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just some of my personal
preferences, but
perhaps they will give you some good ideas that
you'll enjoy.
Alright, so let's start with
the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I'm
loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh
vegetables. During the growing season, I only
get local produce, but obviously in winter, I
have to resort to the produce at the grocery
store. Most of the time, I make sure I have
plenty of vegetables like onions,
zucchini, spinach, fresh mushrooms, red
peppers, broccoli, etc. to use in my morning
eggs. I also like to dice up some lean
chicken or turkey sausage into the eggs, along
with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses
(preferably raw grass-fed cheeses when I can
find them).
By the way I'm talking about
whole eggs, NOT egg whites. Always
remember that the yolk is the most nutritious
and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only
eating egg whites is like throwing away the
best part... and no, it's NOT bad for you
because of the cholesterol... eggs actually
raise your GOOD cholesterol. Try to get
free range organic eggs for the best quality.
Here's an entire article I did on the topic of
whole eggs vs egg whites.
Coconut milk is another
staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in
with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich,
creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a
rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's
also full of healthy saturated fats. Yeah, you
heard me...I said healthy saturated fats!
Healthy saturated fats like medium chain
triglycerides, specifically an MCT called
lauric acid. If the idea of healthy saturated
fats is foreign to you, check out my healthy
fats article
Back to the fridge, some
other staples:
Chopped walnuts, pecans,
almonds - delicious and great sources of
healthy fats.
Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt - I
like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and
yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries
for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon
meal.
Whole flax seeds or chia seeds - I grind these
in a mini coffee grinder and add to yogurt or
salads. Always grind them fresh because the
omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly
unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high
levels of free radicals in pre-ground flax.
Whole eggs - one of natures richest sources of
nutrients (and remember, they increase your
GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).
Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of
the exotic varieties of salsas.
Avocados - love them...plus a great source of
healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try
adding them to wraps, salads, or
sandwiches.
Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter
adds great flavor to anything and can be part
of a healthy diet (just keep the quantity small
because it is calorie dense...and NEVER use
margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a
heart attack)
Nut butters - Plain old
peanut butter has gotten a little old for me,
so I get creative and mix together almond
butter with sesame seed butter, or even cashew
butter with macadamia butter...delicious and
unbeatable nutrition!
Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded
carrots - for salads with dinner.
Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic
vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's
Choice oil blend. This is much better than
store bought salad dressing which mostly use
highly refined soybean oil (full of
inflammation-causing free
radicals).
Whole grain wraps and whole
grain bread (look for wraps and bread with at
least 3-4 grams of fiber per 20 grams of total
carbs).
Rice bran and wheat germ - these may sound way
too healthy for some, but they actually add a
nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or
smoothies, or can be added when baking muffins
or breads to add nutrients and fiber.
Some of the staples in the
freezer:
Frozen berries - during the
local growing season, I only get fresh berries,
but during the other 10 months of the year, I
always keep a supply of frozen blueberries,
raspberries, blackberries, strawberries,
cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal,
oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or
smoothies
Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different
kinds of fish each week. There are so many
varieties out there, you never have to get
bored.
Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient for a
quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches
for quick meals.
Grass-fed steaks, burgers,
and ground beef - Grassfed meats have been
shown to have as high as, or even higher levels
of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the
mercury). Also, grass-fed meats have much
higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
compared to typical grain-fed beef. I
recently found an excellent on-line store where
I buy all of my grass-fed meats now (they even
deliver right to your door in a sealed
cooler).
Frozen buffalo, ostrich,
venison, and other "exotic" lean meats - Yeah,
I know...I'm weird, but I can tell you that
these are some of the healthiest meats around,
and if you're serious about a lean healthy
body, these types of meats are much better for
you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef
and pork that's sold at most grocery
stores.
Frozen veggies - again, when
the growing season is over and I can no longer
get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the
best option, since they often have higher
nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce
that has been shipped thousands of miles,
sitting around for weeks before making it to
your dinner table.
Alright, now the staples in my
cabinets:
Various antioxidant rich teas
- green, oolong, white, rooibos are some of the
best.
Whole wheat or whole grain spelt pasta - much
higher fiber than normal pastas
Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than
those little packs of instant oats.
Cans of coconut milk - to be transferred to a
container in the fridge after opening.
Brown rice and other higher fiber rice - NEVER
white rice
Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I'm sure
you've heard a million times, they are a great
source of lycopene. Just watch out for the
brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose
corn syrup.
Stevia - a natural non-caloric sweetener, which
is an excellent alternative to the nasty
chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like
aspartame, saccharine, and
sucralose.
Raw honey - better than
processed honey... higher quantities of
beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has
even been proven in studies to improve glucose
metabolism (how you process carbs). I use a
teaspoon or so every morning in my teas. Yes,
it is pure sugar, but at least it has some
nutritional benefits... and let's be real, a
teaspoon of healthier raw honey is only 5 grams
of carbs... certainly nothing to worry
about.
Organic maple syrup - none of
that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima
crap...only real maple syrup can be considered
real food. The only time I really use this
(because of the high sugar load) is added to my
post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and
also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients
into your muscles.
Organic unsweetened cocoa
powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies
for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my
own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder
into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted
dark chocolate chunks.
Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a
couple scoops to my Mexican wraps for the fiber
and high nutrition content. Also, beans are
surprisingly one of the best sources of youth
promoting antioxidants!
Dark chocolate (as dark as
possible) - This is one of my treats that
satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads
of antioxidants at the same time. It's still
calorie dense, so I keep it to just a couple
squares; but that is enough to do the trick, so
I don't feel like I need to go out and get cake
and ice cream to satisfy my dessert
urges.
Lastly, another thing that's
hard to go wrong with is a good variety of
fresh fruits and berries. The staples such as
bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are
good, but I like to also be a little more
adventurous and include things like yellow (aka
- mexican or champagne) mangoes, pomegranates,
kumquats, papaya, star fruit, pineapples, and
others. Also, strawberries, blueberries,
raspberries, blackberries, and cherries are
some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense
fruits you can eat.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this
special look into my favorite lean body meals
and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your
tastes are probably quite different than mine,
but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you
can use next time you're at the grocery store
looking to stock up a healthy and delicious
pile of groceries.
Be sure to pick up a copy
of Mikes book The Truth about Six Pack
Abs, which introduces you to the entire
comprehensive training and nutritional
program that will turn your body into a
lean, sexy specimen that others will
envy!
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