We have started to notice a number of changes occurring in the world of food and eating… Maybe you have too?

It started with a garden… First Lady Michelle Obama planted a vegetable garden in an effort to help kids (and all Americans) eat more veggies on a daily basis. We thought this was a great idea, and have seen Ms. Obama interviewed on various news programs as a result. We have even seen her talking about this garden on Sesame Street!
Then the books started to appear.

You know how it goes…  you start to see stuff on TV and then read something, and then you mention it to a friend, and then someone else says “hey I like that and also…” and it just keeps snowballing and growing around you as you start to gather up more and more great information??
This is happening to us right now.

We are attracting, stumbling into and are being recommended by friends,  a number of books that are sending us a similar message:
For optimum health, we must  watch what we eat
Now this is not new information… most people have heard this at one time or another in their lives…. We did, but we ignored this simple truth… we continued to eat items that we knew were not good for us in excess…  OK not the way to eat when you want to  live to  130 years old, right?
Here is the list of books that we are currently reading,  re-reading, discussing and debating together:

• The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno
• Food Matters by Mark Bittman
• Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver

There are still more books that we  are interested in checking out, but right now these three are the current books spread all over the kitchen table in our apartment. We feel that they are all just oozing with information… ready for us to soak up like a sponge.

So to confirm: We are going to take  on this challenge to better health in 2010 and beyond.

We wanted to make some heath/ lifestyle changes at the start of 2010, and out blog Living Trader Joe’s is just one way we are keeping on  track, accountable and on the right path.  We are choosing to re-examine what we are eating on a daily basis for optimum health. Hey… not only for the health of our bodies, but for our financial health as well as our planet’s well being.
Now the “eat healthy” message that are in each of these books  is not that new, but WOW this year, it has sunk in for the both of us.  Confession:  this healthy outlook and our receptiveness to new, better nutritional  ideas could be based in part to the fact we both also turned 40-something this year….

Nah….  These plans just “click”…. They all give  sound nutritional advice and common sense at the core of all these plans.  And not before time, right? … Who else is sick of the fad diets with strict instructions and dubious meals planning…
Anyway, this time the messages worked.

We are finally making the connection between our health and our planet’s health. We are finally measuring the difference between feeling energetic or feeling sluggish and tired after a meal. We are finally seeing the positive effects from healthy eating in our healthy bank balance. All these positive effects are showing themselves in a more concrete way that is furthering our commitment to this new healthy lifestyle of eating.
We are making lasting changes to our diet, our shopping and our lives!
Now we will be posting more in-depth information this week about each of these books so you can see what all the excitement is about with each of these healthy eating lifestyles…

Come join us… Let’s get healthy together!