Healthy Eating

Lost 115 lbs, resolved issues attributable to obesity, tangibly improved other conditions

Lost 115 lbs, resolved issues attributable to obesity, tangibly improved other conditions

And have defied statistics by keeping it up for nearly 15 years

What is healthy eating?

There are some basic ideas that can help guide us

• "Perhaps the single most valuable dietary intervention is the act of preparing your own food at home from basic ingredients." - Michael Pollan
• What we have come to regard as staple foods had changed -to our detriment.
• Processed food products tend to be designed with supernormally stimulating ratios of sugar, salt and fat.

You can be the best expert on your own diet

• You can best know what functional aspects of food to emphasize.
• You are the only one that can go through the trial and error necessary to see how you respond to particular foods and steer your diet.
• Only you know what you will put up with in the long-term. What will you eat consistently and enjoy enough to continue...

Functional aspects of food

• Caloric density
• Glycemic index/load
• Satiety physical/psychological
• Fiber, soluble and insoluble
• Nutrient density
• Unique or rare micronutrients/substances
• Live probiotics

Satiety

• How satisfied I am with a meal.
• What I eat now has a profound effect on how much and how soon I will be compelled to eat next.
• What affects satiety?
• Caloric density, carb glycemic index, fiber (especially soluble).
• Also macronutrients like protein, fat.

Examples of breakfasts that stack function

• Eggs: Omelets with left over stir-fry veggies/left-over curry or italian sauce.
• Lower caloric density of omelets by adding egg whites to a couple whole eggs.
• We have a small, dedicated cast-iron skillet just for eggs that we keep seasoned and requires less than a ¼ teaspoon of oil to cook eggs.

Breakfast -continued

• Porridges - tasty hot or cold cereals.
• Often start with a chopped apple for bulk. Berries are also good.
• Quinoa, oat groats, chia or barley are good choices.
• Cocoa powder, cinnamon, unsweetened coconut, are flavorful additions. We like to sweeten with stevia.
• Unsweetened almond milk has low calories.
• Small quantities of seed butters - Peanut, sunflower, almond. Or whole nuts.

Lunch/dinner choices

• Stews
• Stirfries/curries
• Soups
• Salads
• Many of the similar ingredients are used in all of these...

Lunch/dinner components

• Non-starchy vegetables, with an emphasis on crucifers (cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, turnip) onion, peppers, squash.
• Protein. Around 4 - 6oz per serving Poultry, fish, lean red meat.
• Low-glycemic carbohydrate - we like legumes (beans, lentils, dal).
• Spices/sauces - Chicken stock, tomato-based (Italian/curry), garlic-pepper-soy sauce.

Lunch/dinner -continued

• Sweet potatoes make excellent baked fries.
• Shirataki or lentil noodles make for an occasional pasta replacement. Spaghetti squash...
• Meat loaf out of lean turkey
• Salmon cakes out of canned fish and dal flour.
• Low calorie gravy out of bean flour and almond milk and a bit of olive oil, pepper.

Methods of prep

• Slow cooker- "CrockPot" or thermal cooker
• Pressure cooker
• Cast iron skillet -eggs or fish cakes...
• Thermos cookery
• Gas grill for summer variety

Slow Cooker/Thermal Cooker

• "set it and forget it" Low prep time. Long wait for food.
• Great for stews/beans/meat.
• Can make cheap cuts/ingredients into very tasty meal.
• Thermal cooker is fire-safe and energy efficient.

Pressure Cooker

• Fast. When pressed for time, makes well-cooked stews that include beans and/or meat.
• Smaller legumes (lentils, dal) require no soaking and generally are done within 12 minutes or less under pressure.

Cast iron skillet for eggs and low-oil frying

• Season skillet well by coating with wiped layer of oil and heating until smoking stops. Unsalted butter works well.
• Prior to use, heat, and cover with skim of oil. Pour off all extra.
• Imparts some dietary iron.

Thermos cookery

• Like a thermal cooker on a smaller scale.
• Great for grains like oat groats, barley
• Also soups, including those with small legumes.
• preheating thermos with hot water is critical.
• Wide mouth is best for semi solid foods.
• A canning funnel makes this an easy thing.

Gas grill cooking

• Perfect for reducing some fat in meats.
• Grilled veggies are a treat. Squash, asparagus, corn...
• Well-grilled sweet potatoes in foil are without peer.

Snack ideas

• Hot cocoa with stevia, almond milk.
• Apple with PB
• Frozen berries
• Berry or chocolate smoothie with ice, stevia, almond milk and thickening gum (and some seed/pb butter in case of chocolate)
• Microwave legume flour muffins.

Anticipating being away from a kitchen

• Carry a cooler in your vehicle. Have bottles of ice in freezer to drop in when you need them.
• Note sensible choices at restaurants. Salads with items removed. Chinese Restaurants will often steam veggies and chicken/tofu/shrimp. You can skip rice and get sauce on the side...

Food worth avoiding...

• Sugar containing foods -except that bound up in the fiber of fruit.
• Starchy foods that are quickly converted to sugar.
• Bread, crackers, rice, white potatoes, pasta (so-called "white foods").
• Processed food-like substances.
• High fat/high caloric density food. basically anything fried.
• Juice, most dried fruit. Too much sugar.

Benefits