My Food Manifesto

I believe in eating a plant-based diet¹ consisting of non-GMO² vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fruits for optimal health and longevity.

I believe processed foods should be replaced with whole foods¹.

I believe packaged foods, sauces, and dressings should be used only when the convenience of it allows consumption of more whole foods at that meal.

I believe that it’s good for me to eat whole foods like avocados, nuts and seeds that have high fat, that it’s not good to eat fried food or use high levels of plant oils³.  I believe in eating seasonally⁴ as much as possible and supporting local farmers⁵ to encourage sustainability and conservation of resources.

I believe GMO wheat, corn, soy, and sugar are responsible for the increased incidence of food allergies and gastrointestinal diseases over the past few decades⁶.

I believe up to 3 servings of organic soy⁷ each day are health-promoting for people of all ages.

I believe starches and complex carbohydrates are what fuel our bodies for exercise⁸.

I believe recipes are templates, begging to be altered.  As precise as I needed to be in research, I don’t strictly measure ingredients.  My focus as a working mom has always been to get good food on the table fast.  To do this, I plan the weeks’ worth of menus before grocery shopping, then clean all the produce as soon as get home from grocery shopping, and prepare as many components and meals as possible before the work week begins⁹, adapting the recipes to the ingredients I have.

I believe awesome toppings make for a great salad and that homemade oil-free salad dressing is a lot easier to make than you think (but isn’t always needed with great toppings).

When my willpower¹⁰ with food falters, I consider whether I’m addressing my other needs- at least 7 hours of sleep, vigorous exercise, time alone, and mindful breathing.

I try not to beat myself up when I eat food that is not health promoting.  Instead I pay attention to how I feel after the indulgence and then get back to nourishing my body with health-promoting foods.

I don’t believe in counting calories or fat or weighing portions.  I believe that if the food you are eating is all health-promoting, then you should eat until you are satiated.

I believe health is a life-long pursuit, one that we choose repeatedly throughout each day.  Numerous times a day we can choose health promoting foods and physical activity.  We can choose to invest now for health and prevention or pay later in disease and medical costs.

What’s your food manifesto?

References

1 Plant-based: Neal Barnard (Cancer Survivor’s Guide, Foods That Fight Pain, Power Foods for the Brain), Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food), Joel Fuhrman (Eat to Live, Super Immunity), T Colin Campbell (The China Study, Whole), Michael Greger (nutritionfacts.org)

2 Non-GMO: The GMO Deception (Krimsky)

3 Plant oils: The Cancer Survivor’s Guide (Barnard)

4 Seasonally: The Kind Diet (Silverstone), Michael Pollan

5 Local farmers: Michael Pollan

6 Food allergies: The GMO Deception (Krimsky)

7 Soy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-barnard-md/soy-health_b_1822291.html; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-barnard-md/settling-the-soy-controve_b_453966.html; NutritionFacts.org

8 Exercise: John McDougall (The Starch Solution), Brendan Brazier (Thrive)

9 Meal planning: Perhaps Its the Why; The Return to Reality

10 Willpower: The Willpower Instinct (McGonigal)