I want to be truthful with you, so don’t hate on me okay?
First I’ll preface it by reminding you that you wouldn’t be here right now if you didn’t want to learn something. If I’ve inspired you in some way, then high five! Each one of us needs something to aspire to. Me included!
Here goes. I maintain a very fit 5’5 117 pound body. I eat in joyful abundance, frankly I probably overeat. I never feel deprived. I’ve been diagnosed with six types of arthritis, yet I take no medications and have excellent blood work. Now I know, you’re thinking oh, she must have some special metabolism, or she never indulges, and you would be wrong. Neither could be further from the truth. Every day is a food celebration for me. If it’s not delicious, you won’t see this mama digging into a plate of it.
So how have I done it? And more importantly, how can you do it too?
Let’s dig in.
I know you think shopping for food, bringing it in from the car, putting it away, preparing it and cleaning up afterwards takes time, but that mindset is just backwards.
I want you to start looking at food shopping like you look at shopping for clothes, or cosmetics, or shoes, purses, or any other thing that makes you feel good. The right food is going to make you look a whole lot better than a new dress feels.
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The MindsetI look forward to my weekly trips to the neighborhood Sprouts and Whole Foods and I always make it special. I plan a lunch date to my favorite lunch spot, by myself right before I shop. I take my time and read or study. It’s the Boudin restaurant near Whole Foods where I shop, and I have my favorite healthy salad, the Asian Chicken salad without the chicken, extra dressing and extra almonds. I have an iced tea. When I get to the stores, I have fresh green shopping bags from Whole Foods that I enjoy using. I have my shopping list, which I’ve been working on all week and salivating over dreaming about the delicious meals I’ll prepare. I look forward to arranging the food in my refrigerator in ways that look inviting. Even wearing a mask, I still take great pleasure in food shopping.
Every day as the kale, romaine lettuce, giant cucumbers and bright red berries in my refrigerator diminish I do a happy dance and congratulate myself on another week eating an enormous amount of whole, plant based, organic, mostly raw foods. Each day I drink my green juice and eat my raw veggies and salads I recant in my head numerous times, all the fresh plants I’ve consumed in that day.
When you have the body you dream of, you take great joy in caring for it. Start today imagining how it will feel to be trim and in good physical condition. Your actions follow your thoughts so when you feel bloated, overweight, out of shape or unattractive you tend to want to buffer or self soothe those feelings with comfort food.
My Eating Plan
An organic, plant based, whole foods, mostly raw diet is the most beautifying diet in the world. It’s also the best eating plan for anyone with any chronic illness, including arthritis.
There is much consternation around getting enough protein in your diet. I think the best illustration of where the most optimal protein comes from is by looking at the diets of some of the most muscular animals on the planet: the gorilla, the rhinoceros, the elephant, the horse and the cow.
When you eat an organic, whole food, mostly raw plant based diet, you automatically get the ideal amount of protein. With this way of eating you will gradually arrive at your optimal weight and stay there.
My Grocery List
Keep a tablet and pen handy in a size that you can comfortably write an entire week’s worth of groceries on and also fit in your purse. At the beginning of the week begin thinking about what salad ingredients and dinner items sound good. Get creative. Go on Pinterest for inspo.
I like to do this when I’m relaxed because you can’t be creative when you’re stressed.
Weekly
3 bundles lacinto kale
3 triple packs Romaine
4 large cucumbers
8 red apples
2-3 bundles cilantro
1 bundle celery (this
sometimes last more than a week)
1 small bag baby carrots
3 lg. lemons
4 lg. limes
Small tub cherry tomatoes
1-2 red bell peppers
4 avocados
Tub spinach
2 tubs Cocoyo coconut yogurt
(breakfast, eat with berries)
1 tub Coyo coconut yogurt (as
sour cream substitute for vegetarian tacos, soups and chili)
1 lg. tub strawberries or 1
large bag frozen blueberries
Choose one additional veggie
like broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, etc. to eat raw or roast. Rotate choices.
Choose one additional fruit
like golden mango (only if you can find organic), oranges, papaya, pineapple,
etc. Rotate choices.
Tub hummus for veggies
Bi-Weekly or Monthly
Real maple syrup (read the
label, it will say 100% pure maple syrup)
Raw unfiltered honey
Green tea
Malk almond milk
365 Organic vanilla granola
or almond maple granola
Organic white tortilla chips
Napa Valley Farm Organic
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Coconut oil
Grapeseed oil
Raw almonds
Chia seeds
Raw cashews or pecans
Dill pickles
Garden of Life sprouted corn
tortillas, or Tortilla Factory Organic Corn Tortillas (always read ingredients
on tortillas! Buy tortillas with minimal ingredients)
Brown rice flour tortillas
Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burgers
(any flavor)
One last diet hack that I
hope you’ll adopt. I learned this from celebrity nutritionist and bestselling
author Natalia Rose and it’s a game changer. Eating Light to Heavy.
In her book Detox 4 Women
Natalia explains a well-known eating cycle that many health experts recommend
for their clients. It’s called Eating Light to Heavy and that simply means you
eat your lightest meals in the morning and the heaviest one at night.
For instance, your morning
starts out with say a cup of lemon water or for me, it’s a cup of green tea
with raw honey. Then when you’re hungry, and only when you’re hungry you have a
light breakfast of say blueberries or strawberries and some coconut yogurt. I
love Cocoyo coconut yogurt with just a touch of real maple syrup and a big bowl
of berries. Don’t be shy about the amount of berries. Berries are not a snack,
they are a big part of your meal. They’re low in sugar and digest very quickly
which is what you want every day! Quick exit foods!
For lunch you have a big raw
salad of leafy greens and any other raw veggies that sound good. You can top it
off with raw goats milk cheese (Alta Dena is one brand). The fact that it’s raw
means it will digest really well. No bottled dressings. I love lemon juice and
extra virgin olive oil with plenty of pink salt. But scroll the blog. You’ll
find many salad recipes here and on my InstaGram feed.
For dinner, you go heavier.
As Natalia explains, the light food during the morning and afternoon keep you
from feeling tired. Then at dinner you have either a piece of wild fish and a
veggie or a high protein grain like quinoa or millet and a veggie. Never
combine meat and starch. That’s it!
If you really want to up your
game, before you eat any food for the day, make yourself a wonderful,
completely delicious homemade green juice. It’s up on my website right now!
That’s all for today. Bye for now.
