitting soda, or eating more mindfully), join a Foodstand Challenge with friends.
Originally published at medium.com