Well, be sure to visit the Lentils thread because there are so many wonderful recipes/uses of lentils there!
2022 Predicted Food Trends.
Mushrooms are an “ingredient of the year”. I bought D’s BF a HUGE container of dried mushrooms from Costco for Christmas - he was thrilled!
I’m in for the “swicy” or “swalty” foods (sweet/spicy/salty)
And the Indian food.
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As a friend (and yoga teacher) of mine likes to say “simple is not always easy”.
I think most people know what healthy eating looks like (fruit/veggies/whole grains/lean protein), smaller portion sizes, less processed food, fewer sweets and alcohol.
It’s actually doing it and sticking to this way of eating that is hard. And there are a lot of factors (emotional/social, etc) that play into it.
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It’s pretty obvious to me. People don’t eat real food. And fried fatty food and soda fills you up, tastes good and is cheaper than real food. We’ve made a science of making stuff like potato chips irresistible. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html
We’ve also completely abnormalized a normal portion size. When I was in high school a bottle of coke held 10 ounces. Bagels have more than doubled in size. It’s crazy.
You can see it here: How Portion Sizes Have Changed Throughout History
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I agree with all this!
My point (sorry if it was not clear) was that there is no one “magic” “exact” formula, but that being cognizant of what you put in your mouth, how much you put in your mouth, how often you move and how you take care of yourself emotionally/mentally is key. Lifestyle. Things you can control (because there are some things you can’t control).
Back to “Food Tips”. 
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I think there are many reasons- if someone is not raised or taught in school what a healthy balanced diet is they might not know. Many people feel a bran muffin is a great breakfast choice. Same with many breakfast cereals. If you haven’t been taught to read labels one might not realize how much sugar is in savory foods. I have friends who were raised on beans, rice and tortillas on a daily basis. As adults they have had to learn different ways of eating in order to not have health issues.
Living in areas with poor fresh food options. Living on a fixed income. Living in a household with not a lot of room to store or grow fresh fruits and vegetables. One of my kids lives in an area with no grocery store. Many in her area get food from Dollar General. She has a car and drives through more populated areas with her commute so has the ability to buy healthy foods.
People working long hours with commutes find it easy to hit the drive thru versus going home to cook a meal.
And some people have bodies that no matter how much they exercise they need to watch what they eat.
Or in the case of one of my kids who has chronic migraines she has had times where she had to track everything she ate and read every label.
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Geez, when I was a kid, my parents used to feed me beef tongue, liver, meatloaf, some type of (pork/veal) chops, sweet rolls, Frosted Flakes, etc. And our fancy schmancy dinner out was a Chinese restaurant, which aren’t always known for their healthy options, especially back then.
If I knew back then, what I know now… 
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I agree with a good part of what you are saying.
For the sake of violating CC rules I don’t want to debate or nit pick because that doesn’t accomplish much.
Be your best health advocate. Help others who could use health advice. Which Is part of the spirit of this thread I think.
I will bow out for awhile. 
That health trend article was fun! I’ll check to see if Sam’s carries dried mushrooms. The boredom of Covid caused us to do some cocktail experimentation. Hubby seems to have settled on Old Fashioned sometimes on Zoom calls with pals, probably no worse than the occasional martinis we’ve had over the years.
My 94 year old Dad jokes that his martinis have been how he stays “well preserved”, but of course most of the credit goes to his avid exercise habits (walking and in younger retirement years many sports) AND his zeal for “five a day” (easy method to ensure plenty of veggies/fruits).
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After a pretty decadent holiday season + a few extra weeks of massive comfort cooking for my D20 while she was home on break, we are finding our way back here. Spent some time over the weekend menu planning and meal-prepping for the week, which is really the best way to ensure that we don’t get off track. Being able to just grab and go in the mornings before work is key (for us).
Breakfasts - we assemble breakfast the night before in to-go containers. We alternate having yogurt with raspberries, banana, pecans and chia seeds or overnight oats with dried dates and nut butter.
Lunches - I roasted two enormous trays of veggies and mushrooms and cooked up a big batch of farro - There’s enough for us to eat this all week, if need be, though we’re likely to break it up with dinner leftovers at least a couple of days.
Dinners - didn’t do much to prep here (except for the roasted veggies), but I did a big shopping trip and made sure we are well-stocked with salad fixings, beans, grains, frozen shrimp and chicken thighs, so we will be set for quick and easy healthful meals.
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Anyone here a sweet potato fan? In my hunt for breakfast foods, I made a sweet potato recipe from Rise and Run. Baked sweet potato topped with yogurt, honey and chai spiced pecans, which were super easy to prepare. The recipe calls from prebaking the potato and then finishing it later in a skillet, but since it was the weekend I just baked a potato and ate it instead of going through all the steps. I also got some egg whites and will try to eat more scrambled egg instead of my usual medium egg. I realized half the battle is having the ingredients ready to incorporate to make meals more interesting.
@DeeCee36 - I just bought some farro for the first time this weekend. I’d love to hear how you like to use it. I noticed for the first time in a while that the shelves at the grocery were once again sparse - you could only purchase 3 packages of fresh chicken and other items were also limited.
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I’m not super creative with farro. I cook it up and season it with olive oil and some minced garlic, let it cool/dry completely and then store it in the fridge. You could use it in place of rice or quinoa in any dish. I use it as the grain in salad bowls, or topped with roasted veggies + feta cheese. It is also very good with a somewhat runny egg on top. It has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture that I really like.
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Faro is also good with crumbled coat cheese. I use it as a hot side dish. Goes well with pork and chicken dishes.
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@sabaray I’m a big sweet potato fan. It’s one of my main carbs.
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I just discovered Japanese sweet potatoes and they are my new favorite!
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I love sweet potatoes !
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The mention of sweet potatoes in this thread influenced my brunch choice yesterday at Snooze (a fun breakfast/lunch place in Boulder CO). I selected the Sweet Potato Bacon mash-up…. it was great (and so big that I had to take some of the sweet potato home).
The white blob on top of avocado looks like sour cream, but it is a poached egg.
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I use farro much the same as I would use rice. I use it as a side or as a base for grain bowls. I buy it at Trader Joe’s. I also buy the quick cooking barley that is in the same type of packaging. My husband doesn’t really like quinoa but likes the farro and barley. I cook it in broth or water.
I’ve not had a Japanese sweet potato but I do like sweet potatoes. I’ll look for them. @Colorado_mom that looks really good.
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This thread inspired some of my TJ purchases yesterday, including farro 
Also the long pursued no-shell pumpkin seeds, though not local as I had originally hoped. And some other items mentioned on a TJ Facebook page I followed for a while.
The brunch dish shown above had a ton of sweet potatoes, so not sure if I believe it was only 650 calories as listed on the menu (far less than a lot of the other choices). Don’t really care - it was delicious. And now today I’ll stretch the leftovers at home with another poached egg and a half avocado that is sitting in the fridge.
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YUM! Looks delicious! But I knew it was a poached egg.