Like really, what does Brooke eat?
I'm always talking about #plantpower and getting #backtoroots, but what exactly does that mean? What do I really eat? What's my policy? I thought it was about time for me to write a little bloggy to address this.
Let's first start with a week in the life...
At the beginning of the week I make a list of about 3-4 meals for the week and get the ingredients. This isn't on a consistent day and I don't even have a full meal planner I use. I have a folder with a mess of recipes inside it. Can I hire someone for five dollar bills to put it into a digital format? tehe.
For example, last week was this:
Chana Masala
Black bean corn cakes with salsa
Caldo Verde
I also bought a butternut squash for butternut squash soup if we needed an extra dish - it keeps for a while and could fill in for a meal if we were short a night
I plan four meals because we usually have leftovers for a day or so and because I don't want to buy too much and it go to waste.
top left: Chana Masala; top right: black bean corn cakes ; bottom left: caldo verde soup ; bottom right: butternut squash soup - not my photos
I generally choose from these for breakfast: oatmeal, organic eggs (CJ Meats), chia seed pudding, green shake. For lunch I usually have a leftover from dinner or make a sunflower butter wrap (sprouted ezekial wrap, sunflower butter, and a little honey) and supplement that with a banana/ apple, hopefully some sort of veggie (peppers, carrots, etc) and then may take some almonds or walnuts.
I literally spent $12 in apples (on 4!) . I know! It's so expensive, but that was a treat. I didn't need to get huge organic ones. I could have gotten an organic bag of gala or fuji for $6. I always keep bananas on hand because, while they're not better than me grabbing carrots or a veggie, they're better than about anything else I can find if I'm out and about or need a quick snack.
I aim to eat about 85% plants. I have a meat or egg protein about 4-5 times a week. I might get a doughnut or ice cream every once in a while, but don't make it a regular habit. I definitely don't want to be laying on my death bed and regret that I didn't eat those amazing coconut pineapple pancakes in Kaua'i with Dalton on vacation in '15. (insert sarcasm, but for real, I don't want to miss out on a treat that is a rarity or miss out on something cultural when traveling because of my restrictions). I put a lot of effort into packing things and food prep, so if I can eat non-processed, plant-centered 90% of the time, then that's fine by me.
“I definitely don’t want to be laying on my death bed and regret that I didn’t eat those amazing coconut pineapple pancakes in Kaua’i with Dalton on vacation in ‘15.”
I don't want this to be the type of thing that causes anxiety or major fretting. I don't think you can escape the C diagnosis by making sure your diet is extremely rigid and clean. However, I do think we can greatly reduce our risk of preventable diseases and ailments (allergies, migraines, etc.) by eating this way. So, let's try our best but not obsess.
“I don’t think you can escape the C diagnosis by making sure your diet is extremely rigid and clean. ”
sometimes kale salad sounds better in the mornings.
What I focus on:
- Fresh
- Local, when in season
- Organic, if at all possible (if not, do the dirty dozen. Studies show that while you get the most benefit from organic foods, non-organic produce is still better than no produce... you should be stuffing your face with as many fruits and veggies whenever you get the chance - cited from Dr. Greger -- a third party research doctor)
- Not processed
- Veggies first, fruit second
What I avoid/ lessen:
- Processed meat (this stuff is nastay) / I usually try to avoid chicken, beef, and pork in restaurants because it likely has had hormones or antibiotics in it
- Sugar (in all forms... it was just not meant to be a main staple in our diets)
- GMO's (considering they have not been proven safe, most countries have them banned, and we've seen a rise in health issues since they appeared, I steer clear. The LEAST we could do is treat them with extreme caution and label them)
- Fried foods
Keep in mind... You really don't need to get the superfood stuff that so many of us "foodies" indulge in. That's just for fun and I like to try those things. If you stick to plant-powered basics, you can really make this whole deal happen pretty cheaply. See the video Rich Roll made to dispel this very thing. He got a load of groceries at the end for under $25.
Well, that's it. I know you wanted to hear something magical, but it's pretty simple. I try to avoid the nasties, take in the nutritious, and just avoid obsessing about the whole process. I didn't learn all of this in 2 months. Every few months I seemed to add a few new dishes to the rotation or learn about something new I should avoid in an ingredient list. Your eating will evolve and so will your knowledge. Let it ebb and flow and don't beat yourself up for not understanding everything. Treat it like this: have you improved today from yesterday? If so, that's progress. A little change here and a little change there will get you 200 steps further this year than where you stood a year ago. Keep going.
#plantpower
#canhashtagsevenbeinblogs
#thanksforreading
#loveya