Healthy Food List - It's Simpler Than You Might ThinkHealthy food list -- oooh, I love this part! Talking about foods is something I could do all day (and to be honest, I DO!). My list is an attempt to demystify some of those ingredients you may see in the market and wonder what you'd ever do with it. I love food - I love to grow it, pick it, prep it, eat it. And I love to get creative and think about what I'll have for a meal, what it will look like, how I can make it taste better, what I'll feel like after I eat it...you get the point! I grew up in a Jewish family where food was always a constant. We still, to this day, will be sitting around the lunch table, and talking about what we should have for dinner! Some might say that's not the best practice in being present in the moment, but I disagree! I think that enjoying something so much that you're planning the next phase is being completely aware! My personal tastes vary widely, I'm very influenced by my travels, my family, my background, and of course, my current situation. So I hope there'll be something for everyone here! Please give me feedback if you like what you see, or if you want more of something that I don't cover. Remember, I'm here to serve YOU!
A Fabulous Life?Do you want your life to be fabulous? Do you want your body to be fabulous? Do you want your health to be fabulous? What you put into your body can have an effect on all of these.Many of us know this, and don't act on it. And lots of people really don't get (or believe) that what we eat can make such a drastic difference. One of my goals in life is to help people discover (or re-discover) their true vitality. It's such a passion of mine because I struggle with it, too! I have days, months or years of being at my best - eating so well and feeling fit and truly healthy. I also have times when the baby's crying after a sleepless night, it's icky outside, and it's all I can do to get myself dressed, let alone cook something healthy or intuitive! And of course there are times when it just feels easier to tune out the world and eat ice cream! Yes, we are all human..it's what makes the journey so interesting! I'm here to tell you that what we eat and how we eat it can change your life. This section is devoted to the "what we eat." The "how" part begins
here
and continues to look at our emotional connection to what and why we eat. I'll be adding much more on this in the coming months, so do keep checking back! To begin with, it's best to educate ourselves as to what foods are truly good for us, and begin to introduce them into our diet, and surround ourselves with them. Become friends with these foods and they'll have a positive effect on your life - I promise! Healthy Food List(aka what the heck is THAT and what do I DO with it?!?)My intention here isn't to do an exhaustive healthy food list which lists every fruit, veg & spice known to mankind. I'd rather focus on those that are versatile, accessible, and perhaps underused.If you're looking for science and statistics, sorry to disappoint. I'm more of a story-teller. I'll tell you about my personal experience and knowledge with a food, any history I know of, and give some suggestions for how to incorporate it into your menu/diet. The healthy food list is by food type, and is still in progress. Sorry all the links aren't active yet - keep tuning in, they will be eventually!
Grains Grains have been used since ancient times as a staple food. The current government guidelines recommend that they be on the bottom of the food pyramid (ie the greatest portion of the diet). But I find that I (and many of my clients) have mixed results with digestion of large amounts of grains (see my own food pyramid). I do find grains an important part of a healthy food list, and I advise, instead of making them the mainstay of a meal, incorporate them into soups, salads and other dishes, to get their benefits, and avoid digestive trouble. You can soak grains before cooking, but I find that this is more important with pulses/legumes, and it doesn't make a huge different for most grains. My favorite grains are:
Beans Beans, also sometimes called pulses (UK) or legumes (US) are certainly an addition to a healthy diet. Technically, the word(s) pulses/legumes refer to the dried form of various edible beans (from butter beans to lentils), and the fresh ones that are pressed for oil or other uses would be called beans. My friends David & Barbara have an informative, integrative website, which explains all about different types of beans, as well as suggestions and instructions for cooking them. While the soybean is technically a bean, I've created a separate section (below) for it, as there seem to be as many questions as there are uses for this versatile food.
Soy (soya) products The soy bean is the wonder of the modern world. It's high in protein, relatively low in fat, and one of the most versatile foods on the planet. It can be made into almost anything, limited mostly by imagination. There's been some controversy about the soybean in recent years, for 2 main reasons. The first is farming practices and genetic modification. The second is that phytoestrogens in soy can mimic estrogen in the body, if consumed in large enough quantities. I suggest buying organic soy products, which means that the beans were not only grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, but also that no genetically modified soybeans were used. We still don't know what effects messing with the genes can have on the plant, let alone on us as consumers. I would also suggest using it in moderation, rather than as a staple of the diet. This should greatly reduce, if not eliminate the need for both of these concerns. If you'd like a more scientific opinion, here's an
interesting article.
In any case, please don't deem soy as the enemy! Just do your research, and use your common sense. And buy responsibly. Some of my favorite soy products are:
Superfoods!! Superfoods seem to be all the trend lately. I use the term here to mean foods that I personally believe are extra nourishing and healing for the body, and would benefit most people if even a small amount were added to the regular diet. I'm going to try to keep this list local to a northern-temperate climate, as I believe in seasonality as well as locality. I think it's amazing that we can find exotic berries with huge amounts of anti-oxidants in our groceries nowadays, and I'm not saying you shouldn't ever try them, if they appeal to you. I'm just being honest about my own preference for what feels more sustainable (and affordable). Many of the foods in this section can actually be gathered or harvested (or grown) for free, if you know where and when to look! Some foods I consider super are: Of course these aren't my only favorite foods, and I'll be adding more foods to the list as inspiration strikes. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy meeting some of my favorites, and feel free to check out my healthy recipe page , where you'll see how I love to use some of these favorites in the kitchen. Go from Healthy Food List Back to Home |
