Make a photo log on how much meat & dairy you eat

Find out how much meat and dairy you eat. Then do something about it!

There’s one simple way to become more aware how much meat and dairy you eat: Track it! Try one of the approaches below for at least three consecutive days to get a good idea of what you eat.

Write in a food journal. To write a food journal, you will want to do it over at least two weekdays and one weekend day and use the following guidelines.

• Record everything you eat right away.
• Be honest. You will be the only one to see it unless you want to share.
• At the end of each day, examine how your emotions affected your eating and what food choices you made accordingly.

Take your own photos. To do your own photo journal, you can simply take your own photos each time you eat something. Then go back after you’re finished and see what patterns emerge. How much of your plate is meat or dairy? How about grains, legumes or produce?

You can use an app. There are also many different apps available for download that can help you track your diet. Some examples include MealLogger, Bitesnap, and Snap It.

After you’ve finished your journal, don’t forget to look back. Check frequency – how many times a day you ate meat or dairy. And notice amount – how big the portion sizes were.

Now that you know your starting point, you can also challenge yourself to reduce your meat and dairy consumption and increase plant-based foods. You can start with one day a week, one meal a day, or reduce by half.

And if you take this challenge, don’t forget to challenge your friends or family as well!