A Full Year of Resolutions,
Week #3
Welcome to Week 3 of our Full Year of Resolutions. I volunteered to write this post, because when I saw the topic, I knew it was a change I absolutely needed to make in my own life. One of my ‘Full-Year Resolutions’ is adding more greens to my diet.
The Meines are so good at this. Like David said in the video, he’d just finished playing hours of pickleball (where I’m sure he killed it; he’s modest, but they are killers on the court). And he was still full of energy and feeling great!
I’ve watched the way these two eat. And I’ve no doubt that their health and vitality come from the choices they make. One of the important things they do is to find ways to add greens to their diet every single day.
How many greens do we need?
Our body is designed to be self-healing and self-regulating when we get the right amount of vitamins and nutrients. The problem is, the average person (like me!) doesn’t consume nearly enough.
Only 11% of the standard American diet consists of plant food. Meanwhile, a whopping 57% of our diets are made up of processed foods. In fact, the standard American diet, when ranked on a dietary quality index that reflects how many calories we derive from nutrient-rich, unprocessed plant foods, rates about a one out of ten. No wonder the acronym for the way we eat here in the U.S. is SAD (standard American diet). It’s very sad for our health and wellness!
Tips for getting more greens
It’s recommended that adults eat at least 2-3 cups of vegetables per day. According to a 2015 study, just 9% of us eat that many veggies. When was the last time you had a big serving of healthy greens?
The hard truth is, even if you are eating mounds of healthy greens a day, you simply cannot eat enough greens to get the benefits our bodies need. So one of the best and easiest ways we can add more greens is through supplements.
Drink your greens
David and Carla recommend taking a greens-blend powder every day to supplement a healthy diet. They use Primal Plants, formulated by Dr. Gundry. This blend contains 12 superfood greens and is gluten and lectin-free. But there are lots of good products out there. Some other good ones include Organifi, Purely Inspired, Garden of Life, and Beyond Greens. Even Costco has a Greens Superfood Powder.
It’s important you make sure your powder is organic, and that it doesn’t have a lot of fillers or sugar. You’ll want a probiotic blend for digestive support. Be careful of products that contain wheatgrass, barley grass, or oat grass, all of which keep a leaky gut aggravated.
Take one scoop, add it to a glass of water, and blend it up. Drinking your greens means your digestive system can easily process and get these healthy nutrients into your system. You might have to acclimate to the taste. But this drink isn’t about pleasing your taste buds, it’s about making sure you feel good – for many years to come!
Prep now, eat later
In addition to drinking a green superfood powder, it helps to prep your veggies in advance. Spend a little time at the beginning of the week and pre-cut lots of veggies. Keeping them somewhere visible in the fridge, so that you see them each time you open the door, helps remind you to grab those instead of the crackers or chips you might be tempted to reach for.
Planning your meals to include lots of yummy vegetable recipes will help you make this resolution a habit. Carla has posted so many great recipes for us. Her roasted veggies are so good I could eat them every day. Check out her recipe for roasted cauliflower for tips on browning your veggies to delicious perfection. Other good options include her seared ahi tuna salad and broccoli salad recipes.
Start off strong
Kick start your day with veggies for breakfast! Add a couple of handfuls of greens (kale or spinach work well) to your morning protein drink. You won’t even know they’re in there, and you’ve got a great jumpstart on adding more greens to your day.
Another fun way to remind yourself to include lots of healthy greens in your diet is by using a portion plate. There are versions for kids and adults, and they’re very helpful in providing an easy visual for how many veggies you should be eating per meal.
Live your best life!
By adding greens you’ll have increased energy and feel stronger. You’ll give your immune system a wonderful boost! Your body will thank you for giving it these much-needed minerals and nutrients.
If you’re like David, and so very many others, who have struggled with leaky gut and digestive issues, your stomach can’t properly absorb nutrients. But as you heal your gut issues, and nourish it properly with lots of good-for-you greens, you’ll be on your way to optimal health. David is the perfect example of this, and his energy and enthusiasm are contagious! (Read more about his amazing story in Eating to Live: Unlocking the Leaky Gut Code.)
Adding more greens to your diet can help you to access your very best life. I think this is a resolution worth sticking to.
See you later – I’m off to drink some green superfoods!
