I believe whether you are a full blown meat eating paleo fanatic, or a clean eating vegan, it all comes down to getting enough of the right nutrients.
To put it simply, we have our macros and our micros. I see a vast amount of public media focuses on macro nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. These are vastly important, but a problem arises, because these 3 categories mean very little without the vitamins and minerals that make them up.
Foodie Geek Out!
A while back I had a complete geek out moment and started documenting which foods gave us the best sources of each important vitamin and mineral (you will soon become accustomed to the fact that I have many weird geek out moments).
It became apparent that nutrition, and the management of your nutrition/optimising your what you eat, is easier than it may seem. Where we fall down is not that we can’t measure food, nor in over or under eating (these are actually tiny little tweaks in diet), but more in the education and creativity we allow ourselves when it comes to food.
Nutrition: Education and Creativity
Let’s begin with one meal:
Shopping List: Education
I am venturing around the store. Firstly we need our protein. I also want a good source of vitamin A, sodium, B12, Vitamin K, Potassium and Magnesium, so I’m going for salmon. Following this through, I need a nutrient rich veggie selection so I am going to opt for broccoli and spinach. These two vegetables hold a monopoly on most of the essential nutrients.
I’ve trained today and need to recover overnight so I feel like a portion of starchy carbs should be added. I also feel the need for a massive polyphenol boost, so sweet potato is on the menu.
Grass fed butter is my last buy, why grass fed? Well, grass fed butter is a massively nutrient rich food, it makes all the nutrients in grass (the most nutrient dense food on earth) bioavailable (available for digestion).
Cooking: Creativity
Into the kitchen, a quick revision on what I have bought is in order. I haven’t just found these things randomly!
Definitely pan frying the salmon (I love crispy skin). The skin is loaded with fat, we need to at least cook in this as the fat is important for absorption during digestion.
Herbs and Spices
this is a key area many people miss, both for nutrients and flavour, thyme is always a good bet!
My sweet potato, I’m thinking wedges in butter, a pinch of sea salt, and after it’s cooked, a sprinkling of cider vinegar (important for gut health).
Finally I will steam my veggies, adding pepper spices and a touch more butter ready to go.
The key to this system: buy the best foods, the most nutrient dense, and then be as creative as you can, find new recipes and don’t get stuck to boring recipes day after day.
‘Nutrition should remain enjoyable and healthy at the same time, if you miss the enjoyment then you won’t see your plan through for long.’
This is a very simple version, but your meal could just as easily be thai prawn curry, or a stir fry on cauliflower rice, sunday roast, lamb tagine etc.
Are you ready to build your Indestructible Empire?