If there’s one thing I hope you know by now is that I believe healthy eating should be enjoyable, easy and gimmick-free.
That’s why I’m thrilled to be writing The Food Lover’s Healthy Habits Cookbook, which will be published in April 2012. It’s been an extraordinary experience working on this book with the folks at Cooking Light magazine. I’ll be blogging about the journey — and the people we meet along the way — on Cooking Light’s blog about the 12 Healthy Habits called The Twelve.
It’s been an amazing process. Readers are following the monthly challenges. They’re learning new skills, adopting new behaviors, and they’re starting to report on their successes, which has been thrilling to see.
One of the best parts — people are learning from each other. That’s what’s happening online and I’m trying to capture this spirit for the book. I want to find out what’s worked for you. What have you done to change your habits – whether that’s eating more vegetables, whole grains and seafood or watching your portions, being active and eating mindfully.
This book is about habits, not diets. So what exactly is a habit? Stephen R. Covey, author of the iconic book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, defines a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire. It’s combination of what to do and how to do it, with some motivation thrown in. To make something a habit in our lives, we need all three.
Most people already know what they need to do to eat healthier or lose weight. They understand why it’s important. They’ve heard all that before. The challenge is making it happen. The book will help move you past knowledge, giving you new skills, realistic solutions, concrete ideas, and delicious recipes to adopt these healthy habits. For the motivation part, we’ll be showcasing real people who are on the same journey to change their habits and live a healthier life.
Plus, I’ve tapped some dynamite dietitian bloggers who plan to engage their communities in our healthy habits challenge. You’ll find some of their advice sprinkled throughout the book, too.
So stay in touch. Send me an email if you have an inspirational story or a change you made that made a difference for you: HealthyHabits.JanetHelm@gmail.com. Plus, check out the polls on Cooking Light’s Facebook page to give us your input on the various habits. We’re trying to learn more about your habits hurdles — the barriers standing in your way.
Hope you’ll help me write this book!
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There’s something brewing in kitchens across America. People are dabbling with microbes, playing with pickling and creating all sorts of foods through the process of fermentation — an ancient form of preservation that has taken on a new fervor in this country. There are even 
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