The Basics for 2024

Having the Best Year Ever - which I want for you - begins with dialing in the basics.  The basics will get you 80% to where you need to be.

What is the biggest dietary source of aging, inflammation, hormone imbalance, gut dysbiosis, metabolic disorder?

1. Fat
   
2. Processed food
   
3. Sugar
   

Correct answer: C  
Sugar does all that.  Dialing back your sugar is first priority for the new year.  And from wherever you are there is a tweak you can make.  If you have belly fat, that is a telltale sign of excess dietary sugar.
If this is you and you eat a healthy diet, it is time to reduce grains, beans, oats, sprouted breads. 
Lessen your sweet tooth by training yourself to lower levels of sweetness.  When I was a baker, I always added HALF the amount of sugar called for in a recipe right out of the gate.  From there, everytime I used that recipe again, I would take a little bit more out until I reached the bare minimum.  This is the origin of the jolie Bakery: great foods, minimal sweetness.
When given a choice go for the less sugar filled option.  Seltzer over Coke, Vinegar chips over BBQ.  Mustard over Ketchup.  Omelet over Pancakes.  Smoked over Honey Glazed.  Iced coffee over Coffee-chinos.  Gin & Tonic over a Mojito.  These small changes make a difference. 
Reduce quick converts to sugar. These are your breads, oats, and grains.  Eat half a bagel.  Skip the toast. Scoot all the pizza toppings to one side and eat less crust.  Use an ice cream scoop to portion rice, pasta, oats, and other grains.  At jolie, our medium size ice cream scoop is our standard serving of grains.  
Choose savory snacks over sweet ones.  Individual portions of olives or nuts.  A boiled egg. Nut butter with cut up vegetables.  Baby cucumbers or tomatoes.  
Let fruit be your sweet.  Mother nature packaged fruit with fiber and water.  The sweetness you perceive in fruit is unlike the sweetness in pretzels or chocolate chips.  An apple a day will benefit you, not harm you. 
As we stay away from more and more sugar, our taste buds change and perceive sweet things more intensely, even unpleasantly.  This helps us to eat less of a sweet treat and to crave sugar less.
with love,
Jolie
xo

P.S. When baking you will also slightly reduce the wet ingredients because of the drastically reduced sugar.