Witt - Small Changes: A Rules-Free Guide to Add More Plant-Based Foods, Peace and Power to Your Life

Small Changes

Copyright 2021 by Alicia Witt

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Harper Horizon, nor does Harper Horizon vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products.

This book is written as a source of information only. The information contained in this book should by no means be considered a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical professional, who should always be consulted before beginning any new diet, exercise, or other health program.

All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book as of the date published. The author and the publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

Recipe testing by Donna Britt

Food photography by Tambi Lane

Professional portraits by Travis Commeau

All other photos provided courtesy of the author from her private collection

All song lyrics quoted throughout the book are used with permission. All rights reserved.

Blinkers 2012 by Alicia Witt

Judgment Day 2010 by Alicia Witt

Theme from Pasadena 2012 by Alicia Witt and Ben Folds

Talk to You 2020 by Alicia Witt

Love Anyway 2016 by Alicia Witt and Jeff Cohen

Chasing Shadows 2016 by Alicia Witt and David Jonelis

Aint Up to Me 2020 by Alicia Witt, Kelli Schilken, and Eric Varnell

Younger 2016 by Alicia Witt, Catt Gravitt, and Tofer Brown

Face Change 2016 by Alicia Witt

Down She Goes 2015 by Alicia Witt and Danny Myrick

New Word 2010 by Alicia Witt

ISBN 978-0-7852-4032-7 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-4031-0 (HC)

Epub Edition August 2021 9780785240327

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021939408

Printed in the United States of America

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Please note that the endnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication

For everyone along the way who has

inspired me to write thisevery

conversation and connectionand for

everyone searching. This is for you.

Contents

Go on, you got this one life to live

You gotta take up your hook and sail

BLINKERS

D eciding you want your life to be healthier, more balanced, and more connected is a big, big step.

Maybe youre motivated by your own unique health and fitness challenges, a work-life balance that isnt quite working for you, or a concern for the imprint youre leaving behind on the world. The question is: Once youve made the decision to change, where do you start? How will you know what to do without being consumed by rules, judgments, and restrictions? How can you live in a way thats respectful to others and to the world around you, while best serving your own well-being and still prioritizing a life thats authentic to how you want to live?

If youre anything like me, youve probably spent a lot of time thinking about these questionsespecially when the guidance that experts offer in books, on TV, or online can be overwhelming. The truth is, you dont have to pay hundreds of dollars for meditation classes in order to be comfortable in your own mind, and you definitely dont need to join the most exclusive gym or fad-of-the-moment fitness class to have a healthy, strong, and fit body. If you choose to include more plant-based foods in your meals, you shouldnt feel like you have to abide by draconian rules that require you to empty your entire kitchen before youre accepted into the cult. No one gets to tell you what rules you live byexcept for you!

If you want to improve your health, your consciousness, and the world, you dont need to overhaul your life in a drastic, overwhelming way. Sometimes all it takes are a few small changes to help you find your authenticity.

Thats what this book is about.

Small Changes is a guide to help you find balance, eat better, and feel healthier physically and emotionally, and it offers a look at how I pull it all together as a successful actor, singer-songwriter, producer, rescue animal guardian, amateur farmer, homemade margarita aficionadooh, and now author! Most importantlyand its been a long road to this pointIve finally learned how to do it while staying deeply centered, even amidst chaos and uncertainty.

Ive had such an odd career, but in a really cool way. Im not so well-known that people chase me down the street, but whenever I go out, I get recognized. Given the wide range of diverse roles Ive played over the span of my career, and the multitude of genres and projects Ive been a part of, Im almost always wrong if I try to guess the answer to that hilarious question working actors are asked constantly: What have I seen you in? (As youll probably be relieved to know, I dont lurk in your living room, keeping tabs on your viewing history, and I havent been spying on you over the years as you went to the movies.)

I live in Nashville now, and I find a sense of great peace when Im in my vegetable garden, doing household chores, running errands at Home Depot, or spending time with my close-knit family of friends at one of our houses. Living such a normal day-to-day life when Im not working also allows me to do better work on film or in a recording studio, or sitting alone writing a song or a screenplay, because everything else in my life is in balance.

Thats my core philosophy in a nutshell: balance and authenticity. Im not writing this book as an expert, because Im far from that. Im not a trained nutritionist. Im not even a trained actor! Ive never taken an acting class. I never attended public school. My only formal training thus far in my life has been as a classical pianist.

But, for whatever reason, Ive become a kind of accidental guru.

In 2003, I was in London to film the movie The Upside of Anger. The night after we all arrived for rehearsals, Keri Russell and I met up at The Ladbroke Arms in Notting Hill, a short walk from where we were staying. I was teaching Keri how to play backgammon at our table beneath the awning out on the patio, enjoying the perfect summer night, when a black cat suddenly was thrown out the window of the apartment above the pub. The cat bounced off the awning, and as it scrambled, claws outstretched, desperate to find its footing, it landed on my face and then raced away into the night.

What was that? I said to Keri. It was such a shock, like being slapped really hard in the face with something big and warm and heavy. I didnt register that something significant had happened until I saw the look on Keris face. Touching my face, I realized how heavily I was bleeding. My upper lip was completely split in two.