~Lao Tzu

Small changes can make a big difference.

Several years ago, I was trying out my new George Foreman Grill by cooking up some homemade burgers.  As I reached for the ketchup bottle, I noticed high-fructose corn syrup listed at the top of the ingredients list.  HFCS had increasingly been replacing sugar in many American foods for over a decade.  Like many other Americans, I had concerns about consuming this highly processed form of sweetener.  I decided to check the labels of other items in my pantry.  To my surprise, almost every packaged food item in my kitchen contained HFCS.  I wondered if this could be one of the reasons I had managed to put on some extra pounds.

My first impulse was to throw out every item in my kitchen that contained HFCS, but this seemed rather drastic and potentially expensive.  Instead, I decided that as each item ran out I would replace it with an alternative brand containing real cane sugar.

Today, nothing in my kitchen contains high-fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, genetically modified organisms, artificial colorings, artificial flavorings or chemical preservatives.  Most of the fruits and vegetables that I eat are organic and I am careful to purchase meat and dairy products that are humanely raised.  I rarely drink soft drinks, preferring sparkling water with a splash of juice or unsweetened iced tea.  My food budget has not increased and I don't miss junk food at all.  In fact, almost everything I eat, down to the simplest piece of fruit, tastes amazing!

The big changes in my eating and food shopping habits were not made in one drastic sweeping gesture, but rather by making incremental changes over several years, each small decision leading to another and another until I found myself thirty pounds lighter and exponentially healthier and happier.

Today exercise is an integral part of my daily life.  This was also accomplished one small change at a time.  I used to put off working out because I never wanted to devote an hour of time at the end of a long day to going to the gym or watching a workout dvd.  Finally, I began by simply putting on my tennis shoes; that's all that I did.  The next day I put on my tennis shoes and then took a quick fifteen minute walk.  Every day I would do at least fifteen minutes of something.  If I couldn't walk, I would simply do a few calisthenics while watching my nightly television. Little by little, my consistent practice of fifteen minutes a day grew into the thirty or forty minutes of daily walking or yoga that I enjoy today.

What big changes have you been putting off because they just seem too overwhelming?  Stop trying to make big changes.  Instead, make a small one. Work out for ten minutes a day or, if you can't find ten minutes, do five.  Make one small change in your eating habits or in your food choices at the market.  If you feel the need to re-awaken your spiritual practice, meditate for three minutes a day or simply say the words "thank you" before each meal.  

Whatever you decide to do, do it consistently and without fail.  Little by little, you'll be amazed at the big difference one small change can make.

A little cheesecake can put a big smile on someone's face.  Here is a yummy no-bake version for summertime.

About 24 ginger snap cookies, crushed (1 cup of crumbs)

1/4 cup of butter, melted

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened (do not use low fat)

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1 teaspoon lemon zest (1 lemon)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A few pieces of crystallized ginger, finely diced, for garnish

Line a 12 cup muffin/cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.

Using a rolling pin, crush cookies into crumbs between two pieces of plastic wrap. In a small bowl, add melted butter to crumbs and mix thoroughly with a fork. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of crumb mixture into each paper liner.  Press down with two fingers to form a flat base.  Refrigerate to set.

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla.  Mix again on low speed until smooth and free of lumps.  Stir by hand with a spoon to finish smoothing.  

Pull crusts from fridge and spoon filling evenly into lined cups over crusts.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours.

Garnish each cake with a few tiny pieces of crystallized ginger.  Leave the paper liner on and eat them out of your hand for easy clean up.  Or, for a more elegant presentation, remove the liner and serve on a pretty plate with a fork.

Note:  These freeze well, so you can make them ahead and enjoy one anytime you're in the mood for a little cheesecake.