OK, last year your New Year’s resolution to improve your diet got tabled after “the dog ate your cookbook ...” The good news is that any day of the year is suitable for resolving to change our lives for the better. As a new year begins, however, we tend to be more open to reevaluating our habits, including those related to health. Such introspection often leads many folks to realize they are digging their own graves with a fork and a knife by frequently overeating or consuming unhealthy fare.

Those who have already made positive dietary changes and stick to them, are filled with excitement upon discovering how rewarding a healthier lifestyle is, and how much control they do have over their well-being: They feel more energetic and motivated; enjoy scrumptious, guilt-free eating; better weight control and enhanced mental performance, including memory. Culinary improvements also help prevent, or greatly diminish, debilitating diseases in the present as well as later in life.

The human body is made up of trillions of cells which perform billions of elaborate biochemical tasks every second of our lives. What we choose to put in our mouths has a profound effect on these chemical processes. Eating is primarily a health issue; considering it mainly as entertainment, relief from boredom, tension or merely for stopping hunger pangs, results in nutritional deficiencies and toxic overload. This leads to a great deal of suffering, diminished quality of life and high medical expense.

When we focus on wellness first while making food choices, we are not forced to give up gastronomical pleasures; a healthy diet is every bit as diverse and enjoyable, and does not mean we are condemned to graze 24/7 at “Cows-R-Us.”

Eating habits are learned; a member of a rain forest tribe, most likely, enjoys munching on insects, grubs, etc. With a reason and a purpose, attitudes can be altered: No one is obligated to participate in a culture which fills every minute of the day with commitments, multitasking and addiction to electronic devices. Shedding unnecessary activities and fiercely adhering to a trimmed-down schedule, allows for more time at home preparing nutritious meals, savored calmly at a table. Tired, overscheduled people have no energy or time left for nurturing their health.

Gradual dietary improvements have a greater chance for success than administering “shock therapy.” By making sweeping changes overnight, one is doomed to failure. Making one change per week and sticking with it has a better chance of becoming permanent.

So put on your steel-tipped boots and (gradually!) kick out of your life white bread, white pasta, white rice, excessive amounts of sugar and animal fat. Oust sodas, fried food, artificial sweeteners, full-fat dairy, commercial frozen meals, canned food, junk and fast food. All of these are overprocessed and practically devoid of nutrition. They are also filled with harmful chemicals and additives which may include food color, artificial flavors, preservatives, thickeners, gum, MSG, large amounts of sugar, sodium, the list goes on.

Replace these with whole foods such as an assortment of fresh vegetables and fruit, brown rice, barley, beans, lentils, quality, 100% whole grain bread, pita and wraps; whole grain pasta, dried herbs, olive oil, honey, lean meat cuts, Greek yogurt, fish, nuts and seeds.

Tape a detailed list of these ingredients inside a kitchen cabinet and check your inventory before going food shopping. This assures you will have the necessary ingredients for the week. It also saves time, preventing the need for multiple trips to the supermarket. Such basic, inexpensive and nutritious ingredients present an unlimited number of possibilities for making invigorating raw vegetable salads, steamed vegetables, aromatic soul-warming soups flavored with herbs and spices, versatile whole-grain dishes, pasta salads and lip-smacking sandwiches.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day, but sip no more than half a cup during and immediately after a meal. Other beverages, consumed in moderation, can be all-natural, homemade lemonade (made with lemon juice and honey), and herbal teas, low-fat or skim milk, soy or rice milk.

Cooking healthy cuisine does not take more time than its unhealthy counterpart. It also saves you an enormous amount of time not having to sit in doctors’ waiting rooms or laying in a hospital bed.

Do not try to make elaborate, time-consuming dishes or your resolution will shrivel on the vine. With renewed determination, enjoy health-promoting, savory meals and remember: I am rooting for you. To your health!

Judy E. Buss is a syndicated eating-for-health columnist and blogger, speaker and nutritional cooking instructor.