“What you include in your diet is as important as what you exclude.”

—Dean Ornish, MD

When we hear the word diet, we tend to associate it with the prohibition of certain foods. However, health isn’t just about cutting out the “bad” stuff; it’s also about loading up on the “good” stuff—and by good, we mean delicious and nutritious!

The variety of nutrient-rich, health-promoting plant foods is endless, and the good news is, they’re all good for you! However, different food groups provide different benefits. Nutritional science continues to uncover the secrets of nature’s best medicine—food—and every day, it seems, we learn more about the specific compounds in particular fruits and vegetables that promote health. It’s a fascinating topic, and although we prefer to focus on whole foods instead of isolated nutrients, it never hurts to learn more about why those whole foods are so powerful at fighting disease and extending life span. To help you become a more skillful eater and maximize the benefits from your diet, we’ve come up with a list of food groups we call the Essential Eight. When you learn how to prepare these foods in ways that bring out their amazing flavors, you can fill your plate with goodness and leave less and less room for anything else.

How often should you try to eat these foods? As often as you can and ideally every day! While it sometimes might not be possible to eat every single one, every day, get in the habit of seeing how many you can check off daily, just to keep them in your awareness. We keep this list on the fridge door, or somewhere prominent in the kitchen, as an easy reference.

1. Whole Grains and Starchy Vegetables

One thing many people love about a whole foods, plant-based diet is that it includes the comforting starchy “carb” foods that so many other diets misguidedly tell us to avoid. Sweet and earthy yams, hearty winter squashes, tender juicy corn, and even the much-loved potato, as well as all the varieties of tasty, satisfying whole grains can find a regular place on the Whole Foodie plate. In this category we also include grainlike seeds—such as quinoa, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, and teff—which are nutritionally similar to grains.

Always keep in mind the important and often-missed distinction between whole carbohydrates, like whole grains and starchy vegetables, versus highly processed, refined carbohydrates. While the latter are to be avoided, the former play a key role in an optimum diet. In fact, not only should you be sure to eat whole grains and starchy vegetables, but they also should make up the bulk of your calorie intake.

Carbohydrates are the best energy source humans have available, and over the course of evolution, our bodies have adapted to be able to metabolize them efficiently.2 Whole grains provide fiber, protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and numerous phytochemicals, as well as carbohydrates, in the perfect package to give us the energy we need. They have been linked to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, certain cancers, and mortality from all causes.³ Eating whole grains also improves bowel health, helping to maintain regular bowel movements and promote growth of healthy gut bacteria.

Contrary to popular opinion, carbs in the form of whole grains can actually help you lose weight. Whole grains and starchy vegetables leave you feeling full and satisfied, and therefore combat snacking and overeating, preventing you from becoming or remaining overweight.

There are so many ways to add whole grains and starchy vegetables to your daily menu. Yams and potatoes can enrich soups and stews, or be baked in the oven and served with delicious toppings. You may be accustomed to loading a baked potato with butter and cheese, but you’ll be surprised at how delicious it tastes when it soaks up flavorful mushroom gravy or Smoky Bean and Root Veg Chili (see recipe, here). You can also make baked No-Oil Fries (see technique, here) and dip them in sugar-free ketchup or Simple No-Oil Hummus (see recipe, here). Likewise, a grilled or steamed cob of corn doesn’t need to be slathered in butter to taste good. Try complementing its natural sweetness with something spicy, like chili sauce, or Cashew Sour Cream (see recipe, here). Squashes can be stuffed with rice and vegetables and baked for a filling one-dish meal. Grains are versatile and can be creatively used any time of day, whether it’s steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast (see technique, here), fluffy quinoa-and-vegetable salad for lunch, or brown rice and vegetable curry for dinner. Whole grain pastas can also be a healthy choice, with delicious vegetable-based sauces.

As you find your stride as a Whole Foodie, you may want to experiment with some less familiar whole grains and starchy vegetables. Cooked buckwheat or amaranth can make a warming, nutty breakfast cereal. Ancient wheat varieties like farro, spelt, and kamut add pleasing chewy texture to salads and steamed vegetable dishes, and they are delicious cooked in soups and stews. Purple potatoes are not only beautiful but also healthful—try them with fresh herbs and a creamy plant-based dressing for a colorful twist on potato salad at your next garden party.

Cooked grains keep well in the fridge, so a practical strategy can be to batch cook—make a big pot of one of your favorites on a Sunday evening, then have it on hand all week to reheat as a bed for steamed veggies or stir-fries, to add to salads, or to warm up with fruit for a sweet morning treat. When you bake yams or potatoes, make extra—leftovers will be perfect for a breakfast hash the next morning. Frozen grains and grain medleys are quick and easy options.

2. Beans and Other Legumes

Wholesome, comforting, satisfying, and bursting with health benefits, beans and other legumes are a Whole Foodie’s dream. As you shift to a whole foods, plant-based diet, you are likely to eat many more of these nourishing foods and enjoy the many benefits, hopefully daily. If you’re concerned that it might get monotonous, don’t be—this group of foods comprises more than thirteen hundred varieties of beans, peas, and lentils.

The legume family includes all the varieties of dried or cooked beans you can find at grocery stores: black, pinto, navy, cannellini, kidney, garbanzo (also known as chickpeas), black-eyed peas, and so on. There are also many more varieties of delicious heirloom beans that you can usually find at Whole Foods Market and other natural foods stores. Legumes also include soybeans and the foods made from them (see box, here). Peas and lentils in all their many colors are also legumes. Some varieties, like fava beans, lima beans, English peas, and soybeans (edamame), are eaten fresh. Green beans and snow peas fall into this category, but in these cases, because you eat the whole pod, they are better treated as a vegetable, and we include them in the “Nonstarchy Vegetables” category on here. Others are harvested once they have dried in their pods, and often these “mature” legumes are the most nutrient rich and delicious. Peanuts are classified as a legume, but nutritionally they behave more like a nut, so we group them with nuts and seeds and recommend consuming them in limited quantities.

Legumes are generally low-fat, high-protein, starchy foods packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidant compounds, and dietary fiber. As you shift to a 90+% plant-based diet, you will find that these highly satiating foods are a great replacement for some of the meat you are accustomed to eating, offering many of the same beneficial nutrients without the cholesterol and saturated fat, and with the added fiber and other micronutrients found only in plant foods. Almost all varieties of legumes provide iron, zinc, B vitamins, magnesium, and potassium, among many other nutrients. Most legumes also contain significant amounts of fiber and resistant starch, which helps to regulate bowels, remove toxins, and keep blood sugar levels in check. Beans lower blood pressure⁴ and reduce cholesterol.⁵

All of these factors may help to account for the fact that a taste for legumes is a common denominator among all the world’s longest-lived cultures. Remember, every single one of the Blue Zones is characterized by the presence of beans on the plate—an average of one cup per day is associated with four extra years of life expectancy. Whether it’s the black-eyed peas that are a favorite in Ikaria, Greece; the soybeans eaten in Okinawa, Japan; the black beans that are a dietary staple in Nicoya, Costa Rica; the fava beans and chickpeas popular on the Italian island of Sardinia; or the variety of beans on the Loma Linda, California, Adventists’ plates, Buettner calls beans a “cornerstone of every longevity diet.”⁶ Scientists agree, having identified legume consumption as “the most important dietary predictor of survival in older people of different ethnicities.”⁷

When people make the switch from a meat-heavy diet to a plant-based one, a legume that tends to take center stage on the dinner table is soy. This versatile, protein-rich food has become a favorite among vegetarians and vegans, but it has also been the subject of scares and health concerns.

The most widely held fear is that the isolates and phytoestrogens in soy may contribute to the growth of breast cancer. However, science has shown exactly the opposite: the phytoestrogens in soy appear to improve breast cancer survival rates and reduce one’s risk of developing it.8 It is important to note that these are studies where soy foods (as opposed to powders or supplements) are eaten as part of the diet. Furthermore, soy consumption may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.⁹ Reviewing the science available, Dr. Neal Barnard concludes: “Evidence to date is reassuring… If you choose to include soy products in your routine, you’ll have science on your side.”¹⁰

Another common fear around soy is spurred by the fact that much of the soy grown in America today is genetically modified. While there is little conclusive evidence of harmful effects from eating GMO soybeans, the best way to minimize any possible risks is to choose organic soy products (or those marked “Non-GMO Project Verified”), which are readily available.

Our advice is to stick to traditional whole or minimally processed forms of soy. The most whole form of soy is the bean itself, which is known as edamame when eaten fresh. You may have had them as an appetizer at a Japanese restaurant. You can steam them at home or buy them ready shelled. They are satisfying as snacks or added to salads, stir-fries, and more. Tempeh is another whole soy food, made with fermented whole soy beans, as is miso. Try marinating tempeh and baking it in thin slices for a sandwich filling. Miso comes in several varieties, with white versions milder and red more intense. You can make miso soup (add miso at the end of cooking to avoid killing all the probiotics) or mix it with a little hot water to form a paste, which can be used in sauces and dressings.

Soy milk, tofu, and tamari are minimally processed foods, lacking much of the original fiber and nutrients in whole beans. However, they are still healthy choices that can have a place in a whole foods, plant-based diet. Choose unsweetened varieties of soy milk, and use low-sodium, MSG-free tamari or shoyu varieties of soy sauce sparingly.

If you eat soy products, treat them as a flavorful condiment—adding baked tempeh “croutons” to salad, tofu to vegetable stir-fry, or miso sauce to roasted veggies—a similar approach to that of traditional Asian diets.

Highly processed soy products, including fake meats, soy cheeses, and soy isolate protein powders, are best avoided. If you are transitioning from a meat-heavy diet to a plant-based one, they might be useful as a temporary replacement for familiar foods, but once you become comfortable building meals around whole grains, starchy vegetables, and legumes, you’ll soon find you can dispense with these synthetic foods in favor of whole plant alternatives.

The possibilities for eating legumes are endless, and you can draw inspiration from around the globe. On a winter evening, you might enjoy Hearty Split Pea and Vegetable Soup (see recipe, here), or an Indian-style dal fragrant with spices, served with steaming brown basmati rice. On a hot summer day, add cold cooked beans or sprouted lentils to a salad or warm up cooked lentils with a splash of balsamic vinegar to make an earthy, protein-rich dressing. Fresh green fava beans or English peas make delicious spreads—try mashing them with fresh mint and serving on whole grain toast as an appetizer at your next dinner party. Black or pinto beans cooked (see technique, here) with traditional Mexican spices (see Mexican Spice Blend recipe, here) are a wonderful filling for tacos and burritos or a warming accompaniment to rice and vegetables. You may even enjoy the leftovers for breakfast the next day. Hummus or white bean spread is a quick and satisfying snack when paired with crunchy vegetables (see Simple No-Oil Hummus, here). Cooked garbanzo beans can be sprayed with liquid amino acids or soy sauce and baked for a crunchy treat.

While you may start out with the most familiar varieties, we encourage you to explore the wide range of legumes available. Don’t just stick with black beans or brown lentils; try some beautiful red lentils, yellow split peas, or red kidney beans. If you’re not used to eating beans or lentils, build up slowly until your body gets used to digesting them. Soaking dried beans in fresh water overnight, then tossing the water and rinsing the beans before cooking, also helps to reduce bloating and gassiness. (See here for how to cook beans and lentils.) Buying beans ready cooked, although more expensive than dried beans, is a convenient option, but it’s advisable to choose varieties with low sodium or no added salt, then add salt to taste when cooking if needed. Look for BPA-free cans or cartons whenever possible. However you choose to prepare them, eating legumes daily seems to be a prescription for a long and healthy life.

3. Berries

Plump blackberries. Zesty raspberries. Succulent strawberries. Juicy blueberries. Berries are some of nature’s sweetest and most delicious offerings—and they’re exceptionally good for you as well. We use the term berry in its colloquial rather than its scientific form, including all of those listed above, as well as cherries, grapes, cranberries, currants, and so on. We recommend that you eat berries regularly—perhaps every day if you enjoy them. If you have a sweet tooth, they can be a replacement for processed, sugary sweets.

A growing body of scientific evidence supports the health benefits of berries. Berries have been shown to potentially protect against cancer, and they contain high levels of ellagic acid, a compound that has been shown to inhibit the formation of tumors.11 They also appear to protect against cognitive decline.¹² Studies have found that consuming berries daily raises “good” HDL cholesterol and lowers blood pressure, both factors associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.¹³ These benefits may be due to the high antioxidant content of these small but powerful fruits (see box, here), as berries contain more antioxidants per serving than any other food except spices.¹⁴

Some people worry that berries (and fruits in general) are a sugary food that should be avoided, causing diabetes and weight gain. As we discussed on here, these fears are misguided. Yes, berries and other fruits contain high levels of fructose, but when it comes in the form of a whole fruit, with plentiful fiber and water, fructose has a different effect on the body than it does in its isolated highly processed forms, such as high-fructose corn syrup. And if you’re worried about diabetes, consider this: greater consumption of whole fruits is associated with a lower likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.¹⁵

So go ahead and add some fresh berries to your breakfast bowl, together with a cereal like oatmeal. Or make Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes (see recipe, here). If you drink smoothies, a small handful of berries adds a boost of sweetness, a good companion for lots of greens. Berries also make a wonderful enhancement to a salad. Throw them in whole or blend a handful of raspberries with some white balsamic vinegar for a delicious, oil-free raspberry vinaigrette. If you crave a little after-dinner sweet, reach for a bowl of fresh strawberries or frozen cherries or grapes rather than a cookie. You can blend frozen berries with cashews and banana to make a dairy-free alternative to ice cream (see Raspberry Nice Cream, here).

Choose organic berries when possible because conventional varieties often receive an unhealthy dose of pesticides. Frozen berries are a good choice, retaining all the health benefits of the fresh fruit. Be careful with dried berries, such as raisins, dried currants, goji berries, or dried cranberries—although still a healthy choice, the loss of water concentrates them, making them more calorie-dense. Eat them in limited quantities, especially if weight loss is a goal.

4. Other Fruits

Besides berries, the fruit family offers a wealth of other options for you to choose from. Crunchy apples, creamy bananas, juicy peaches, exotic mangoes and papayas, zesty citrus, thirst-quenching melons—the list goes on and on. The only exceptions to our wholehearted encouragement to eat fruit are avocados and olives—both technically fruits but also high in fat, so best consumed in limited quantities when trying to lose weight. Fruits are high in fiber and contain hundreds of beneficial nutrients that support your body’s functioning. They are truly one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

Humans are drawn to sweet foods for a reason—for millennia fresh fruit was the only source of natural sweetness (besides wild honey), and it came with many health benefits. Unfortunately, today that natural affinity for sweets can draw us down the wrong aisles in the supermarket. So next time you feel a craving for something sweet, remember what your ancestors would have done—choose a delicious fresh fruit. Eating fruit is a more healthful way to satisfy a sweet tooth without the weight gain that results from eating processed, refined sugars.

Enjoy fruit as often as you like—there are so many options to choose from. You can have fruit salad for breakfast, snack on an apple, add a peach to a green smoothie, make a mango salsa for tacos, toss orange slices in a salad, bake apples or apricots for a delicious dessert, grill nectarines, and even blend a frozen banana with soy milk for a whole foods, plant-based alternative to ice cream. Frozen banana slices with nut butter are a delicious dessert too.

Choose organic where possible, especially for those fruits where you eat the skin. Remember, whole fruit is always a better choice than fruit juice, which has lost its essential fiber and many other nutrients along with it, and will deliver a highly concentrated dose of sugar to your bloodstream.

5. Cruciferous Vegetables

The cruciferous family of vegetables, also known as brassica vegetables, includes broccoli, radishes, cabbage, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, artichokes, arugula, and kale. Not only are these diverse foods all related, they also share extraordinary health benefits, particularly for preventing cancer. Dr. Joel Fuhrman points out that cruciferous vegetables are the most micronutrient dense of all vegetables,16 and calls them “the most powerful anticancer foods in existence.” This latter distinction may be due to a potent cancer fighter that is unique and particularly important to this group of foods, a family of substances known as glucosinolates. Glucosinolates are responsible for the pungent aroma and bitter flavor of many cruciferous vegetables. When these glucosinolates are broken down (either during food preparation or through chewing and digestion), they form compounds called isothiocyanates and indoles that have been shown in numerous studies to inhibit the development of cancer.¹⁷

Despite their outsize health benefits, cruciferous vegetables often play only a minor role in American diets. Many associate broccoli and cabbage with their least favorite childhood meals, and while kale has gotten press the last few years as a “superfood,” many people don’t know how to prepare it in ways that are tasty or without lots of oil.

It turns out moms all over America are right when they tell kids, “Eat your broccoli”! The good news is there are many creative ways to eat broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables that your mom may not have known about. Raw or lightly steamed broccoli or cauliflower florets provide satisfying crunch to salads and on their own when dipped in hummus. Kale can be blended raw into smoothies, “massaged” into a salad (see Kale Waldorf Salad, here), or lightly steamed with garlic and lemon juice. Zesty radishes, thinly sliced, add bite to salads, while the peppery flavor of arugula makes a nice change from lettuce. Toss a few handfuls into warm pasta with veggies. Bok choy is a lovely addition to stir-fries, with its combination of crunchy stalks and tender leaves. Add it right at the end of cooking, as it needs only a couple of minutes.

6. Leafy Greens

Remember Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s formula for health? Eat as many micronutrients as possible while not consuming excess calories. By this measure of “nutrient density,” the undisputed winners are leafy greens. Some of the top-scoring greens also fall into the cruciferous category—kale, collards, arugula, and bok choy. Other particularly potent greens include watercress, Swiss chard, spinach, romaine, and other salad greens.

Researchers at Harvard University found greens to be the food most highly associated with protection from major chronic disease and cardiovascular disease.¹⁸ They have also been associated with reduced risk of diabetes.¹⁹ Greens are packed with fiber, protein, and antioxidants, as well as a long list of vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting phytochemicals.

You can eat greens raw as a salad, add handfuls to a smoothie, steam them lightly and serve them with lemon juice, toss them into soup or stew at the end of cooking to lightly wilt, blend them into flavorful pesto-style sauces (see recipe, here), add steamed greens to mashed potatoes, or water-sauté them with garlic. Spinach is a nutrient-rich addition to homemade hummus or other bean spreads. Greens are so extraordinarily healthful that we add them whenever possible to the dishes we cook. Try to eat greens every day.

7. Nonstarchy Vegetables

Only about one in ten Americans eats enough fruits and vegetables, according to a recent government report.20 One estimate, from the Union of Concerned Scientists, says that if Americans ate just one more serving of fruits and vegetables daily it would save more than thirty thousand lives annually, and billions of dollars in medical costs.²¹ No matter how many points nutritionists and dietary experts seem to argue about, this is the one that they universally agree upon: eat more vegetables! We’ve already discussed several distinct categories of vegetables, so this category simply encompasses the wonderful variety not accounted for in previous mention: zucchini, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, green beans, onions, eggplants, celery, asparagus, and many, many more. Each of these vegetables has its own store of health benefits, too many to list here, but here are a few tips for ensuring you get as many of them as possible:

Eat the rainbow. Colorful vegetables tend to contain the most antioxidants, and where antioxidants go, health tends to follow. Brighten your plate and eat as many different colors as possible.

Don’t neglect the less colorful ones. For example, mushrooms, garlic, and onions are packed with beneficial nutrients, and all are potent immune-supporting and anticancer foods. Dr. Fuhrman advises cooking mushrooms to avoid potential toxins in raw form.22

Add a vegetable! Whenever you cook one of the other categories of food, ask yourself if you could add some more veggies. Lentil soup? Add carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, or a few handfuls of greens. Tomato sauce? Add mushrooms or bell peppers. Brown rice? Make it a rice pilaf with a variety of chopped steamed veggies and fresh herbs.

You can prepare side dishes with individual vegetables, but some recipes allow you to combine multiple vegetables. Try an oil-free vegetable stir-fry with colorful peppers, crunchy bok choy, and earthy shiitake mushrooms. Or make a vibrant pasta salad with steamed broccoli, peppers, green beans, and asparagus. Salads can quickly turn into delicious and nutritious whole meals with the addition of raw or steamed veggies and a handful of whole grains and beans. Soups combine a variety of vegetables, along with beans as well. A mixed platter of raw sliced vegetables with hummus or a dip is a great party food that can help you resist reaching for the corn chips. The bottom line when it comes to vegetables: however you enjoy them, eat them. Then eat some more!

8. Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds round out our list of essential whole foods to enjoy daily. We feel these are an important category of foods for many reasons. The simplest, of course, is that nuts and seeds are packed with health-promoting nutrients and are consistently associated with good health outcomes. They are a rich source of many nutrients—understandable, given that they contain the energy to create an entire plant or tree.

Indeed, the consumption of nuts and seeds has been associated with reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as an increased life span.23 In the Blue Zones, centenarians regularly consume about a handful (around two ounces) of varying types of nuts per day. The Adventist Health Studies also point to impressive benefits, with nut-eaters living longer by a couple of years than those who don’t eat nuts.²⁴ While some people raise concerns about the relatively high calorie density of nuts, they are also extremely filling and generally not associated with an increase in weight or BMI.²⁵ Having said that, if you are trying to lose weight, limit nut and seed intake to less than a handful a day.

This category of food also contains some of the most concentrated plant sources of essential omega-3 fatty acids. The body cannot make these important nutrients, so we have to get them from food or supplements (see here). Although many whole plant foods contain small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, some nuts and seeds, such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts, contain particularly high amounts.

Nuts and seeds can easily be mixed into your favorite foods. Sprinkle a few chopped almonds on morning oatmeal or add them to salads. Nuts can be blended with fresh herbs to make a salad dressing or creamy pesto (see Oil-Free Herb Pesto, here). Cashews, soaked overnight, can be blended into creamy sauces (see Cashew Sour Cream, here), dressings, or desserts. Ground flaxseeds or hemp seed are easily added to smoothies, sprinkled over breakfast cereal or oatmeal, or baked in muffins. Flaxseeds and chia seeds have a “binding” quality, and are ideal for thickening sauces or replacing eggs in baking. Similarly, chia seeds bind together and take on liquid. Soak them in a little soy or almond milk to make a creamy pudding, which you can sweeten by adding mashed bananas, berries, or other fruits.

CHAPTER 10

The Essential Eight

Health-Promoting Foods to Eat Every Day