One way to combat the boredom that many people complain about when they eat healthy, is to ”eat outside your box.” Experiment with new foods and cuisines and challenge your long-held notions about what to eat and when.

Iceberg is not the only kind of lettuce. Apples and oranges are not the only fruits. And there is no law that says you can’t eat mushroom lasagna for breakfast and a southwestern omelet for dinner. Just because your parents always eat turkey on Thanksgiving, fish on Friday and meatloaf on Mondays, does not mean you have to follow the same plan.

Dare to step outside your comfort zone and put an end to your eating rut, by accepting one (or more) of the following challenges to eat and live more healthily and creatively.

1. Make a list of 10 foods that you eat on a regular basis. Over the course of the next month, eat outside your box by avoiding these foods.

2. Try a new food every day. Have you knocked eating brown rice, tofu, sushi or kiwi without ever giving it a try? Don’t allow the opinions of others to inhibit your pallet. Give your taste buds an opportunity to decide.

3. Avoid eating any of the same meals you ate last month. Use your imagination and cookbooks like Trim & Terrific by Holly Clegg to invigorate your mundane menus.

4. Do not visit any of the same restaurants you tried last month. If you eat out it must be somewhere new. And do not forget to order something new and nutritious off the menu.

5. Buy a new cookbook and explore ways you can make the foods you enjoy more nutritious – and unusual.

6. Ask people from different racial, regional, religious and cultural backgrounds to share their favorite foods and recipes. Incorporate two of these into your menus.

7. Buy a new cookbook with recipes from a cuisine you have never tried. Prepare at least one meal a week from the cookbook.

8. Sit down with a healthy cookbook like The Ultimate Healthy Eating Cookbook edited by Anne Sheasby. Make a list of 30 recipes that look appealing. You don’t have to use them immediately – but they will be available when you need them to add a different twist to your eating routine.

9. Make a special trip to the grocery store to shop for herbs and spices. Buy at least five you have never tried and experiment with at least one new herb or spice each week.

10. Take a cooking class. Check the local YMCA or community center for course offerings.

11. Flip the script. Make a list of the meals you usually eat for breakfast, a list of meals you usually eat for lunch and a list for dinner. Then eat what you normally eat for lunch for dinner, dinner for breakfast and breakfast for lunch.

12. Each time you go grocery shopping buy at least five different brands than you usually do. You may be surprised to learn that different brands offer better nutrition, taste and price.