part0035

Well, this is it – you don’t have any processed food in your house, you’re stocked up on fresh veggies, fruits and other healthy stuff, and you’re ready to change your life! Congratulations for your willingness to get healthier and achieve a better-looking you!

Breakfast Veggies : When I’m referring to breakfast veggies, I mean some red or yellow pepper strips, cucumber and pickles. If you want, you can eat celery, green onions (spring onions) and sauerkraut; I eat them with eggs or farmers’ or cottage cheese. Hey, you can even eat broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and spinach for breakfast. If you want, you can roast or grill some veggies (eggplant, zucchini and peppers) and have them with savory breakfasts.

Cinnamon : Cinnamon lowers blood sugar, helps maintain insulin sensitivity, and is a very powerful antioxidant. Add it every time you eat oatmeal.

Cocoa: Cocoa consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels. Some people eat dark chocolate; I add it to oatmeal or drink it. Buy unsweetened cocoa, ideally the unprocessed kind (because processing it at a high temperature destroy healthy ingredients in it).

Nuts and Seeds : Flax should be always ground. Buy flax meal or grind flax with a coffee grinder. Almond is the healthiest nut, but you can eat walnuts, Brazil nuts, or pecans instead. It’s okay to eat a different type of nut each day, but remember that almonds are the healthiest ones.

Grilling and Frying : Fry a little bit of coconut oil in the skillet, and cook your meat and/or fish for 7-10 minutes. Don’t overdo it. Don’t grill for too long. If you don’t like the meat suggested in the recipe, replace it with something similar. Use beef instead of pork or chicken instead of fish. Think about organ meats, such as liver or kidneys, as they contain more vitamins. If you don’t want red meat, use chicken. If you crave fried food, dip the meat in a beaten-eggs mixture, and cover it with flax meal instead of breadcrumbs and then bake it in the oven. Delicious!

Coconut oil : Use coconut oil. Period. Avoid blended vegetable oils, corn oil and soybean oil. I cook with coconut oil and eat one spoon of coconut oil once a day because of my low thyroid; to me, it tastes like heaven. Coconut oil also fights cancer and contains MCTs – medium chain triglycerides – which fight plaque in the brain (which cause Alzheimer’s disease). Coconut oil also boosts metabolism and it’s great for the skin. Some people experience stomach discomfort when taking a spoon of coconut oil on empty stomach, and some even vomit. If you experience this, eat coconut oil after your meal or mix it in your meal.

Extra-virgin olive oil : Olive oil is the healthiest oil you can buy, as it contains the highest amount of monounsaturated content. Extra-virgin is the oil that results from the first cold pressing of the olives. Being the purest olive oil, it's also the most expensive. But because it has a low smoke point, it should not be used for cooking.

Yogurt and low-fat cheese : Low fat or non-fat Greek (or plain) yogurt is the only one recommended. If you can’t find Greek yogurt, use any plain yogurt. In my opinion, 0.5% or 1% fat yogurt tastes the best. If you want fruit yogurt, add some fresh berries (or frozen) or fruits in the plain or Greek yogurt, and if it’s not sweet enough, you can add some Stevia or raw honey. By doing that, you’ll know what exactly went into that snack and you’ll avoid industrial chemicals found in fruit yogurts. Choose low-fat farmers’ cheese over cottage cheese. When choosing Cheddar, Colby or Mozzarella, choose low-fat .

Breads : It’s best to avoid breads altogether, but if you crave something bread-like, try egg-based flatbread recipes such as egg pancakes, egg muffins or egg pizza crust or almond/tapioca flour naan.

Salad Dressings : Store -bought salad dressings contain high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil or canola oil. Forget them. Forever . The Superfoods dressing is similar to “Italian Dressing” – olive oil/lemon/minced garlic/salt + some herbs. We’ll call the second dressing a “yogurt dressing” – half a cup of plain low-fat yogurt or low-fat buttermilk with olive oil/minced garlic/salt. The amount of olive oil I use is usually 1 teaspoon per person and the rest is added to taste. Occasionally I’ll add a teaspoon of mustard or some herbs like basil, oregano, marjoram, chives, thyme, parsley, dill or mint to it. If you like spicy, hot food, add some cayenne to the dressing. It will speed up your metabolism.

Stir-fry : Stir-fry meats and veggies in coconut oil. Add some garlic, ginger, and half of an onion cut in wedges. Season only with fish sauce. If you have to, thicken the sauce with tapioca flour or arrowroot flour.

Condiments : Forget about mayo or tartar sauce (it’s a processed food containing refined soybean oil), ketchup (contains high fructose corn syrup) or barbeque sauce (it contains more high fructose corn syrup than ketchup). Healthy condiments are hummus, salsa, hot sauce, guacamole, mustard and pesto. Use them sparingly in Phase 1.

Broths : Cook broths and freeze them. Every few weeks, I cook a large pot of chicken soup and freeze half of it.

Oatmeal : Buy regular oatmeal, unenriched and unsweetened.

Exotic Superfoods : When people hear that I’m eating only Superfoods they usually think that Superfoods are really expensive, and think I’m eating various Superfoods in powder form (Spirulina, Chlorella) or Superfoods berries and seeds (Goji, Chia). When I explain that I eat regular, everyday Superfoods such as kale and avocado, they ask if I have experimented with exotic Superfoods. I have, but I didn’t wanted to create recipes where such Superfoods are prominently featured or put them in regular recipes because people will complain that recipe ingredients are expensive. So, I’ll list here how I use various exotic Superfoods:

• I add seaweeds to any soup or stew I make and you can do the same with Chlorella and Spirulina. They also can be added to smoothies, condiments and salads. Some people use them in granola recipes or energy bars along with Maca powder.

• Spike any salad dressing with 1 tbsp. of Spirulina , Chlorella , Maca or Matcha . Chlorella has a strong taste (think pond water or horse hay), Spirulina has an oceanic taste (think seaweed or something fishy), Maca has earthy/nutty taste (goes well with smoothies), and Matcha is basically a powdered green tea. Spirulina and seaweeds taste best in a veggie soup or a fish stew. It tastes nasty in average smoothies, but another strong taste can hide it (think grapefruit, lemon, lime, pomegranate or granny Smith apples).