Namste Saturday: What Is a Whole Food

So last week I talked about food as being Medicine and this week, I am going to give you more specifics.

 

What is a whole food?

Whole foods are foods that are in the same form that they are found in nature. They are fresh, unprocessed, simple, and organic. You will see overlap of the some foods in different categories as whole foods usually supply more than one main nutrient.

Foods that are not “real” or whole - Any foods that does not mold or turn rancid in 2-3 weeks left at room temperature is not a living real food.

Below are foods that keep our bodies healthy and sustain us.

High-Fiber

• Beans
• Whole Grains
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Nuts
• Seeds

Healthy Carbohydrates

• Vegetables
• Whole Grains
• Beans 
• Fruit

Quality Protein

• Beans
• Nuts and Seeds
• Eggs
• Fish
• Lean Poultry, lamb, pork or beef (preferably organic, grass or range fed)
• Milk for those who can tolerate it - Organic is a must and preferably raw

Healthy Fats

• Fish Oil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Cold expeller-pressed plant oils - such as grapseed, walnut, and sesame
• Avocado
• Olives
• Coconut
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Flax Seed Oil

Become an ingredient/label reader!!!!

Foods to stay away from:

Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Processed foods

Foods with food coloring, preservatives and additives

Sucrulose - aka Splenda

Artificial flavorings

Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil

Corn Sugar

Sodium levels

If some form of sugar or fat is listed as the first 3 ingredients, do not buy it.

Easiest steps to begin to take is to minimize shopping at grocery stores.

Shop mainly at Trader Joes, health food stores and farmers markets.

Other things to help us stay on track:

• Eat slowly-chew and taste your food
• Eat before you are starving-it’s best to eat 4-5 times a day
• Make one meal a day a very relaxed enjoyable experience-the other meals, make it simple and healthy, basically for sustenance.

Lastly, meals that bring us real sustenance are prepared with caring hands and a touch of love. 

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I couldn't help myself, I had to jump in on Cindy's post. This week at work the gym coaches had "Try Whole Grains Week."  I've never gone out of my way to try whole grains in recipes and everything they made for us to try was great.  I'm totally on the bandwagon now.  I'll be sharing some of the recipes soon since I plan to make them myself.  


It was so nice for scaredy pants me to try some whole grain recipes without getting stuck with a giant bag of wheatberries with no intentions of eating it ever again.  I promise the recipes I share and delicious and totally worth making.  I kept telling Coach Cody how proud my aunt would be of me.  :)