I am always striving to become a more happy and healthy me so that I can be my best self and bring my best to the world. One of my goals this year is to eat more fresh, ripe, raw, organic fruits and vegetables. Looking down at my plate and seeing all of the vibrant colors always makes me happy and getting in lots of raw fruits and vegetables always sends my energy through the roof!

Nature provided us with the most healthy food in its raw organic state. We would be wise to choose to eat as naturally as possible as often as we can and consume foods that are in their most natural state. I try and do my best these days to buy foods that do not come with a long list of ingredients. For example, the ingredients in a banana is banana, the ingredients in lettuce is lettuce and the ingredients in potatoes is potatoes. When a “food” comes with a long list of ingredients (especially unpronounceable ones) it is probably best to not put it in our bodies.

Another thing I am conscious of is buying organic as often as possible. I feel good knowing that the food that I purchase to feed my family has not been tampered with, undergone any scientific experiments, or been sprayed with a bunch of chemicals and pesticides. That means purchasing food that is certified organic or what I like to call real food.

These days it seems so hard to find real food the way that nature intended it, even though there seems to be an abundance of “food” posing as nourishment all around us and down every aisle of our grocery store. Shopping the produce section is always going to be your best bet when it comes to nutrition. Shopping for organic produce (and everything else) is even better! I love shopping at organic stores now and stocking up on everything we need when we make a grocery trip into the city every couple of weeks.

Here is some inspiration that I wanted to share with you all since many of you are probably gravitating toward becoming healthier for the new year as well. These are some images that I have collected (and some that I have taken) to inspire me to choose more colorful, healthful foods.

I especially love the last quote. You don’t have to eat less! All you have to do is eat the right foods and raw, organic fruits and vegetables are the best choices. Health is not difficult to obtain. Health is our natural state! It is all of the unnatural things that we are doing to our bodies that prevent health and instead create sickness and disease. All of the unnatural foods and drugs (caffeine, sugar, medications etc.) we are consuming and the fresh air, sunshine, hydration and proper sleep that we are depriving ourselves of daily.

We don’t have to go and buy any powders, potions or any other fancy expensive supplements to be healthy. We don’t have to exercise unnaturally in a stinky, dirty gym. All we have to do is eat food the way that nature provides it and exercise moderately by walking, running, yoga or any other natural activity that we may enjoy. Somehow, somewhere we have forgotten this and have instead been brainwashed to believe that health is extremely costly (in money and in time) and so hard to obtain. It seems that nearly everyone is still searching and striving for it endlessly, only to find themselves getting more fat, sick and unhealthy, especially with their fear and guilt around eating.

Maybe it’s time to forget all of what we have been brainwashed to believe about how to be healthy? Forget all of the ads we have been fed, all of the nutrition info, calories, etc and instead use the brain that we have been given. It’s time to get back in touch with our bodies and use our natural instincts to determine what we should do for ourselves, not what some greedy, money-hungry corporations want us to.

It was hard for me to question things and find my inner intuition when I first set out to find real health and happiness at just over 200 lbs. When I first began my journey I was reading a lot of fitness and fashion magazines and doing exercise videos, calorie-restricting myself and over-exercising to get the results that I wanted. I wasn’t listening at all to my body, but instead taking the advice of a magazine article. All of this foolishness only set me up to binge eat later on and feel worse than I did. I was thin, but I was not healthy.

After choosing to go vegan, it was scary at first to question the myths of our culture, like the protein myth and the calcium myth, but the best thing that I ever did was face those fears and let go of those ideas that I had believed for so long. The greatest thing I ever did was decide to get in touch with and follow my intuition (my true self), not only about food, but about how to live my life simply and naturally.

I feel happier and healthier everyday as I continue to better get in touch with my body and my true self and remove more and more hindrances to my natural, healthy state.

I wish you all a healthy and happy new year! Here’s to becoming your best self and bringing your best to our world!  🙂