The spring equinox (also called the March equinox or vernal equinox) falls on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at 5:58 P.M. EST. This event marks the astronomical first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  Fun fact: the word equinox comes from the Latin meaning “equal night,” referring to the fact that the length of the day and night are nearly equal in most parts of the world.

Since spring is almost here for most of us, it’s a great time to think about ways to spruce up our eating habits a bit.  Here are three ways to refine your diet this spring.

Make small edits to your diet.  We all know that processed foods aren’t very good for us, but some of them are so delicious and very addictive. Buying processed foods can lead to eating more than the recommended amounts of sugar, salt and fat.  Choose 3 foods that you know are hurting your diet, like potato chips, soft drinks or even cookies. Once you’ve chosen the items you are omitting, throw out any inventory that remains in your pantry.

Make healthy additions. Now that you’ve removed 3 things from your diet, replace those with 3 better choices.  Spring is a great time to experiment with produce, as it is so plentiful at this time. Browse the produce aisle at your grocery store and try something completely different.  How about dandelion greens, morel mushrooms, beet greens, or ramps, a wild onion?

Shop the perimeter. While out grocery shopping, try to stay out of the inner aisles at the store, where most of the processed and packaged food can be found. Instead, stick to the outer edges where you can usually find healthy, vitamin rich foods, such as produce, meats, dairy, grains, eggs and other fresh, ready-to-eat foods.  Only shop the inner aisles that have items you need to avoid temptation in the cookie aisle.

Behavior change is hard, so give yourself time to adapt to the small changes you make.  You may find that, once you’ve made some small changes, taking further action comes a little bit easier.  Just like spring cleaning your home takes time, so does spring cleaning your diet.

Andrea Groth Wellbeing Detective

Andrea wants to live in a world where the neighborhoods are walkable, bike lanes are plentiful, and the food is fresh, delicious and readily available.

A 20-year veteran of the health and wellness industry, she started her career in the fitness industry while earning a master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion, and then on to the burgeoning field of worksite wellness. Andrea has competed in collegiate level soccer, worked as a personal trainer, fitness instructor, wellness coach, and master trainer, climbed 14ers, and completed cycling centuries and metric centuries. All of these experiences give her the opportunity to view well-being from many different perspectives.
When she’s not helping others to be their healthiest self, you can find her at a farm to table restaurant, down dogging at the yoga studio, or experiencing the Colorado landscape on a bicycle, snowshoes, cross country skis or on foot.