4 steps for a smooth transition to a healthier you.

So you've made the decision to start switching over your pantry and household to a healthier way of living but slightly overwhelmed with all the information out there? You're not alone.

When you begin to realise that things lying around your home are far from natural especially food you are fueling your body with, it can be a sad realisation that you need to start again from scratch and re-learn what you thought you knew. You basically feel like you need to go back to kindergarten! That was me just about 4 years ago and it was pretty daunting. It's still a learning process but boy have I learnt alot from so many avenues. Our facebook page is one of those avenues where you can see daily the ideas that are shared, the new things learnt and of course the intriguing health benefits of new gluten free ingredients like coconut flour!

A few things I learnt along the way was to take it slow. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day!

Here's my 5 steps to a smooth transition to a healthier you:

1. Start with the basics.

Every pantry has salt, sugar, tea and some sort of oil. Let's focus on these basics first, then focus on building the range to ingredients less frequently used.

2. Don't throw all your food and household products out.

Yes, I know sounds hypocritical that I'm telling you to keep your chemical laden products but they will eventually go. Just not now. Wait until you have a healthy replacement that you are happy with, only then you can give the product the flick. It will become pretty costly to throw everything out, realise you have spent money on something that didn't match your 'original' product only to have to re buy it after tossing it out.

3. Join a network

There are so many resources out there it's scary! Start a Pinterest board and sub-divide them into 'healthy recipes', 'healthy home', 'gluten free', dairy free (if any allergies etc) and so on. This will help you to visualise and separate things better so all your thoughts are on a screen and not stuck in your head! You can easily 'pin' recipes and ideas (millions to choose from) and start by looking at your favourite recipe to convert. For example love chocolate and don't want to cut it out completely? no need to anyway! there are so many healthier ones like homemade cherry ripe

4. Do NOT feel guilty if you still eat the unhealthy stuff from time to time.

The easiest way to push you back to old ways it to make yourself think "I ate something bad, there's no point in going back" This is NOT true! As long as you understand that majority of the time is dedicated to unprocessed foods, eating something 'unhealthy' from time to time is ok. It's actually good for your mental health which is just as important. Once in a while I crave a donut, and I eat it and enjoy every bit of it. Yes I do sometimes get a tummy ache but that's all part of the ride! Feeling happy indulging once in a while is good (even if it's once a week, when you used to indulge once a day) it's a great step!

Switching to a healthier you should not be about strictness and bland food, its about turning what you once had into a healthier version and the ride should be fun. Soon the confidence will build and you will be helping others go back to their drawing boards!