Have Fun

Learning new ways to eat is an excuse to have a party! Food is such a communal experience. It is so much easier to eat well when I am surrounded by others with the same goal. And that community can be created anywhere.

Have a food party!

• Invite ________. It can be friends, or co-workers, church members, community organization colleagues, fellow athletes, neighbors, customers. Have fun with it!
• Everyone brings a dish to share. The party becomes a great way to experiment.
• Many of us have plenty of recipes with milk, cheese, bread and meats. Rather than get more of the same, set parameters for the party so that it becomes a way to learn and try new foods. Consider going gluten-free (no wheat products) or dairy-free or macrobiotic, or vegan or raw or paleo or food from local farms. Just because those parameters are set, doesn’t make me a “——–“ , but it can open a world of new tastes that I haven’t experienced previously.

Make it a regular thing

• Consider a book club format. Instead of gathering to read a book regularly, everyone brings a dish and the recipe. Even if its only a group of 3, it means that at one gathering I will be able to try 3 new foods! A regular foodie group becomes a way to keep healthy eating on the radar.

Don’t have time to organize something? Go to something already set up…

• Some vegetarian groups host monthly potlucks! Just because I go, doesn’t mean I have to identify myself as a vegetarian, but it will be a great place to meet people who are committed to healthy eating, taste lots of new foods and ask questions. Here’s a directory of vegetarian groups: veganfood.com
• Find a restaurant that serves foods that are new to you.
  Gluten Free Restaurants
  Vegetarian Restaurants
  Restaurants with a Local, Organic, Sustainable focus