What is a healthy diet?
Whole Food Eating Explained.
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A healthy diet has a balance of real,whole foods which will nourish yourbody so it can function optimally.
A varied diet will ensure the good gut bacteria in your body can thrive.
Eat Well. Be Well is all about eating fresh, local, naturally grown food.
A balance of nutrients sourced from across all food groups. We advocate a minimum of 70% plant foods throughout the day – up to 90%.
With plenty of green veggies. Aim for around half the plate of vegetables at
most meals plus one quarter carbohydrates and quarter protein. This will
depend on your activity level and balance of foods throughout the day.
The emphasis is real food. You’ll be pleased to know the focus is not counting
calories, deprivation and weigh-ins.
The focus is on nurturing your body from the inside. No real food needs to be
cut out, although understanding real foods and proportions may need to be
tweaked.
Imagine your trillions of wonderful cells all healthy and being able to function optimally.
If there are obstacles to accessing local or organic produce, choose a handful of foods you eat regularly and
choose organic for these. Select foods which have been grown as naturally as possible.
What is a whole food diet?
This is a diet rich in plant foods, which includes a wide variety of different vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and proteins.
It may include small amounts of
pasture-raised meat, eggs and
dairy. We can gradually re-train
the taste buds to enjoy simple,
earthy flavours of real, natural food.
Nutrients we need
Our bodies need 3 key macronutrients, essential micronutrients, and water, in order to function:
Macronutrients
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
- Fat
Micronutrients
- Vitamins & minerals
- Some of these the body makes and some it needs to intake.
- A balanced diet will ensure
your body has the fuel it needs.
A balanced meal includes
carbohydrate, fat, and protein. It is ideal, but not essential to include all of these in one meal. Aim to include a variety throughout the day.
Think of food as fuel, to nourish and feed all the beneficial gut bacteria.
Top Tip:
A mix of raw and cooked ingredients is good for the absorption of vitamins &
minerals.
What does a balanced meal look like?
A balanced healthy meal with fats, carbohydrates &
protein plus vitamins & minerals.
protein plus vitamins & minerals.
For Example:
Carbs: Baked sweet potato
Fats: Olive oil, pine nuts, cheese avocado, hemp
Protein: Pine nuts & hemp with small amounts in the veg
Vitamins & minerals: Throughout the whole meal. (More on micronutrients in Step 2).
My Pumpkin Frittata is a great example
of a balanced meal. It includes:
Fats: Almonds, egg, olive oil, feta
Carbs: Pumpkin, nuts, veggies.
Protein: egg, nuts, feta
Micro-nutrients: (vitamins & minerals)
throughout the meal.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide your body with energy, fiber, and fuel for the brain.
This means energy for you to move and think, plus energy for the cells in your
body to carry out millions of important jobs throughout the day, including
when you sleep.
This means energy for you to move and think, plus energy for the cells in your
body to carry out millions of important jobs throughout the day, including
when you sleep.
Carbohydrates provide your body with energy, fiber, and fuel for the brain. This means energy for you to move and think, plus energy for the cells in your
body to carry out millions of important jobs throughout the day, including
when you sleep.
Healthy carbohydrates to include:
Veg: Parsnips, sweet potato, squash, beets,
carrots, peas.
Whole grains: Quinoa, oats, whole grain rice.
Pre-biotic plant foods: Asparagus, leeks, apples with skin and Jerusalem artichokes. High fiber fruit: Bananas, raspberries, apples, orange, mango, figs, pears, grapefruit.
Seeds: Chia, hemp, sunflower and flax.
All of these foods provide fiber and energy as well as other essential nutrients such as protein, fats,
Carbohydrates to avoid:
White rice, pasta, white flour, white bread, refined, processed foods, chips,
pastries. Sugary foods, refined baked goods: cakes, muffins, pizzas, candy,
lollies, high sugar muesli bars. Pre- packaged foods with non-whole food
ingredients, fillers, corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives,
additives and E numbers.
pastries. Sugary foods, refined baked goods: cakes, muffins, pizzas, candy,
lollies, high sugar muesli bars. Pre- packaged foods with non-whole food
ingredients, fillers, corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives,
additives and E numbers.
Fats
Healthy fats include: Avocados, virgin olive oil, hemp, coconut oil, fish, nuts, seeds, pasture-raised meat, fish, dairy & eggs.
We need fats for many bodily functions and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D & K. These are essential for health of skin, hair,
heart, brain, blood, reproduction, cell growth, eye and bone health.
Your body sources nutrients from these foods to derive, make and/or store fat-soluble vitamins.
Fat Facts:
- Pasture-raised meat and eggs have a healthy balance of omega 3 and 6.
- Healthy fats help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
- Use coconut oil in moderation.
- Meat and eggs are healthy, however are nutrient rich, so we don’t need as much of these
- Surround the fat sources with vegetables.
- Eat mostly fats derived from plants and fish.
Top Tips:
- Cook at low temperatures and avoid heating fats and oils to preserve their integrity.
- Seeds & nuts can be soaked for easier digestion.
- Cook with avocado oil and or real
butter.
- Bake vegetables with no oil, then dress with cold virgin olive oil to gain the full health benefits.
- Use olive oil as a condiment
Fats to avoid:
Fats in processed foods, which may contain trans-fats; fast-food,
pre-packaged foods margarine.
pre-packaged foods margarine.
Factory raised meat and eggs.
Processed foods may contain high-heated fats, changing the fat’s structure
and making them potentially detrimental to health.
and making them potentially detrimental to health.
Processed foods may contain high-heated fats, changing the fat’s structure and making them potentially detrimental to health.
Protein
Healthy proteins to include:
Lentils, beans, fish, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, meat, eggs, dairy, whole grains and vegetables such as peas.
Protein Info:
The amount of protein you need
depends on your individual needs — A guide is 0.8 grams per kilo of your body weight.
Surround high protein foods with vegetables to ensure absorption and balance of nutrients in your body.
Avoid protein-heavy diets which
lack fibre. Excess, unused protein is stored as fat.
Nuts and seeds include fiber, fats and protein.
Legumes contain fibre AND protein.
Eat a variety of proteins. Different foods contain different proteins.
Tofu: Consume in moderation and only non-GMO. Tempeh is preferable
since it is fermented.
since it is fermented.
Nuts and seeds include fiber, fats and protein.
Meat & fish:
If you’re including animal protein, ensure that between 70 and 90% plants are consumed.
Here’s a guide:
Eggs & cheese – a balance throughout the week. See recipes for ideas.
Fish – 1-4 times per week (wild-caught)
Chicken – pasture-raised. Once or twiceper week and
Red meat – pasture-raised. Once a week or fortnight.
1 or 2 serves of protein from animal
sources is plenty in one day.
sources is plenty in one day.
Top Tip:
Aim for balance. If you have a cheesy frittata at one meal, go for an
Asian tofu bowl, salad or rice dish at the next meal.
Asian tofu bowl, salad or rice dish at the next meal.
Check out this good example of a
whole food meal which contains:
Fats, protein, carbohydrates,
micronutrients and no processed
foods. It doesn’t have to be
complicated!
Drizzle olive oil over the veg &
salad.
Top Tip:
Some foods are absorbed by the
presence of other foods, which is why
a variety throughout the week is
important.