photo by The Wandering Angel
I was inspired recently by a series of posts by Steve Pavlina on his 30 day experiment eating a raw diet. Since reading most of his posts I have started making some changes in how I eat. When I think about how I have gone from being a true junk food junkie about 5 years ago to now eating very healthy, I realize that I made small changes along the way.
Now I am not a raw foodist and I’m not a vegetarian, but I may become close to one someday. For now, I have been taking the approach of slowly substituting healthier choices more and more. And from all the reading that I’ve done, including a fantastic book called The China Study, it appears that eating lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is the healthiest way to live. It lengthens life and improves the quality of your life with better health and more energy.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to eat animal food products and in fact those types of foods are what leads to today’s top killer diseases. You don’t even need that much protein in your diet. You can actually get all the protein you need from fruits, vegetables and whole grains! Yes, it’s true! I haven’t cut out all animal foods, but the less I eat of them, the less I want to eat them.
So I thought I would suggest 5 simple food ideas that you could incorporate into your day to begin a habit of eating healthier. My recommendation is to implement one idea each day. As you go along in your life you may choose to add more healthy choices, and hopefully one day you’ll wake up and realize that you have become a healthy eater!
1. Eat a Raw Breakfast. Before you cringe, let me tell you this is so delicious. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked.
Green Smoothie
In a blender mix:
- 2 Bananas
- 1 Cup berries (any kind, frozen is perfect)
- 1-2 cups spinach or any other type of green leafy vegetable
- 1 cup water
Optional (these are not vegetarian)
- 1 scoop whey protein
- 1/4 cup yogurt (plain, vanilla, lowfat, no fat, whatever you like)
photo by faster panda kill kill
And if you want to become serious about eating healthier, I can’t recommend anything more highly than a VitaMix blender. It’s a little pricey, but they last a lifetime and they make eating healthy a breeze. I love mine!
2. Eat a Green Lunch. Here are two great choices.
Hearty Salad
- 3-4 cups greens (baby spinach, romaine, field greens, arrugala)
- 1 diced tomato
- 1 chopped avacado
- onion
- olives
- 1/2 – 1 cup chickpeas
Dressing Ideas
- 1/4 cup Hummous, Tabouli, or Baba Ganouj
- 2 Tbsp your favorite dressing
Optional (non-vegetarian)
- 2-4 oz grilled chicken breast
- toasted whole grain bread (Alvarado, Ezekiel 4:9) with 1 tspn olive oil and shredded garlic
Avacado Salad
- 2-3 mashed avacados
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in halves
- onion to taste
- 1 clove grated garlic
- 1/4 lemon or lime juice
- 1-2 stalks celery
Eat this on either
- 1-2 slices toasted whole grain bread
- several whole romain leaves as a roll-up
3. Eat a Healthy Snack. Choose fruit for your snack and bear in mind that you can’t eat too much fruit. Don’t believe the old notions about it having too much fructose. Fruit also has fiber which evens out the fructose. No need to stop at 1 banana. If you need it, have two!
Yummy Apples
- 1-2 cut up apples
- 2 Tbspn natural peanut butter
(Peanut butter is OK in small amounts, but get the natural kind with no sugar or hydrogenated oils. The ingredients should say: “Peanuts, salt”)
4. Eat a Veggie Dinner. When you eat a veggie dinner like this it takes a little longer to eat, but it’s quick to cook. Also, keep in mind that since your body will digest this food faster than animal based food, you will likely need an early evening snack/dessert.
Green Bean Delight (feeds 1 person)
Saute in a frying pan:
- 1 large bag of fresh green beans
- 1 8 oz box of mushrooms (your favorite kind) (mushrooms boost your immunity!)
- 1 Tspn of olive oil and/or 1/4 cup water to steam/saute – at the end the water should be mostly all evaporated. Add more water a little at a time if needed during cooking.
- 1 clove grated garlic – add at the end.
Cook on medium high, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are cooked. At that point the beans will be cooked but still crisp. Add the garlic during the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of cooking and stir briskly to keep garlic from burning.
5. Enjoy a Nutritious Dessert. This is not vegetarian because of the yogurt, but it’s still healthier than plain ice cream. The lower the fat content you choose the healthier it will be.
Creamy Fruit Smash
Combine either chopped or mixed into a smoothie. Choose one or all of these fruits:
- 1-2 Mangoes
- 1-2 cups berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blueberries (wild=best) – a frozen mix is easiest) Leave frozen for smoothie or defrost for 20 minutes if leaving whole.
- 1 cup yogurt
photo by traci_todd112
Enjoy!
And please share your favorite healthy recipes with us in the comments below! If you like this, please share with a friend or on your favorite bookmarking service.
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