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At the start of a new year, folks often tend to think in terms of resolutions and self-improvement goals. Are healthier food habits on your to-do list for 2026? We checked in with a local nutrition expert who said that making small changes, such as adding more servings of vegetables to your plate each day, can have a long-term positive impact.
“Foods can really make a difference in people’s labs and health,” said Leah Groppo, a registered dietitian with Stanford Health Care.
Lifestyle reflection, not drastic diets
When it comes to food resolutions, Groppo’s advice is to focus on manageable steps rather than going for extreme restrictions or shifts, which can be unrealistic (and not always healthful).
Everyone has their own unique health needs. In general, though, in the U.S., “people drastically underconsume veggies and fruit,” Groppo said. Her top recommendation is to add more plants and fiber-rich foods to your meals in a way that suits your tastes and lifestyle.
“It’s so much more fun to say, ‘Oh, I’m on the ‘mind diet’ … or the ‘menopause diet,'” she said. But instead, she recommends the basics: “focusing more on a plant-based diet, adding fiber, more greens; seeing, ‘where can you fit that in?’ vs. trying to do this big overhaul,” she said. “Reflecting on your own life and figuring out what works for you. ‘Am I a person who drinks a lot of sweetened beverages? Maybe I can cut down on that.'”
She offered the example of a patient who simply started adding more greens to his daily soup at lunchtime and within a few months had significantly improved lab results. He “didn’t get stuck on a specific diet name,” she noted, but rather made a little shift.
Many paths to healthier food choices
Groppo strives to be culturally sensitive and inclusive when giving nutritional advice. She emphasizes that healthy food options exist within a wide variety of global cuisines.
For example, the Mediterranean diet is often idealized, and while Groppo agrees that it can be a good option, it’s not the only one. No one should feel pressured to forego their cultural preferences and traditions for a diet that doesn’t resonate with them.
The same benefits can be achieved through a variety of culinary traditions, with a goal of amping up the vegetable and legume portions on the plate no matter what type of cuisine it is.
A win-win for individual and planetary health
Fruits and vegetables are packed with essential nutrients, and fiber is important to maintaining good gut health and providing food for the good bacteria we need.
“It does things like decrease risk for diabetes and heart disease, helps reduce unhealthy cholesterol; it adds bulk” and reduces constipation, she said.
As a dietitian, her strategy is to focus on enhancing meals rather than making diets more restrictive.
“I always think about additive nutrition, not taking away,” she said. “For example, maybe we have white rice but we can stir-fry carrots and other veggies into that, adding more to the rice. There are so many vitamins and minerals and fiber and roughage in that, and our bodies need that to function well.”
And while Groppo, who specializes in endocrinology, acknowledges that fruit sometimes gets a bad rap because it can raise blood sugar, in most cases it’s a good, nutrient-rich choice, especially at the end of meals.
Often, food choices that benefit individual health, such as shifting to more plant-based options, are also more sustainable environmentally, she said.
“There is a whole movement around planetary health in general, and I think that’s a piece of it too. We’re all here on this land. I think a lot of things that are good for the planet are in fact also good for us. It’s a win-win that it would be healthy for both.”
Look to the science
Registered dietitians like Groppo have an extensive academic background in nutrition science (including a master’s degree), as well as training in working with patients effectively. This education “primes us to look at different diets … with a more scientific lens,” she said.
“It’s a really interesting profession,” Groppo added. “Sometimes it can be frustrating when there are a lot of different people saying a lot of different things that are not exactly scientific.”
When seeking out health and nutrition information, consider the quality of the source and if it’s backed by scientific evidence and study, whether it’s an academic journal article or social media post.
“I do like to look for people’s credentials,” Groppo said. “Just thinking through, who are you listening to and who is in your algorithm?”
She is skeptical of those touting specific diets or products as universal solutions. “Somebody who’s so sure that one thing is the best thing for everybody, I always have a bit more reservation around that,” she said.
Everyone’s body, lifestyle and health situation is unique, and when making changes in eating habits it’s important to make goals that work for you. Her approach to offering nutritional guidance is, “I’m not telling (patients) what to eat, I’m listening and understanding who they are,” she said.
(Stanford’s Health Library, she noted, is a free resource open to anyone, with librarians who can research all sorts of health questions.)
Encouraging healthy habits in kids
As a mom as well as a dietitian, Groppo knows there is a lot of interest (and pressure) among parents to encourage healthy eating habits in their children. Her advice is to let kids participate in choosing and preparing food as much as possible.
“My daughter is 5 and ever since she was 3 she can snap the little ends off green beans, she can help with a lot of things,” she said. “We also like to garden, which I know isn’t available for everybody.”
In her house, there is a bowl full of fruits and veggies that the family aims to empty together by the end of each day. Prioritizing the whole family choosing from the same foods and eating together, as well as offering diversity – multiple types of vegetables in different formats along with carbohydrates and proteins – helps kids feel empowered when choosing from the options available, Groppo said.
“Kids really need to see things over and over before they might try it,” she added.
She tries to keep family meals casual and low-pressure to foster a good relationship with food. “We’re in the long game,” she said.
Finding balance
Ultra-processed foods – many mass-produced packaged snacks, cereals and other products – have become prevalent in many households for their convenience. But they also can be full of additives, sugars and salt, as well as lacking in fiber and other key nutrients.
According to an article from Stanford Medicine (referencing the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition), highly processed foods account for nearly 60% of U.S. adults’ calorie consumption and nearly 70% of children’s. They have been linked to health problems including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Groppo said that instead of villainizing certain foods, she instead encourages patients to fill up on whole or minimally processed foods when possible. She enjoys roasting nuts and flavoring them with different spices for a snack that is both fun and more nutritious than a product like Cheetos, but she said there’s no need to beat oneself up when that isn’t always an option.
She never wants her patients to think, “I can’t be healthy because I’m relying on throwing these chips into my kids’ lunch because that’s all I have time for,” she said. Instead, it’s about balancing it out with more fresh and whole foods at other meals.
“I don’t think food has to be a moral decision on if we’re a good parent,” she said. “We want to build on previous successes.”
Having fun with food
Nutritional supplements are a big industry now, but Groppo recommends instead eating whole fiber-rich foods and exploring how to “eat the rainbow in fruits and veggies” Families should have fun experimenting with ingredients and recipes that bring joy to mealtime.
In Groppo’s own house, “We’re so nerdy we almost fight over the last Brussels sprout,” she said. She recalled her husband joking about her complimenting her own cooking. “Well, I make food that I like!” she said with a laugh. “I think it tastes great.”
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