How Do I Eat Holistically?

I am constantly asked, "how do I eat healthy? How do I eat clean?" Trust me, it's easier than you think!

1) Increase your consumption of fruits, veggies and whole foods

Ok? So how do I increase my veggies and fruits? Add fresh fruit to your morning cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt. Add veggies to your omelets, frittatas and casseroles. Make sure you eat a real substantial breakfast rather than a pre-packaged power bar on the go. It's a lot easier to add vegetables and fruit to your diet when you aren't rushed to eat whatever is convenient.

Start making your lunches ahead of time. Make macro bowls, salads or even sandwiches! Just be sure to add veggies to your favorite sandwich: tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, onions, sprouts, micro greens and even shredded carrots or beets. And so that you don't have any excuse in not having access to really bomb lunches, I've just posted a recipe for a well-rounded tangy and satisfying macro bowl.

Snack on veggies, hummus and homemade dips throughout the day. And purposely always serve a vegetable and/or salad with your dinner.

2) Read your labels before buying packaged and prepared foods. If you don't recognize the ingredient, don't buy the item

It is super important to make as much of your food from scratch as possible. While things can be marketed as natural or organic or "healthy" often products will have hidden ingredients that you would never expect in the product, such as sugars, sugar substitutes, oils, gums and preservatives.

Be cautious of artificial sweeteners. Some examples include aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, xylitol and erythritol. They are chemicals that have been linked to cancer and obesity, Unfortunately they also make you crave more sugar rather than less.

Look for other ingredients such as dates, coconut sugar, maple syrup and honey. They are all natural forms of alternative sugars and both taste delicious and actually have some health benefits. If you are going to use a substitute sugar, use stevia. It is a better option for everyone, especially diabetics, as it does not affect your blood sugar levels.

3) Avoid highly processed oils, such as vegetable and canola oil. Make your own dressings and sauces with olive oil, coconut oil and butter

Avoid seed oils! I'm talking particularly about canola, corn, cottonseed, soy, sunflower, safflower, grape-seed, and rice bran (peanut oil is an exception so use it when deep frying foods). These are all high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which is linked to systemic inflammation. And inflammation and stress is linked to almost every bad disease out there! Instead, use oils that are naturally harvested from fruits. These include olive oil, coconut and avocado. More to come on how to purchase good olive oil!

Till then, read further into cooking oils from Dr. Cate Shanahan.

I hope you found this helpful. Please reach out with any questions you might have of your own! Let's grab some local produce and get cooking.

xoxo & bon appétit