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Adding IN- an experiment with food

Posted by Jennifer Campoli on March 24th, 2011
Filed under Fabulous food, Nutrition | 2 Comments »

Pick up any diet, nutrition or lifestyle book out there and 9 out of 10 tell you to do one thing: REMOVE.

Remove foods, remove sugar, remove coffee, remove desserts. Remove it all.

Am I right?

Now, before I continue please allow me to say something: I do believe that in order to feel WELL and energized, finding the vitality we all crave, there are many things that you find on the shelves at the grocery store that should not be a mainstay in your diet.

With that said, I think there is a much more gentle, enjoyable and dare I say fun way to approach eating well and improving health.

The concept is so brilliant and so simple. A spin off of what Joshua Rosenthal, the founder of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition shares with his students and clients.

The idea is simply adding IN.

 

That's right friends. Today I tell you to forget about what every book, person or commercial has told you to remove from your pantry and fridge. I want you to instead focus on adding IN.

Why put yourself through the emotional frustration and overwhelm of removing foods? Let's just come up with a few NEW things that you want to try that have fabulous health properties and see where we end up?

And you know what ends up happening in a very natural, slow and progressive way?

These new foods, these "healthy" foods that fuel your body with such amazing energy, vitamins, minerals, properties, enzymes and nutrients make you feel better than ever, and these new foods end up CROWDING OUT the old foods. Without YOU even noticing.

You may find one day that for lunch, you really could care less about the work lunch room table covered in baked sweets and cookies. Or maybe today 1 cookie is just right for you rather than 8 that you had the other day. Who knows! The results are endless and the process is yours alone to uncover.

Here is the beauty of this idea and why it works:

When we attempt to change behavior our mind starts to play immediate tricks on you. "What do you mean no more sugar? No more Doritos, ice cream, or coffee with half n half? At all? Well if you're going to do that man, then I'm just going to give you a nice freak out tomorrow at lunch and all you will be able to think about is everything you are trying to remove from our life.."

Ever experience that? Change is hard friends. Change takes time, it takes planning and it takes setting realistic goals. And it doesn't happen over night.

So rather than look at your health goals as the next battle against Food-of-all-Kind, let's start by coming up with a list of things to add IN. Don't you worry about what you are currently eating. Just focus on some new additions!

Here is where we can start:

1. Vegetables

I know, I'm preaching to the choir. We have been told since the day we were born that vegetables are the best thing since I don't know what. It's because they are friends. These little guys have nutrient properties that scientists are still trying to understand! The phytonutrients, antioxidants, chlorophyll in greens…all of these wonderful features of vegetables are like free medicine! Did you know that dark leafy greens (aka arugula, kale, chard, spinach, lettuce greens, etc.) have one vital role in your body? To support your circulatory and respiratory system. Think about it- leafy greens are the chlorophyll kings and queens of the earth. They live to breathe in and create oxygen. What do you think they do for YOU? They support the systems that carry and deliver oxygen to YOUR body (respiratory and circulatory system). I could go on…

So start simple with the vegetables.

Pick 2, or 3 or even 5 to try! Go roam the produce area in your store and try something that you haven't before OR try what you know you like. Then get in the kitchen.

2. Fruits

Oh lovely fruit. They are so delicious for your body! Natural sugar, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, to name a few are plentiful attributes in these colorful things. I am finally beginning to see the end of the winter tunnel here in Boston so you must be too! The store is filling up with seasonal fruits slowly but surely so go get ya some!

Remember: start simple. Pick a few. Wash them. Cut them up if you like. Have them ready for you to grab and add IN anytime you want.

3. Whole grains

Let's get this straight. We have been eating whole grains for thousands, upon thousands of years. We have been eating Wonder Bread for, maybe 50? What do you think would be worthwhile to put in that body of yours? Am I saying that you CAN'T or SHOULDN'T have Wonder Bread? Nope, not at all. All I am suggesting is that maybe today we should consider adding IN some of the foods that have been around since before we were here.

Go for WHOLE.

A few weeks ago I went to the bulk aisle at Whole Foods and found me a new grain to play around week: Amaranth. So fun!

But this doesn't have to be rocket science people. Stick with what you know if you like.

Brown rice? Millet? Oat bran? Oats?

Do you like any of those listed? Pick one, cook up 2-3 batches tonight and add it IN a few meals this week. See how you feel.

Eating differently, eating well, eating "healthy" does NOT have to be about what we CANNOT have. It should be about what we enjoy, what we love and adding IN new things that change your body almost immediately. This is what I love about health coaching! I could talk to you guys all day about this stuff!

But I won't.

I promise.

Now go play around with adding IN.

Let me know how it turns out.

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