Food and Nutrition

Level 1: Awareness

This level requires no habit changes or financial investment—just assessment and planning.

Benchmarks

• Nutrition: Understand current eating patterns and basic nutritional needs
• Cooking Skills: Identify current cooking capabilities and meal repertoire
• Food Planning & Ordering: Assess current shopping habits, costs, and food waste
• Food Experience & Ethics: Clarify personal values around food (ethics, culture, enjoyment)

Actions (One-Time Tasks)

• Track one day’s food intake using Cronometer to understand your nutritional baseline (15 min)
• List your 3-5 most frequently prepared meals to assess current patterns (5 min)
• Calculate approximate weekly food spending to establish your budget baseline (5 min)
• Research one nearby farmers market or food delivery option for future consideration (10 min)
• Create a simple food values framework: list what matters most to you about food (health, taste, ethics, cost, etc.) (10 min)
• Review basic food ethics information using resources like Ethical Consumer or Sustainable Table (15 min)

Habits

• No new habits required at this level—just awareness and planning
• Continue current eating and preparation patterns

Costs

• Time: 1 hour (one-time investment for assessment and planning)
• Money: $0

Next Steps

Continue to Level 2: Foundations