Sunday Story...More Food

Sunday Story…More Food

I love food. I love to eat. I love to prepare good food well. I love to eat it with people I like. The food and the company nourish me. This is the important part of the food equation. If I am going to eat whatever I eat I better enjoy it.

You may have read the last 2 postings about food and trembled in your boots. Whatever am I going to eat!? No Grain! No Dairy! No Cheese! No Sugar! No No No! I have been eating this way for over a year now, almost 2. I am not 100% compliant. 90 or 95 % compliant yes but not 100%. You can do this, anyone can do this. The rest of this post will help you with the yes part of shifting your diet.

Yes…you can eat meat. This includes fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, beef, bison, pork (but this may be the last choice), ostrich, game like deer, elk, antelope, duck, goose, and pheasant, shellfish, and more. When you buy meat you want to get the absolute best you can buy. Plan on eating a smaller portion (4 oz.) but get the grass fed, grass finished local (if possible) product. Buy your eggs from the farm down the street. Get to know the person raising the eggs. Help them with table scraps if they want, make sure you return your egg crates and start a relationship with that person. These eggs will be so much better on so many levels you will not believe it.
Buy local, buy from people you know when possible and be aware of where your food comes from and how it has been handled. It is your body and you should only put into it food that is good for it.
In terms of preparation…poached, baked, broiled, sautéed, or raw. Never fried, never coated in batter and cooked, never burnt to a crisp. Keep in mind that lean meat does not have the fat in it that the food you are used to has so it will need to cook less and slower and at lower heat. I suggest wrapping the protein in leaves to help keep the moisture in during the cooking process.

Yes you can eat vegetables. Lots of them, as a matter of fact. Your plate should be full of green stuff and the more different kinds the better. Try to be aware of what is in season and eat those things. It will help keep you in the cycle of life. So, now in the fall, squash is prevalent, late leaves like spinach and chard, some melons, beets, and other root vegetables. Buying blueberries from Chile is not good food management even if they are organic. These berries were not made to travel thousands of mile so you can eat them out of season. And the footprint to get them to your table is horrendous.
I often play a game to see how many different kinds of greens I can get on one plate in one meal. I think my personal best is 17! Now it is easier in the height of the growing season when you have a garden in your back yard but it is still doable for many of us. Don’t be afraid to branch out into greens you have never used before. What’s the worst thing that can happen? You hate it and put it in the compost pile right? Oh well, then move on!
In terms of preparation…steamed, roasted, grilled, and sautéed. Try not to boil and again never fried and batter coated or breaded…defeats the whole purpose of what we are doing. I love roasted and grilled veggies and will grill broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots or just about anything. I have a special pan, round and flat with ridges that I rub with olive oil and grill the veggies in…very simple and fast. And you can use whatever spices you enjoy.

Yes, you can eat fruit. You should limit your fruit intake to one or two servings per day though. Fruit can be more calorie dense that we want and may trigger (for some of us) a craving for sugar. Dried fruit is even more dangerous so go very easy here. It is very easy to over eat dried fruit and the sugar content is very high. Again try to source from local and organic sources for your fruit.

Yes you can eat nuts and seeds. This is a great time of year for them as a matter of fact. Cracking your own nuts is a great activity and it slows down how many nuts you can actually eat. Again nuts in particular are very calorie dense so it is easy to over eat these. If you find yourself eating handful after handful you will need to institute some portion control (on the other hand it is still waaay better than a bag of Doritos!). Seeds are less calorie dense but still a little self control will go a long way. Hazel nuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds are all good choices. Do I need to say to eat them raw, not roasted with salt and oil?

Fat is not the enemy, Fat is your friend. Fat will help with your feeling full, fat will help you with energy and fat will help your immune system. Avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, and coconut are all great choices. Coconut is one of the most prevalent natural fat sources on the planet. You can find it in so many different forms it is ridiculous. Just make sure you are getting the real deal and not with sugar added or other adulterants. You can cook with it, eat it raw or drink the milk and it is all good. Avocados are in season now and are a really great source of fat. Try eating on a day for a snack and see what happens to your energy and mental clarity.

So there you have it. Lots of good food available to you. We live in an abundant society. There are so many great choices for us there are no reasons to eat processed edible non-food products. Eat close to the ground; enjoy your food with people you love. Learn to love to cook and experiment in the kitchen…I do!

Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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