Every parent knows that part of their job is to teach their children to make the best choices...
even when mom and dad aren't nearby.
One of the types of choices we need to teach is healthy food and nutrition.
The challenge is that many parents aren't exactly sure what the healthiest choices actually are! That's why it's important for grown-ups to brush up on their nutrtional know-how first, in order to be able to lead their families by example.
What we teach in our family and in our family wellness practice is to "Fill up with Health first.
" First and foremost, give your body what it innately requires to create Optimal Health.
Provide it with pure and sufficient foods and avoid toxic and deficient choices.
When you nourish yourself with this simple premise in mind, nutrition becomes much easier.
You're less likely to fall victim to the overwhelming, confusing, contradicting nutritional advice that media markets to us, day in and day out.
It's not about being perfect...
it's about insuring that your body gets what it needs FIRST...
then you can relax a bit about being perfect! That being said, obviously the more you stray from pure and sufficient foods, the more you put your health at risk.
So what ARE you supposed to eat? Real food.
Food that grows, is raised, harvested, caught, etc.
I like to simplify it by saying, "food that God made".
Kids get that! (No, I've never seen a French fry bush or a Dorito tree - nice try!) "Real" foods are comprised of protein (meat, eggs), carbohydrates (veggies, fruit and grains), fats (healthy oils, nuts), and water.
As much as possible, choose the purest, cleanest, least humanly-altered, most nutritionally sufficient sources for the aforementioned foods.
This typically means investing in foods that come with a 'label' of organic, grass-fed, free range, raw, etc.
When it comes to nutrition and health, you definitely get what you pay for.
Where do you begin in order to give your body what it needs most? Let's talk about a "hierarchy of food choices".
I like to envision an enormous buffet table, overflowing with every type of food imaginable.
Remember, our goal here is to create optimal health...
not just to fill our stomachs.
Now, take your plate and first add healthy protein sources.
Next, add veggies - the richer, deeper in color the better.
Make sure you include dark green veggies.
Next, be sure to include healthy fats, like ultra pure fish oil, flax oil, coconut oil, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, etc.
Fruit comes next.
Much further down the list are grains and dairy - in fact, many wellness experts believe that we do not innately require either of these for our health.
All the cookies, cakes, candies and junk/fake foods can only go on your plate once you've filled up with the healthy options...
and not very often at all, if true health is your objective! So there you go! You now know how to serve up a plate full of health for yourself!I'd recommend that you split this particular plate into several small servings throughout the day though! Remember WHY we eat...
food is for life...
NOT to live for! Small, frequent meals are much better for your health than the enormous servings Americans have become famous for! Bon appetite!