By Marcey Klein BS, NC
Cultivating joy and love in the New Year is what it’s all about. And a great way to give us the energy to do that is to put good food in your, and your loved ones bodies. Grabbing colorful, fresh, organic produce is a wonderful way to supply those phytonutrients your body loves. It’s like putting sunshine inside.
Try to get as colorful with your food as you can. Bright yellow delicata squash, dark green kale, bright orange carrots and dark red beets will liven things up and add extra antioxidants to your dish. I like to steam my vegetables, and then do a light sauté with olive oil, sea salt, and garlic. I love to boil and skin my beets, then slice and drizzle them with apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and honey. Beets help with nitric oxide production, which in turn helps dilate our blood vessels, helping our cardiovascular system and performance. Beets also help build blood due to its folic acid and vitamin C content, and the fiber is fantastic for our colon and for detox.
Kale salads have become one of my favorite dishes. You can just feel the energy and vigor after eating a kale salad. Dark dinosaur Kale is the most nutrient-dense of the greens. It’s considered a superfood. I like to prepare my kale salads hours before partaking or even a day ahead of time. It needs time to marinade to break down any anti-nutrients. Make the marinade from lemon, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, tamari, and honey. Strip the leaves, then mix well with the marinade.
Sauté onions; they’re high in the antioxidant quercetin which help manage allergies and support the immune system. They also have natural sulfur which helps our livers with detoxing. Adding mushrooms, especially shitake, or maitake, will support our immune systems too. I like to sauté my veggies and eggs in ghee, which is clarified butter. It has incredible flavor without the casein of dairy that can be difficult to digest.
Remember to incorporate antibiotic free, and pasture raised meats as these will give you good quality proteins to help build your immune system, bones, cartilage, and pretty much everything else. Seafood also can be a good source of protein as well.
Pecans, walnuts, almonds (soaked), and nut butters give us nutrient dense fats, and are high in vitamin E, a protectant antioxidant for cell membranes. Avocados are great to incorporate as well, as they are high in potassium, heart healthy monounsaturated fats, and soluble fiber. They are considered a superfood, and they are absolutely delicious just sprinkled with sea salt and pepper.
Healthy foods are just naturally delicious. You don’t have to worry about doing anything too fancy, you don’t have to worry about not having what it takes to incorporate fresh produce or proteins into your diet. Adding garlic, sea salt, olive oil, lemon, and a few spices will liven up any dish. Add some complex carbohydrates in the mix for sustained energy like barley, quinoa, buckwheat, or potatoes. Then snip and sprinkle some parsley, cilantro, or green onion on top for extra nutrition, flavor, and detox, and you’ve got yourself a delicious, and nourishing plate of food for the New Year! Happy good health, and keep it going!
