Have you been working on becoming a more mindful eater?  Nearly 90% of our Cooking Light community said they were trying to be more mindful (6% wasn’t sure what that even meant).  So what does mindful eating really mean? 

We asked our readers to tell us the changes they were making to be more mindful.  Here’s what they said:

• Enjoying all foods in moderation, not labeling them as “good” or “bad”
• Recognizing other reasons I eat besides hunger, such as stress or boredom
• Slowing down when I eat, savoring every bite
• Eating without any distractions
• Only eating foods that I really love

I also talked to some of the country’s leading experts on mindful eating for the 12 Healthy Habits book and here’s a sneak peek at some of their advice:

Our November Healthy Habit is to be more portion aware.  And this is an important one—getting your portions under control is one of the best ways to eat a little less while still enjoying the foods you love. Instead of eliminating favorite foods, portion control allows you to enjoy all foods.

You told us that's the approach you prefer. When we asked our Cooking Light community, 65% said they pay attention to portions rather than avoid certain foods. All things in moderation. Admittedly, this can be tough when we’re eating so many meals away from home and grabbing innocent-looking snacks and bottled drinks that actually contain two or three servings.  

Yet, experts estimate that eating just 100 fewer calories a day may be all it takes to curtail weight gain for 90% of the population. This simple difference of 100 calories a day will cause you to either gain or lose 10 pounds a year. So just a few small changes to your daily routine can add up to something big. 

I think that's important (and encouraging) because it means you don't need a rigid, restrictive diet plan. The best approach is to make a few little tweaks to your daily food routine.  Many of these changes involve your portions, and this may be easier (and less noticeable) than you think.

So think about ways you can cut 100 calories from every meal. Brian Wansink, PhD, of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, calls this the “mindless margin.”  Our body and mind fight restrictive diets that dramatically cut calories, but they don’t notice a 100-calorie difference here and there.

Here are some simple ways you can shave off 100 calories:

- Use nonstick spray in place of butter or margarine when cooking your eggs.

- Skip the flavored syrup in your morning latte.

- Downsize your bagel, or eat only half; some are equivalent to 5 slices of bread.

- Saute your vegetables in a teaspoon of olive oil instead of a tablespoon.

- Order a slice of thin crust pizza instead of thick crust pizza, or remove four pieces of pepperoni from your slice.  

- Choose a 12-ounce can of soda instead of a 20-ounce bottle, or drink one less can of soda a day (or better yet, switch to water).

- Leave three or four bites on your plate each time you eat.

What are your portion challenges?  And do you have any special tricks to help you manage your portions?

Read More: Perfectly Portioned Recipes

The changes you’re making with our 12 Healthy Habits program are not just good for you – they’re good for your family.  Parents are powerful role models, and the new healthier habits you’re adopting are helping to instill these habits in your kids. But there are a few things you can learn from your kids, too.

Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, a registered dietitian and nutrition blogger at Raise Healthy Eaters, is blogging about the 12HH and she offers this advice to help us tap into our inner child.  Here are 5 healthy habits that children can teach us -- if we let them:

1. Live an active life: Increasing our daily physical activity is so important. We need to do less sitting -- and be more active naturally.

How many times do you hear parents telling their children to sit down and sit still.  My two children, 2 and 4, skip, run and move everywhere we go.  Moving their bodies is a fun activity that is as natural as breathing.

Kid tip! Get up from your desk and walk around, take short walks at break time and keep moving throughout the day.  And if you can giggle while you're doing it, that's even better.

2. Listen to your tummy: I constantly hear parents insisting their young children take a few more bites of food.  In fact, 85% of parents say that they try to get their child to eat more at mealtime, according to a 2007 study published in Appetite.

No, no, no!  Kids are natural regulators of food intake.  They eat when hungry and stop when full with eating habits that seem erratic to us adults.  We need to protect this inborn ability in kids -- and, instead, ask ourselves if we are still hungry or have had enough.

Kid Tip! Feed yourself several times throughout the day (3 meals and 2 snacks) and listen to your tummy.  It'll let you know if you are done or even want to eat in the first place.

3. Enjoy every bite:  Ever watch a young child eat something that they love?  There's not an ounce of guilt -- just pure enjoyment. 

There's quite a bit of research that shows that guilt associated with eating -- thinking of food as good or bad -- causes people to eat more.

Kid Tip! Whatever you are eating, enjoy each bite and notice when you are satisfied.  Sitting at the kitchen table helps you focus on the food and eat more mindfully.

4. Fun takes precedence over food. Go to a party with kids present and your are bound to find parents chasing little ones around with a plate of food. 

I love that kids are too excited by festive surroundings to eat.  Adults can do the same thing by creating an exciting life. 

Kid Tip! Got a lifelong dream?  Start a project, take a class or simply pursue a forgotten passion and let food take second stage.

5. Become a picky eater: The other day my 4 year old, who loves sweets as much as the next kid, brought me a cupcake after taking one bite.  She said it wasn't that good.

While picky eating isn't always fun for parents, it's beneficial when kids are choosy about the not-so-healthy foods -- especially sweets.  

Kid Tip!  When it comes to foods without much nutritional value, be ultra picky.  Fit in (and enjoy) your absolute favorites and leave out the rest.

No doubt, kids have a lot to learn about healthy eating. But we forget that some of the most basic healthy habits are innate -- and little ones are great reminders of that.

So tell me, what healthy habits have you learned from your kids?

With our 12HH, we’re focusing on one healthy habit at a time.  But when you string together all 12 of our healthy habits - it truly has the potential to change your life. (Keep in mind, however, that there are other habits that can work against your good intentions. It’s also vital not to smoke, to get adequate sleep each night, and to find ways to manage stress.)

Have you been following the 12HH?  Do you want to tell us about your struggles and triumphs?  Did you feel like you’ve really nailed one of our challenges?  Send me an email at healthyhabits.janethelm@gmail.com.  We want to tell your stories in the book!

Habits are all about behaviors that become automatic in our lives.  It doesn’t happen overnight.  So give it 30 days.  You can do a lot to change your life in 30 days.  I previously wrote about some ways that you can make new habits stick.  Here are some additional tips to help you adopt healthier habits:

Change your environment. Make sure your fridge and pantry help support your healthy habits. Get rid of tempting foods, snacks, and drinks that trigger regretted behavior. Keep fresh fruit in bowls on the counter, and wash and cut fresh veggies ahead of time and keep at eye-level in the fridge for easy snacking. Make the healthy choice the convenient choice.

See for yourself. Create your action plan and visualize yourself carrying it out. Researchers have found that visualization techniques—or mentally rehearsing buying, preparing, and eating healthy food—helps people actually change their eating habits.

Get inspired. Find someone who succeeded in making the positive changes you want to mirror. Use these successful role models to keep you motivated.

Celebrate victories. Pat yourself on the back for making some new, positive changes—no matter how small. When you begin to succeed, you gain self-confidence, which leads to greater success. As behavioral experts say, “nothing succeeds like success.”

Give it time. Don’t get impatient. It takes time to establish a new habit. One recent study found that it takes an average of 66 days before a new habit becomes automatic. So commit to 30 days, then the next month will be much easier to sustain.

What has helped you stay on track?  Tell us the ways you are successfully changing your life. 

(photo courtesy of michalfabik on flickr)

We are almost in month 9 of the 12 Healthy Habits.  Have you been inspired to make changes?  Have you had some success?  Tell us about your journey and what has helped you to adopt new healthier habits.  We want to put your solutions in the book:  The Food Lover’s Healthy Habits Cookbook.

Changing your habits is all about making one small change at a time.  All of those small tweaks to your day can add up to something big.  What have you done that’s made a big difference for you?

Keep this in mind to help your habits stick:

• Start small.  Do not completely overhaul your current routine in one day.  It’s easy to get over-motivated and try to tackle too much, which can backfire. Focus on making a series of small steps, each of which is attainable, rather than attempting to change all at once.
• Write it down. Writing helps to solidify your commitment and focuses you on your end result. Write down what you want to achieve this month. Leave reminders on your calendar or day planner. Scribble daily goals and motivating messages on sticky notes.
• Be specific. Studies show that goals are easier to reach if they’re action-oriented. That means being specific, such as “I’ll get up 30 minutes earlier so I can walk in the morning before work,” instead of “I’ll get more exercise.”
• Be positive.  The belief that you can make a change is a powerful force. Behavioral scientists call this self-efficacy. You’re much more likely to reach a goal if you have confidence in yourself. Have faith in your ability to change.   
• Keep track. Self-monitoring is a powerful tool to help instill new habits and achieve success. That could be writing down what you eat in a food diary, using a mobile app to calculate calories, checking off vegetable servings, logging your daily activity or tracking the steps you take with a pedometer.
•  Find a buddy. Making changes are easier and more enjoyable when you have someone who will join you and keep you motivated. Seek out a friend, co-worker, or family member who will adopt these healthy habits with you.

And of course, it also helps to gain support from a group.  So share your story with us here, on our Facebook page, tweet with the hashtag #healthyhabits, or email me at healthyhabits.janethelm@gmail.com to get support and trade tips with other readers.  Tell us what you think should be in the book.

Vegetarians, vegans, and other plant-loving friends… you’re not out of luck on omega-3 fatty acids.  As we’ve often mentioned, omega-3 fatty acids offer a multitude of health benefits, so it would be in your best interest not to miss out. Lucky for you veg-heads, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is one of the three types of omega-3 fatty acids, and is found in a variety of plant-based sources, such as ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, canola oil, soybeans, pumpkinseeds, walnuts, and walnut oil. The other two types, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are mainly found in coldwater fish. (For more information on these types, see our 12 Healthy Habits challenge to eat more fish.)  Your body can partially convert ALA into DHA and EPA, so even if you aren’t eating fish, you can still get the fish oil-based DHA and EPA by eating foods rich in plant oils.

While omega-3 fatty acids are recommended for optimum health, they are not like protein or fiber, which have a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Instead, the Institute of Medicine has recommended an Adequate Intake amount of between 1.1 and 1.6 grams a day for adults. 

The true push behind omega-3 fatty acids is to upset the balance between good fats and bad fats.  Americans currently tip the scale towards unhealthy fats, and the more omega-3 fatty acids we include in our diets the more we tip the scale in favor of the heart-healthy fats. And while the term vegetarianism doesn’t automatically denote healthy, it does refer to a plant-based diet, which is where many of our heart-healthy polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids can be found. 

Some of my other favorite plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids include:

Flaxseeds:  Whole flaxseeds will just pass right on through. To get all the goods, grind them up (or just buy them in the ground form) and stir them into smoothies, cereal, or yogurt. Even better, bake them into your cookies, quick breads, muffins, and pancakes. One ounce of ground flaxseed contains about 1.6 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. 

Walnuts:  The richest source of omega-3 fatty acids in the nut family also happens to be my favorite.  Providing 2.6 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per ounce, add walnuts to any salad, sprinkle them over vegetables, or stir them into oatmeal.  Better yet, just enjoy a handful straight from the shell, lightly toasted. 

Canola Oil:  With 1.3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per tablespoon, sauté your vegetables in this heart-healthy oil instead of butter, and use it as the base for your salad dressings.

Soy:  Edamame and tofu top the list.  Though not as rich in omega-3 fatty acids as some of the above options, tofu has about 0.3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per 4-ounce serving.  Shelled edamame has about 0.5 grams per half cup.  Combine the two in a stir-fry and you’ve got a winning combination.

For the egg-eating vegetarians, go for the ones high in omega-3 fatty acids.  Unlike many fortified and enhanced products, omega-3 rich eggs are produced by chickens fed a high flaxseed diet, so the omega-3 fatty acids come naturally.

While there are some vegetarian-friendly omega-3 supplements available on the market, the best way to get these heart-healthy fats into your diet is to eat them, using them to replace unhealthy saturated fats. Vegetarian or not, these plant-based omega 3-rich foods are a great (and delicious) addition to any diet. 

Want your kids to eat veggies? Just add anchovies, garlic, and olive oil. Really.

So I'm being a bit glib, but it's no joke; the American crutches that get kids to eat are crunchy coatings and melty cheese. If it's cheesy and crispy, you know the kids will eat it. But since we're talking healthy fats, it's time to take those crutches away.

For Julianne's Focus on Healthy Fats, we're working with fish oils, seed and nut oils, and avocados. Not exactly music to the ears of a 2- and 5-year-old. And though Julianne has agreed that she will be the focus this month, she can't help but despair when her kids send her back to the kitchen to make peanut banana sandwiches while she and her husband are enjoying salmon burgers.

But here's what's worked, and it's surprised Julianne: Caesar Salad!

When I mentioned Caesar to Julianne, she immediately pumped the breaks: that's the first thing "to go" when every dieter starts down the low-fat path. Magazines always publish "can you believe it?" stories about the caloric Caesar, and it's buh-bye restaurant Caesars, hello low-fat Caesar dressing at home! 

But not during healthy fat month! When I wrote You Can Trust A Skinny Cook, I experimented with all kinds of low-fat fats. In fact, I wrote a whole tip about when to use low-fat mayo (see tip below), and when to use the real deal. This dressing could not work with anything less than the real deal. And now, with wonderful olive oil and canola mayos, we can get those healthy fats in our Caesar dressing (plus, anchovies! Click here for more on anchovy's benefits...). I shared the recipe with Julianne, and I'm sharing it with you (recipe below). 

Here's Julianne's feedback:

There’s something extraordinary happening with the 12 Healthy Habits.

Readers are following the monthly challenges.  They’re learning new skills, adopting new behaviors, and they’re starting to report on their successes, which has been thrilling to see.

One of the best parts -- people are learning from each other.  That’s the spirit of the 12 Healthy Habits book that I have the privilege of pulling together.  The Food Lover’s Healthy Habits Cookbook will be published in April 2012, and we’re counting on all of you to help shape the content.

Tell us what’s worked for you. What have you done to help change your habits and meet these monthly challenges?  It’s the collective wisdom of the Cooking Light community that will make this book so special.  We also want to know what’s been tough for you – what are the hurdles that you need to overcome? 

The book is unique because it focuses on habits -- those daily behaviors that have become automatic in our lives.  Stephen R. Covey, author of the iconic book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, defines a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire.  It’s combination of what to do and how to do it, with some motivation thrown in. To make something a habit in our lives, we need all three.

Most people already know what they need to do to eat healthier or lose weight. They understand why it’s important.  They’ve heard all that before. The challenge is making it happen.  The book will help move you past knowledge, giving you new skills, realistic solutions, concrete ideas, and delicious recipes to adopt these healthy habits. We also hope to inspire and motivate you by showcasing real people who are on the same journey to change their habits and live a healthier life.

Plus, we’re working with some popular food and nutrition bloggers who plan to engage their communities in our healthy habits challenge.  You’ll find some of their advice sprinkled throughout the book, too.

So stay in touch.  Send me an email if you have an inspirational story or a change you made that made a difference for you:  HealthyHabits.JanetHelm@gmail.com.  Plus, check out the polls on our Facebook page to give us your input on the various habits.  

We want to hear from you, we want to learn from you.  Help us write this book!

For those who eat to live, eating is a means to an end, like making your bed. 

For those who live to eat, cooking and eating and shopping for food is a passion. It's an event, and a hobby.

Zoe lives to eat. She's not going to follow a sparse diety-diet with recommendations like half a melon, cottage cheese and diet soda (doesn't that sound so eighties? And not in a good way).

When Zoe and I started working together, bread was her bugaboo. She felt guilty about eating it. But now, she realizes that it's not something she needs to deny herself. We gave her three rules for breakfast ("I like following rules," says Zoe), so that her focus is on what she adds, like fruits, vegetables and lean proteins. By adding "virtuous" foods, she can actually enjoy that slice of bread that used to make her feel guilty.

This month Zoe pursued her big "by-my-thirtieth-birthday" goal of baking fresh bread at home. And true to the food and cooking lover she is, when she bakes bread, she doesn't want to use a bread machine, she wants to knead. This month, she has successfully made yeast-based flatbreads, and less successfully made a whole wheat loaf in her bread machine. She realizes that her failures are stepping stones on the way to success, "Artisanal baking won't happen over night." Zoe says, "It's a lifelong skill."

She's ditched prim and un-Zoe foods like cottage cheese in favor of lean-protein Fage yogurt because, "I actually like it, I'm not just eating to be healthy." Zoe wants a healthier lifestyle that isn't boring, so by focusing on savory breakfasts that she enjoys, she founds ways to feel good about the food she eats while eating the food she likes. 

If you're a Cooking Light reader, than you're likely a "live to eat" cook too, otherwise your diet would be shakes and bars and making homemade food wouldn't have the priority in your life that it does. When you make healthy living choices, it's important to know yourself, recognize the food lover inside you, and stop denying him or her. Figure out the healthy foods you need to add to your regimen (and Cooking Light can show you delectable ways to cook them) so that you can enjoy the foods you want.

If you're a parent (or have ever had a parent), it's the old "Eat your veggies before you can have dessert," line. Same goes here. And trust me, what kid ever feels any guilt about dessert? No kid I know. Same goes for you. Just have the fruits veggies and whole grains your body needs, then enjoy those foods you want.

And in Zoe's case, the food she wants is whole grain bread. No need to feel guilty there!

Please drop me a line via our Cooking Light Facebook page if you'd like to be considered as our June Healthy Habits Coaching Client. This month, our goal Get Stronger! Add strength training to your fitness regimen at least two times per week.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Allison

As part of Zoe's healthy-breakfast coaching, she's taken snapshots of her breakfasts. And we posted them on Facebook. And you gave Zoe some tough feedback. Like:

"All of this is not as healthy as it looks. Unfortunately eating healthy it is not up to the consumer no more..."

"Avocado, bacon and eggs is a lot of fat in one meal."

"Avocado is a healthy fat. Eggs are good protein, unless you are watching your choesterol stick to just whites. Skip the bacon of course unless it is turkey nitrate free."

Whoa now, peanut gallery! The girl posted some photos of tasty, healthful food, and you decended on her with pop-nutrition negativity. "Eating healthy is not up to the consumer no more?" Really? Sounds a little nihilistic to me.

Our goals for breakfast this month were simple:

- Have lean protein

- Have a whole grain

- Have a fruit or vegetable

That was our recipe for breakfast success this month. We didn't say eat zero-fat protein, and we didn't say avoid fat. Part of our goal was to alleviate Zoe's fear that whatever she eats is wrong, and I get the feeling that she's not alone in that feeling.

Why are we descending on Zoe? Are we talking to ourselves like that too? Where's the self-love peeps? Here are a couple reasons I'm proud of Zoe this month:

1. She's emphasizing the container as much as the food. Believe me when I tell you Zoe feels bad about those mini-containers of yogurt. But she feels worse about a bacon-egg-and-cheese on a roll, so this is a compromise she was willing to make. She set herself up for success, making breakfast easy. She focused on what she was eating; maybe next month she'll focus on how she packs up her food.

2. She stopped judging her food choices. With so many conflicting messages—eat local, eat seasonal, eat organic, eat vegetarian—Zoe found that she was having a hard time eating anything without jumping to all the reasons why she shouldn't. No bueno. Zoe focused on the three goals above, and nailed them. This month we set a healthy foundation, next month she can add to it. Start with an achievable goal and stop spiraling around the "shoulds."

3. She's eating fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains for breakfast. That was the goal: 'nuff said.

4. She gives her a day off, and doesn't beat herself up about it. God gets a day of rest and so does Zoe.

5. She took her guilty pleasure and is making it from scratch. She's baking bread. Real bread. One of the things she felt guiltiest about was eating bread. Yep, it's carby. And salty. But it's also the staff of life. So many of us are suffering from post-traumatic carb disorder where just the thought of bread stresses us out.

Zoe wanted to turn that anxiety around. She got a breadmaker and made bread. But the experience wasn't what she was looking for, because Zoe is a cook. And when this cook makes bread she wants to knead, not just put ingreadients in a machine and flip the switch.

And that, my friend, is the very best part of home cooking: getting your hands dirty. Zoe is in her kitchen with a vengeance this week, making breads, flexing those triceps and welcoming back the food that makes her happy.

Happy, healthy home cooking. Congratulations for seeing this through, Zoe! Please come back next week for Zoe's savory breakfast bread recipes; I for one can't wait.

Allison