Getting started with dietary changes

Sometimes it might be difficult to change our diet. In this page you find different strategies, food essentials, tools, and other resources that can help you ease this change.

Strategies

1. Start with additions

Think in additions to your diet, not eliminations.

When you do so, you gradually add food by food which is beneficial to your case. Eventually the things that needed to go away are automatically disappearing, without effort.

2. Plan ahead

Especially if you are planning a few new recipes and foods, it is best to plan ahead. You can save time and mental energy (but also money!) by making a weekly plan of grocery list, meals, and drinks.

3. Don’t aim for perfect

Success is about consistency. Start as small as you can, maybe just integrating one positive change in your day for a week, before you integrate the next. Habits take time to develop.

4. Set up your environment

Make sure that what you see in your house has a positive influence on your food intake. For example:

  • Make sure there is a bowl filled with fruit always visible to you to encourage healthy eating.

  • Hide the less healthy options in harder-to-reach place.

  • Replace small glasses with bigger glasses to hydrate more.

  • Keep your water-bottle or filled glasses in sight. This will encourage you to pick them up and drink.

  • Create a screen-free zone around the table where you eat. This will promote mindful eating.

5. Weekly fruit and vegetable bag

This is a strategy to reach your weekly fruits and vegetables intake. In many places you can setup a weekly delivery/pickup of a bag with seasonal and local fruits and vegetables. Farmers, organisations, and supermarkets often have this system so that you can have your weekly fresh produce without the hassle of choosing or even going grocery shopping.

In the Netherlands, there is for example

6. Most of all, make it enjoyable

These changes should feel good! So have fun exploring new recipes, new cuisines, try new spices and foods. When possible share your new fabulous preparations with friends and family. Also, you can keep a gratitude journal to celebrate your victories (better sleep, glowing skin, less bloating, happy belly, more energy).

Pantry essentials

Here is a simple list of essential foods to keep on hand. You can buy some storage of these to spend less time in the supermarket, and just buy the fresh items (fruits and vegetables) week by week.

  • Grains. Quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, oats, brown rice, millet, sorghum.

  • Dry or canned legumes (lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas)

  • Tinned fish (sardines, mackerel, anchovies)

  • Frozen berries

  • Oils and fats. Ghee, flaxseed oil, olive oil, coconut milk.

  • Herbs/spices (oregano, basil, cumin, paprika, turmeric, black pepper).

  • Nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecan nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, Brazilian nuts)

  • Seeds (flaxseeds, sunflower, sesame, chia, hemp, pumpkin, poppy)

  • Nuts and seeds butters (almond butter, sunflower seeds butter, tahini, pistachio cream, mixed nuts butter)

Essential tools for efficient cooking and better health

  • (Glass) containers. These allow you to always cook double the amount you need. You can store the excess as leftover for the next day or even freeze it for emergencies.

  • Blender. For refreshing smoothies and tasty sauces

  • Chopping board. To prepare your delicious veggies.

  • Seed grinder. To grind fresh seeds, instead of buying already grounded ones, and access fresh essential fatty acids to reduce inflammation.

  • Air fryer. To cut down cooking time. Choose one with ceramic or glass, not non-stick coating.

Marco Caspani

Last update: 15/05/2025

Every body is different. Let’s create a personalised, practical nutrition plan that works for you and your lifestyle.