It’s not always easy to make changes in life, especially when it come to your food. Your eating habits are so ingrained, some of them are even tradition, and social pressure is everywhere. Here are a few tips from one of my favorite raw foodists  Kimberly Snyder:

1. Clean out your closet: Before you even begin to change the way you eat, you have to set yourself up for success and get rid of temptations. Go through your pantry and clear out all refined and processed starches and sugars. Nix dairy, deli meats, soda, sugar, table salt, canned vegetables, and dusty old spices. In the future, look for spices that say on their label that they are “non-irradiated.” As a general guideline, you want to remove anything containing artificial preservatives, agave, artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup. Get rid of  cereals like Special K (On a side note, the reason those cereals are crispy is because of a browning phenomenon called the Maillard reactions. These create aging free radicals in the body) which contain wheat, gluten and additives and are low-grade foods.  See a full list in her book The Beauty Detox Solution.

2. Grocery Shopping: The most positive way to reach your goals is by shopping responsibly. Your body is your temple! The act of eating and transforming those molecules into your own is a sacred exchange. Each and every thing that you put on and in your body has an effect on your vitality, health and beauty. Instead of iodized table salt, try out a high-quality sea salt such as Celtic or Himalayan. And instead of Splenda or sugar, try xylitol or stevia. At first, you want to strive to maximize alkaline foods (greens, ripe fruits, veggies) and minimize acidic foods (caffeine, processed foods, dairy).

3. Drink more water: Cut out the soda (yes, even diet varieties). It has absolutely no nutritional value and is loaded with empty calories. Additionally, soda is extremely acidic and will therefore contribute to premature aging, acne and dark under-eye circles. It will deplete our body of precious essential minerals that are important for our vitality. Our body is made up of 70% water! Water helps improve blood flow, promotes the metabolism and activates the bacterial enzymes and flora in the intestine, which helps promote the excretion of toxins and waste.

4. Go Green: Get thee to the farmer’s market! Add greens to the start of every lunch and dinner meal for healthy plant minerals and easy absorption. I encourage you to practice variety with your greens. Add veggies, avocado, and switch up the type of lettuce and kale to keep the textures fun and enticing, and to ensure a wide variety of mineral absorption.

5. Mold meals from smallest to largest: I am a fierce believer that it is not just what we eat that matters, but the order in which we eat our food. We want to understand the nutrients and absorption qualities of the foods we are consuming so that we can minimize gas, bloating and fermentation. Begin to order your meals from lightest to heaviest. For example, start your day out with some fruit followed by a Glowing Green Smoothie. For lunch, enjoy a full green salad with lots of veggies and for dinner, have a proper sit-down meal at least 3 (preferably 4) hours before you go to bed. This is the last meal before our bodies have 12+  hours plus to digest and move it through our bodies so this is the time to add cooked food, animal protein and a wide variety of veggies.

http://www.kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2011/08/09/5-easy-ways-to-transition-your-diet/