I ordered some Chinese takeout the other night (I am a sucker for dumplings and steaming hot stir-fry) and when I finished my dinner, I, of course, reached for free fortune cookie included with every meal.

I usually only eat half the cookie. They’re always stale, probably chock full of preservatives, and they don’t really taste like much so therefore not worth the calories. However, I am superstitious, and therefore paranoid that if I don’t eat at least half of the cookie and receive a good fortune from it, then it won’t come true. I’ll be doomed until the next time I order Chinese takeout.

I know this is nonsensical, but really, I don’t think I can change this part of my personality. I can be pretty stubborn about things I believe are true yet don’t really make sense in this world. Things like, taking advice from a stale fortune cookie.

And, I really do love reading my fortune- I’ll take any encouraging thoughts, predictions of a happy life, or words of inspiration I can get. And rarely is the fortune inside the cookie a dud. One of my most favorite fortunes I received was, “If you are still hungry, then eat another fortune cookie.” Genius! Except, I was really full and adamantly stuck with my half-the-cookie rule.

I get so much humor from this entertaining, end-of-the-meal activity that I thought to myself, “Wow, I wish every food came with a fortune.” But then, I thought some more, and realized that this is already true- every food does come with a fortune.

As the saying goes- You are what you eat.

So what does my half-the-cookie rule say about me? I’m not sure, but it probably goes along with one of my other favorite sayings- There is always room for improvement.

Do you have any strange rule that you live by? Please humor us with your “Something I live by” saying!

I spent the better part of my youth eating whatever was within reach. When I had a choice that was usually ice cream, or chocolate. I’m pretty sure there were several summers where I ate either chocolate or ice cream exclusively. I was aware that this was something less than ideal, but knowing that didn’t keep me from loving those things – or eating them unrepentantly. Like most kids I was not the least bit interested in whether or not the food I was eating was good for me, so by the time I did care, I had a lot of seriously unhealthy habits to unlearn.

It has taken me most of my adult life to be able to say that now I honestly find that I don’t want junk food. This comes as a surprise – even to me. Recently we were on a trip where every evening I was offered the opportunity for a variety of sugary, buttery, calorie laden deserts. None of them appealed to me, and even when I did order a custard pudding and ice cream one night (peer pressure) I found that – shocker, I literally couldn’t eat it. It didn’t taste good. It wasn’t that I don’t like those things. I do. I just like them infrequently, and in much smaller, less dense quantities.

So do I love lettuce and liver now? Well, yes actually. As I watched the menu in Scotland and noted how people chowed down happily on Haggis (this is definitely an acquired taste,) I realized that it really is a matter of habit. We learn to love what we eat regularly.

So if you want to change your cravings, begin by making small deliberate changes. Pick a meal that you know you do an especially bad job of, and plan a different approach. If you usually have a mocha and a cinnamon roll for breakfast, try replacing those things with two better breakfast items. Stick with your plan for three weeks. Check the days off if you have to, but note them and seriously congratulate yourself every day. Get excited. Change is hard. I am NOT saying thirty days and you will have a lifetime free of the desire for cinnamon rolls. The science (and life) has shown that habits are complex things, just as people are complex. Every habit – old or new has to be maintained and reinforced. But what we have going for us is that our brain is on our side. Brain chemistry is such that we learn to love what we eat. No, it’s not that simple exactly, but it is true, and for the purposes of change it’s a good platform to begin restructuring your life.

I once had a friend who quit smoking. When I asked her how she did it and if it was hard, her comment was, “The quitting was easy, it was the deciding to quit that was hard.”

It takes a multi-faceted intent to go from one way of doing things, to another. The two pillars of change as I experienced them, are decision and conscious practice, meaning you have to be deliberate about it, especially in the beginning. Some kind of accountability can also help bolster you up if you are struggling – and congratulations (even if its just a mental, “Great job!” to yourself) can change an otherwise difficult ordeal, into a journey of gratitude and excitement.

The small stuff matters. It can’t be overstated that all the big stuff is made up of small parts. Don’t try to change your whole life in one week. Pick one area and establish success there. Realize, “Wow! This is so cool, I’m doing this!” When you are comfortable that you’ve established a pattern, try another substitution. Make it as easy for yourself as possible. The more roadblocks you can take out of your own way, the more likely you are to succeed. I knew for years that if there was a gallon of ice cream in the fridge, I was going to eat it. My decision was, don’t buy it. I don’t really think about ice cream now. The old addiction pathways are still there I am sure, but they are not as compelling as they once were. That is the practice part.

When you are trying new things, if you like them, or even just kind of like them, revel in that. Note it to yourself, and repeat. Remember you are trying to lay down new pathways, literally rewiring your brain. It will take as long as it takes. That’s O.K.. It will happen.

Finally, never give up. As long as you can draw a breath you have the opportunity to make your life different and better. If you decide, and keep at it you will succeed. As John Lennon said: “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

Is it true that if you do anything for three weeks it will become a habit?

Can you train your brain to crave healthy food?

What happens to your brain when you eat junk food and why you crave it

How to train your brain to crave healthy foods

Train your brain to crave healthy foods

Happy Mission Monday! The table is set for the World Series to begin tomorrow between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants. As America’s Pastime prepares for another Fall Classic, it got us wondering what the ultimate classic fall dish is. Is it a recipe that takes advantage of the fall harvest? Or perhaps it’s more along the lines of a comfort food dish that hits the spot on a chilly evening. Soups, stews, and casseroles come to mind—but we want to know what classic fall dish you vote for. We hope you take a moment to play along on Twitter or Facebook.

Today’s challenge: Share your vote for the most classic fall dish with us!

If you’re playing along on Facebook, simply comment in our Mission Monday post before 11:59 p.m. ET tonight to be entered to win!

If you’d like to play along on Twitter, simply tweet us your answer with #wildoatsmission #sweeps by 11:59 p.m. ET today to be entered to win!

Good luck! Full Sweepstakes rules and details can be found here Twitter and Facebook .

Just the name, Endocrine Disruptor Chemicals, often simply called Endocrine Disruptors, sounds a little bit creepy!  What is an endocrine anyway?  Is it a good idea to disrupt it?

Well, first of all, we don’t have an endocrine, we have an endocrine system.  By definition, any tissue or organ that excretes hormones into the blood stream is part of the endocrine system.  Those hormones move through the blood stream to receptor sites throughout the body.  Some of the familiar endocrine organs include the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland, the adrenal glands, the pancreas, the ovaries and the testicles  …. and there are many more.  There are more than 50 currently identified hormones  that control a vast array of bodily functions.

Now enters the “not good for you in any way” Endocrine Disruptor Chemical effect.  Endocrine Disruptors are substances that are made outside of the body that bind with our hormone receptor sites or disrupt production of hormones and cause our natural, healthy, elaborate endocrine function to be thrown off.  When that happens, all sorts of chaos can occur.

BPA is a classic endocrine disruptor chemical that gets into our foods.  Take a look at how BPA exposure is linked to prostate cancer.  Other common endocrine disruptors include chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides (weed killers).  The TEDX List of potential endocrine disruptors (last updated in Oct ’13) has over 1,000 chemicals with documented and published scientific data for causing problems.

Of course, some chemicals are more toxic than others ….and the amount and duration of exposure will play a big part in how toxic an endocrine disruptor chemical might be.  In 1996, the EPA started efforts to track and understand the impact of endocrine disruptors.  The information keeps growing.  In the current issue of  Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, they looked at several studies that linked airborne endocrine disruptive chemicals to obesity.  This is just the latest published study!!

We seem to be surrounded by a ridiculous amount of chemical exposure that can lead to every imaginable health issue.  We cannot completely avoid it.  So, what to do?  Well you could just throw in the towel and give –up  …. but you are smarter than that!  Good for you … so am I.  My recommendation is to be aware and use good judgment.  Start with the foods you feed to your family!  My fellow Oaties are a great source of smart and helpful information.

The Environmental Working Group has published its “Dirty Dozen of Endocrine Disruptors” list  …. this gives only the top twelve offenders.  Oh, and BPA is #1!

Other harmful chemicals are found in carpeting, paint, furniture, cleaners, all sorts of household items.

Look, I know we can’t completely avoid the disruptors but at least we should try to minimize our exposure.  Our endocrine system is such a beautiful thing, give it a little love!

Additional Resources:

American Chemistry Council Policy on Endocrine Disruption

EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program

American Chemistry Council Policy on Endocrine Disruptors

Endocrine Disruptors found in Foam

Environmental Evidence of Endocrine Disruptors

That’s not a huge surprise, given that I spend much of my time working with ranchers and other meat producers.

For those unaware, Meatless Monday is just what its name implies: encouraging people to avoid meat each Monday. The Pope had nothing to do with this one. This was a campaign that was launched a few years back based on the assumption that cattle and other livestock are bad for the environment, and that meat is bad for our health,  so cutting out meat at least once a week could help reduce that damage.

I was talking to a friend the other day and he shared my concern. He had a better way of thinking about it, though. “Dave, it’s simple. Eating less of a bad thing still means that we are eating a bad thing. Why not encourage people to eat more of the good kind of meat, and let them decide how much—and when—they want to eat it?”

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve blogged several times on the fact that livestock raised right are not only good for the environment, but are actually a critical component in maintaining a healthy ecosystem that can help us reduce global warming. And, the meat from those animals supplies healthy protein that our bodies require.

That’s why many ranchers today refer to themselves as grass farmers. They are managing their herds of cattle or bison, or their flocks of sheep to maintain healthy pastures and rangelands lush with grasses and other plants that help remove carbon from the atmosphere. And besides, the meat from those animals is pretty darned delicious.

That’s something I’ll enjoy, any day of the week.