Healthy Habits for 2025: Cut Processed Foods, Boost Fiber & Age Gracefully
Hello friends! 💛 As we settle into 2025, I wanted to share a health focus that’s simple, practical, and totally doable—especially for busy lives. The top wellness goals I keep seeing? Cutting processed foods, boosting fiber, and supporting healthy aging. And the best part? You don’t need complicated routines to make a big impact.
Here’s what I do in my daily routine:
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Salads most days – packed with fiber, color, and variety.
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Clean proteins a few times a week – farm-raised chicken, fish, shrimp (leftovers make it twice as efficient!).
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Coconut milk instead of dairy, and coffee that’s low acid, single-source, and mold-free.
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FODMAP-friendly choices to keep digestion happy.
Even small swaps add up: choosing whole grains, adding an extra vegetable to lunch, swapping sugary snacks for nuts or fruit. Fiber feeds your gut, supports your energy, and helps with long-term wellness.
This image shows four meals that I make routinely. The ones with a protein (tilapia, chicken, or shrimp) and vegetables (carrots, squash, noodles) are the first meal, usually served hot and the meals with salads are usually the leftovers served on a salad and/or as part of a taco salad.
My personal choices include thin chicken breasts marinaded in olive oil, spices, and herbs and then cooked in the slow cooker for at least three hours. Add enough water to the slow cooker so the chicken are covered. I also sauté tilapia in olive oil. I like extra large shrimp that’s pre-cooked and thawed, then marinaded. Shrimp just takes a quick sauce. These protein choices are served on the first day with hot vegetables such as roasted squash, zucchini, green beans, carrots, or asparagus spears. I love Brussel sprouts cooked in the slower cooker along with the chicken. I boil corn on the cob and then cut the kernels from the cob. All these vegetables are delicious cold, too! I add them at times to my tossed salad and also to my taco salad. I use low-sodium tortilla chips or Nut Thins original crackers when I’m having taco salad.
💡 Tips for cutting processed foods:
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Swap white bread, pasta, or rice for whole grain or sprouted versions. Or, wrap your sandwich filling or hamburger in a Romaine lettuce leaf!
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Replace sugary cereals with oats, chia pudding, or fresh fruit.
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If you miss soda, choose sparkling water or herbal tea instead of soda.
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Make your own dressings and sauces—olive oil, lemon, herbs. I do this!
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Check labels for hidden sugars, additives, or extra sodium. Just because it says “low sodium” on the packet doesn’t mean that particular brand’s low sodium is lower than the sodium in another brand’s regular packet!
- Every night I eat a Granny Smith green apple cut into slices and squirted with fresh lemon juice. I swear this snack keeps my bowels moving!
Grab Your Printable Checklist!
To make it easier to track these healthy swaps, I created a Simple Swaps for a Healthier You Checklist—perfect for keeping your week on track. Available in my Etsy shop, it’s a friendly, visual guide that helps you:
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Hit your daily fiber goals
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Swap processed foods for wholesome alternatives
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Balance your weekly proteins
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Remember healthy aging habits like hydration, movement, and sleep
👉 Check it out in the LivingWithDana Etsy shop!
Sneak Peek at Next Week
Next Thursday, we’ll explore stress management hacks for daily wellness—small steps, big impact.
Have a great day! Make it awesome!
xoxo, Dana 💛
Just a quick note: this post and checklist are here to share tips and inspiration for healthy habits—they’re not medical advice. Everyone’s body is different, so check with your doctor, dietitian, or healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet or wellness routine.
