Every Bite is the Opportunity to Hurt or Heal
You’ve decided that you want to have more vitality, reduce inflammation, lose weight, improve digestion and elimination and have clear radiant skin!
Eating a diet that is packed with nutrients will help your body transform. Every bite you take is an opportunity to heal or hurt. Take a moment to listen before you eat and afterwards. What kind of foods does your body need today?
If you were to look at the healthiest eating plans, they all have a few things in common. The suggestions below are some basic guidelines for a diet that promotes healing, healthy weight and longevity. These meals are:
- Packed with vibrant colors and are nutrient dense
- Made of whole, unprocessed foods
- Free from added sugars and alcohol
- Made with lower cooking temperatures (raw, steamed, baked, slow cooking, pressure cooking)
Begin incorporating these suggestions one at a time as you learn. We can’t always be perfect but we have some standards to which we aspire. There will be times you will stray from this when going to a party, eating out, or going on vacation, but this is the plan we go back to over and over again to reclaim our health. You will find that over time, unhealthy foods are less and less appealing and take no effort to pass them by. Your body learns to crave the things that make it feels so good!
Eat something green with every meal: green tea, green vegetables, green powders, green herbs, green sauces like avocado puree, green salad dressings or green juice
- Green Veggies: broccoli, romaine lettuce, kale, brussels sprout, micro greens, collard and turnip greens, spinach, arugula, green beans, zucchini, Bok Choy, green cabbage, artichoke, cucumber, asparagus, parsley, cilantro
- Green Powders: Organic Barley Grass Juice Powder, Matcha powder, Spirulina Powder, Hemp protein powder, Mankai (frozen cubes or powder)
- Green Herbs: Parsley, cilantro, basil, mint, dill, thyme, oregano, chives, scallions, fennel
- Green Beverages: Green tea, Nettle tea, raspberry leaf tea, celery juice, cucumber juice, Smoothies with leafy greens or herbs
50% of your plate is non-starchy veggies (4-6 cups per day). These are vegetables that are lowest in calories and carbohydrate. They are also colorful, add crunch, texture and nutrients.
- Arugula, Asparagus, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Collard greens, Cucumber, Eggplant, Escarole, Herbs, Jicama, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, mushrooms, Onions, Pea pods or shoots, Peppers, Radishes, Radicchio, Spaghetti squash, Spinach, Summer squash, Swiss chard,Tomato, Turnip greens, Watercress.
Whole fruit (2-3x day) as a snack, dessert, garnish, sauce, in salad, on meats or fish: Apples, Bananas, Pears, Oranges, Tangerines, Grapefruit, Grapes, Melon, Berries, Pineapple, Mango, Papaya, Kiwi, Peaches, Plums, Jackfruit
- Generous use of beans and peas: 1-3 cups per day: soups, on salad, dip, puree, dressing, garnish, burgers)
Nuts and seeds: 1-2 Tbsp, 2x day
- On salads; garnish; dressings, sauce, dip, pureed into soup, nut milk, nut cheese
- Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, chia, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, filberts, pine nuts, cashews
Some raw foods, some cooked foods at meals
Extra virgin olive oil, heat under 350 degrees (ideally used cold, heat destroys polyphenols)
Organic whole intact grains (0-1 serving a day if eating meats, 1- 2 servings per day if vegan)
- Farro, quinoa, millet, black rice, brown rice, barley, oats. For the most effective weight loss, limit or eliminate all flour products (bread, pasta, crackers, etc.)
Starchy vegetables: 1 serving per day
- Sweet potatoes; winter squash, corn on the cob, parsnips, rutabaga, beets, blue, yellow and redskin potatoes with the skins on