Meat ideally grass fed and grass finished, hormone and antibiotic free. Liver and heart are highly nutritious. Try to include some in your diet.
Poultry and eggs free range, any wild game meat or poultry.
OMEGA-3 rich fish-seafood (at least 16 ounces per week)
- Anchovies, clams, herring, mackerel, mussels, oysters, salmon, sardines, trout, calamari (squid), saltwater fish should be wild, shellfish farmed OK, farmed trout OK. The fish with the greatest amount of protective omega 3 fats include Sardines, Mackerel, Anchovies, Salmon, Herring. Ideal omega 3 fat intake per day should be 1.8 grams. In most adults this will achieve a red blood cell omega-3 index of 8%, a level which is cardio protective and good for brain health. There are many charts available that provide omega-3 fat levels for various seafoods.
Aim for 1-1.6 grams of animal protein per kilogram of ideal body weight. Senior citizens and athletes need more protein to maintain bone and muscle health. Animal protein has greater bioavailability than plant protein. Grains and legumes contain anti-nutrients that impair nutrient digestion and absorption.
6 SERVINGS OF NON-STARCHY VEGETABLES PER DAY, 2 SERVINGS FROM EACH OF THREE CATEGORIES. Organic as much as possible. (Learn about the dirty dozen at EWG.org)
- DARK GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES, 2 SERVINGS PER DAY EQUALS 2 CUPS MEASURED COOKED OR 4 CUPS MEASURED RAW
- Arugula, Beet Greens, Bok Choy, Chard all colors, Chicory, Cilantro
- Dandelion Greens, Endive, Escarole, Kale-all kinds, Parsley, Radicchio
- Radish leaves, Spinach, Turnip Greens, Watercress
- Colored vegetables, 2 cups daily:
- GREEN: Artichoke, Asparagus, Avocado (FRUIT), Cabbage (red and green) Celery, Cucumber with skin, Okra, Olives, Peppers, Zucchini with skin
- RED: Beets, red cabbage, red peppers, cooked tomatoes (fruit)
- YELLOW: Carrots, Pumpkin, Squash-summer and winter, Sweet potato,
- SULFUR RICH VEGETABLES, 2 CUPS DAILY: Some leafy greens are also sulfur rich so there is overlap in these categories
- Arugula, Asparagus, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collard Greens, Garlic, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Mushrooms, Onions red-yellow-white, Radishes, Scallions, Shallots, Turnip Greens, Watercress.
Berries (any kind) ½ cup per day. (May substitute for one serving of vegetables) Dark berries like blueberries and black berries contain more healthy polyphenols compared to lighter colored berries like strawberries.
Citrus such as lemon, lime, kiwi all excellent sources of Vitamin C with minimal sugar. If you are trying to loose weight limit fruit to berries and these citrus.
- Drink only filtered water, coffee, tea, bone broth (homemade is best) and kombucha.
No grains, cereal, bread, pasta, no food made from flour, no oats, wheat, barley, corn etc.
No legumes (beans), no peanuts
Dairy optional: Ghee for cooking and full fat yogurt or kefir, if you tolerate dairy
No processed food made with added sugar or hydrogenated oils (which contain trans-fats)
No “vegetable oils” (soy oil, corn oil, cotton seed, peanut, safflower, etc.)
Use only extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), coconut oil, avocado oil and ghee. Cook with avocado oil, coconut oil or ghee which have higher smoke points compared to EVOO. If you use EVOO for cooking, cook at low heat. Add EVOO to food after cooking for flavor and anti-inflammatory micro-nutrients. Use EVOO or avocado oil for salad dressing.
Do not use store-bought salad dressing which usually contains added sugar, inflammatory processed oils and artificial ingredients. Make your own salad dressing with EVOO and vinegar or lemon juice.
Recipe for vegetable soup: This recipe makes a large amount of soup, few people will be able to consume this large amount within a week. If you are cooking for only one person, cut the recipe in half.
Use Organic vegetables, Organic free range chicken broth, grass fed beef broth or organic vegetable broth. This produces a very large amount. Consider cutting the recipe in half first time around and evaluate how long it lasts.
- 3-4 cartons of organic chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
- fresh garlic, as much as you want, crush/press/chop/or use food processor to release important enzymes before cooking (let prepared garlic sit for 10 minutes before cooking, this allows the enzymes released to produce important micro nutrients, cooking destroys the enzymes) I use a volume of fresh garlic equal to the fresh ginger
- one large piece (4-5 inches long) of fresh ginger root, chop or slice then put into food processor
- one large red onion, cut into small pieces
- one bunch of green onions, slice
- 1/2 bunch of Italian parsley, cut and use stems if you like, save greens for end of cooking
- alternative to parsley: 1/2 bunch cilantro, cut and use stems if you like, save greens for end of cooking (some folks might prefer to use parley or cilantro but not both, experiment and see what flavors you like)
- one large yam or sweet potato, slice into half inch chunks
- 3-4 fresh beets with greens, slice beets, use the greens, cut stems into pieces
- one head kale, chop stems into 1-2 inch pieces, cut greens into eat-size pieces
- alternative to kale: one head chard, chop stems into 1-2 inch pieces, cut greens into eat-size pieces
- 1/2 head red cabbage, sliced
- 3 carrots, cut each carrot into thirds or fourths
- 3 stalks of celery chop into 2 inch pieces
- 1 whole leek, cut the greens into 2 inch pieces (scissors) and slice the white part into 1/2 inch slices
- 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms, any kind you like
- 1-2 of baby bokchoy, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 2-3 tablespoons turmeric
- 4 bay leaves
Place all ingredients except for the greens into large pot (including bay leaves and stems of vegetables if you do not want to waste anything) and bring to slow boil, immediately reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Then add greens and simmer until greens are at the consistency you prefer. I prefer to add greens and remove the pot from the heat source, leaving the cover on.
Cool and store in refrigerator in glass containers (avoid the hormone disrupters in plastic which leach out). This will usually keep for up to 7 days in the refrigerator. Reheat and serve.
Try this recipe without some of the ingredients, all are optional, various combinations of these vegetables may suit your palate. View this recipe as a complete list of foods to chose from. Unless you are cooking for many people you will need to cut the recipe by half or more for each ingredient. Kale, cabbage and bokchoy are all cruciferous vegetables, try to include at least one to provide for sulforaphanes.
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OPTIONAL: Add 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to each bowl after reheating, just before serving. (EVOO supplemented Mediterranean Diet included 50 grams per day of EVOO providing increased Cardiovascular protection)
To improve your methionine/glycine balance add a few tablespoons of high quality grassfed beef gelatin or collagen protein to each bowl of heated vegetable soup, or substitute homemade bone broth for 25-50% of the broth when cooking the soup.
To maximize nutritional benefit steam all greens and Cruciferous vegetables then add to soup after the soup is finished cooking.
HOMEMADE BONE BROTH:
One red onion sliced, one yellow onion sliced
1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar
5 gloves fresh crushed or chopped garlic , crush or chop then let sit for 10 minutes before cooking in slow cooker
1 bunch green onions cut up
1 tablespoon turmeric
freshly ground ginger root, about 4 inch stick, peel (optional) then slice then grind, can use a coffee grinder or small food processor.
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
3-4 bay leaves
1 bunch of Italian parsley, cut up or whole, does not matter
Several beef bones from grass fed beef (prather ranch beef bones available at Kent’s Meats), marrow bones preferred, or mix any bones you have (chicken, fish, lamb, etc)
Place ingredients into slow cooker.
Cover in filtered water or 50/50 mix of organic chicken or beef broth and filtered water
Add vinegar.
(optional but recommended: Let stand for 30 minutes to allow vinegar to begin to pull minerals from the bones and veggies.)
Slow cook on low for 24 hours
Strain
Save vegetables and serve later as part of any meal.
Let broth cool down, then store in refrigerator in a glass container (do not use plastic which leaches out harmful endocrine disruptors) Next day skim the fat off the top and discard. The fat layer should be easy to remove with a spatula after chilling down. The broth should be a gelatinous consistency at refrigerator temperature. It will become liquid with reheating. If you cannot drink this all within 5 -6 days freeze some.