While there are many habits that can support you on your journey to feel your best, our Big 3 healthy eating habits are special because they address foundational pieces of healthy eating: what you eat, where you eat, and how you eat. The Big 3 encourage you to:

1. Eat Plant Foods to enjoy their health benefits
2. Stock For Success to create a supportive food environment
3. Be Mindful when eating so you can foster a healthy relationship with food

These three habits can support any healthy eating goal. Explore below to get started!

While healthy eating can look different for everyone, we think eating more plant foods is a universal key to health. Foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans have been shown to support good health while reducing the risk for disease. You can practice a plant-forward approach by building meals and snacks around these foods, while allowing flexibility to include the other foods you enjoy such as dairy, meat, and seafood.

An easy way to start is with Half-plate Healthy— fill half your plate with fruits and veggies, and half with anything else. It’s a simple, visual way to help you eat more plant foods.

As for the other half of your plate? Check out our Balanced Meals & Smart Snacking ideas.

Feeling your best starts with what you eat, which is usually determined by what you have on hand in your kitchen, pantry or workplace. If the food is there, you are likely to eat it. The habit “Stock for Success” is about creating an environment that makes it easy to choose foods that support your health goals.

How do you do that? By stocking up on items that deliver on both flavor and health. Fill your kitchen with foods like fruits and veggies (fresh, frozen or canned), beans, and whole grain foods like brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Keeping these foods on hand makes it easy to prepare your favorite meals in a way that helps you reach your health goals.

It’s about slowing down, experiencing food with all your senses, and listening to your body.

Paying attention to your food and eating in a non-judgmental way may decrease the likelihood of overeating, connect us with others, and reduce stress! It’s a simple way to get more out of mealtime whether you’re alone, with friends or at the family dinner table. The beauty of this approach is that it works for any food that’s on your plate—a dinner chock full of veggies and whole grains, or a wonderfully indulgent dessert.

Setting a goal to support or improve your health can provide the right motivation and framework for you to succeed.

Effective goal setting is not a difficult process! It works like this: identify why you want to change (motivation), what you want to change (long-term result), and how you will do it (short-term actions). Then, each week take small steps that remove any barriers in your way.

Our Goal Setting Worksheet is a fantastic tool to help you set your goal, hold yourself accountable, learn what does and doesn’t work for you, and measure your progress.