a commitment to change your habits for the long haul, not just your food and beverage intake.
Be open to learning more about how your body works and why diet truly has an impact on health.
Replace overeating behaviors with other strategies for coping with stress, boredom, and other situations where emotions rule eating.
Stay open-minded about trying new foods.
Understand that modifying your diet to include DASH diet principles isn’t a quick fix, nor are the overall lifestyle changes you’ll make.
Realize that you’ll have setbacks — and that you can forgive yourself and move on.
Seek a support system to help you meet your eating and exercise goals.
Of course, before you make any changes in your diet or lifestyle, you have to be in the “action phase” of readiness, which is the fourth stage of the classic five-stage model for successful behavioral change:
Precontemplation: In this stage, you’re not even thinking about changing your diet or lifestyle, and you may not even realize that you have a problem (for instance, if you’re overweight or your doctor has told you that your diet is affecting your health).
Contemplation: During this stage, you’re willing to consider making some changes, but you may be on the fence.
Determination: The fact that you’re holding this book in your hands probably means you’re at least in the determination stage. You’ve thought about it, you’re making a plan, and you’re ready to commit to some action.
Action: In this stage, you may also be sharing your goals with others, making you more accountable. During this stage, you continue to work on your plan by setting goals and tracking progress. Success breeds success! The success you have (whether it’s lower blood pressure, weight loss, lower blood cholesterol, or just feeling better) is a huge motivator to keep on track. You may be in the action stage for at least three to six months, and this leads to maintenance.
Maintenance: This stage is a lifelong endeavor where you address the ups and downs and get through situations that are challenging (vacations, holidays, and other special occasions).
Generally, most people go through each stage and often have setbacks along the way. Provided you recover from them, those setbacks are A-OK because the DASH lifestyle isn’t a quick-fix fad diet; it’s an eating plan to adopt for a lifetime of healthy living.
www.eatright.org and click “Find a Registered Dietitian” to find one near you using your ZIP code.
More of This, Less of That
As outlined in Chapter 1, the DASH diet includes lots of fruits and vegetables and some nuts and whole grains but limits saturated fat, desserts, and salt. For many people the “lots of fruits and vegetables” aspect is tricky, but those foods are essential for the full benefits of the DASH diet plan.
No worries! We have you covered with easy suggestions to help you meet your goals of adding more fruits and vegetables to every meal. Even if some vegetables are on your don’t-like list or eating spinach at breakfast seems completely weird to you, open your mind to some of our sneaky healthy-eating suggestions in this section and give fruits and vegetables another chance. Before you know it, you’ll find them much tastier and more convenient than all those processed foods you may be used to.
Increasing the quantity of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans
The first strategy for adding more plant foods to your diet is making sure you have them available. Face it — you won’t eat right if all you have in the fridge is a jar of mustard and some pickles. Adding fruits and vegetables to your weekly shopping list is a must. These foods contain a good amount of potassium, an important mineral for healthy hearts.
Having easy, ready-to-eat access to these foods in the refrigerator is helpful. When you purchase vegetables, store them in the crisper bin in the refrigerator; they’ll last longer. Keep some washed, cut, and ready to eat in airtight containers so grabbing them is easy. The same goes for fruit: Keep it stored in a fruit bin, and keep fruits that perish more quickly (bananas, berries, and so on) on your running grocery list so you always have them on hand.
Try these time-saving strategies to help get you eating more fruits and vegetables:
When you bring home melon, take a few minutes to cut it, remove the rind, and cube it for snacking. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If fruit is clean and ready to grab when you want to eat it, you’ll eat more of it and throw less away.
Keep a vegetable snack box in the fridge too. Put sliced celery sticks, sweet bell pepper slices, and mini carrots into a zippered bag and keep it in sight when you open the refrigerator. Use these as snacks before dinner or pack them in your lunch. Dip them into a yummy Greek yogurt dip and enjoy.
Keep bananas on the counter where you can see them and easily grab one on the go. Eat one each day, before they go brown (although those make great DASH muffins). Add them to oatmeal or yogurt or just eat them as is for a quick snack.
Wash and freeze stemmed grapes for a refreshing snack in warmer months, or try cutting a banana into 1-inch chunks, dipping one end in melted dark chocolate, and freezing — a delicious, potassium-filled frozen treat!
Swap the salt-ridden taquitos that may have once inhabited your freezer for frozen fruits and vegetables — a quick and economical choice.
Spread peanut butter lightly onto whole-wheat toast or an oat bran English muffin and top with sliced strawberries or bananas and a sprinkling of flax seed for a midday snack.
Make a yogurt parfait with nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons granola, and fresh fruit.
Cook spinach the night you bring it home, even if you don’t eat it then. Cooked spinach lasts a few more days in the refrigerator and is easy to reheat in a microwave or saucepan and add to eggs or a pasta or rice dish. You can also cook half of it and use the rest as sandwich toppers for your lunches. Spinach only takes about 5 minutes to cook. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the spinach, cover, let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, and drain. You can also sauté it with onion and garlic
