Healthy foods are those that provide you with the nutrients you need to sustain your body’s well-being and retain energy. Water, carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals are the key nutrients that make up a healthy, balanced diet. (Moreland OBGYN)

Now before you and I get too deep, let’s talk specifically about food. The word diet can be misleading nowadays.

So let’s stick with the word “food” and remember that it specifically refers to what we ingest in our bodies for nourishment.

You have macronutrients and micronutrients. Most of us do pretty well in the macronutrient department. But unfortunately, micronutrients come in last, even behind sugar.

You know it! Sugar is the enemy, especially how we are consuming it. But I don’t want to get off track here. This is not about what you should not be eating. The focus is on what makes your food healthy.

Healthy is finding the balance for your unique body. As a mom, I’ve cooked more multiple dinners than I care to admit. But the reason for doing that was geared to what each child needed nutritionally and that they would eat too.

Not all children eat asparagus.

Macronutrients – Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins

Micronutrients – Vitamins, minerals, and other good compounds like amino acids.

Eating from both sides of the table is what gives you a balanced diet. And you do this by eating more real, and less boxed.

The K.I.S.S. ~ Eat more real, and less boxed!

If God made it, you certainly should consider eating it. You want the food in its most natural form.

1. Optimize intake of micronutrients. These are your vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
2. Eat foods rich in phytonutrients. These are carotenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols, lignans, and fiber. You get these phytonutrients from fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Plus, if you want to knock it out of the park, eat to the darker versus the brighter side of your colors. The darker is power-packed and the brighter is typically sweeter.
3. Shop local and in season. Think farmer’s markets and co-ops. Here is where you get a higher quality of food that hasn’t traveled for miles, which means your body receives better nutrients overall.

Our food is nutrient challenged. There are deficiencies in everything we eat, especially processed food. If you are ordering most of your food online, how nutrient-dense do you think your food is?

Move to REAL food.

CHALLENGE: What is one healthy, micronutrient-dense food you can add to your diet?

• Leafy greens
• Fresh fruit like watermelon (Episode 2714)
• More berries

“Train for life. Love your journey!“