I want to eat like a crunchy healthy granola person

[Anonymous]

I need to eat a healthier diet. I want to eat more plant-based foods but also will eat chicken, pork, and some lean beef. Don't like tofu or fake meats like seitan, Beyond meat, etc.

Want to start making things like acai bowls and want it to be filling and tasty.

What are your go-to foods for what I've described?

[Anonymous]

Be more specific about your goals. Losing weight? Lowering cholesterol?

[Anonymous]

Look at websites like

Forks Over Knives https://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/page/2/
Or
https://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/
Or
https://www.drmcdougall.com/recipes/
Or
https://happyherbivore.com/recipes/
Or
https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/plant-based-diets/recipes

Or if you prefer paper, get How Not To Die cookbook and How Not to Diet cookbook (specify cookbook not book)

Recipes from Del Sroufe are good and he has cookbooks too:
https://chefdelsroufe.com/category/recipes/

[Anonymous]

Well, do you like those foods?

Eating healthy for me is easy because I like a lot of foods other people don't, like German whole grain pumpernickel and barley grains. I never liked fatty meats, so lean isn't a problem, and try to restrain my cheese urges (that's harder).

I cook for myself, because my family is very white bread, despite my best efforts. My husband cooks for himself and the kids, chicken nuggets and pizza and so forth.

Your best bet is to do your research about healthy grains, buy small packets of them to try at home (tip - you might like them better if you overcook them relative to the directions at first), and then stick with the ones you find tasty. Then you build around that, with lean protein, animal (including fish) and legumes. Add in veggies of your choice and some ripe fruit for dessert.

But I think the foundation is taking your time to find a rotation of healthy grains you can live with. Limit the refined pasta, bread and rice.

[Anonymous]

^ I love lentils! Lentils and rice is a dish used in many cultures because the combination provides you with all the essential amino acids you need to make a complete protein.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at websites like

Forks Over Knives https://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/page/2/
Or
https://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/
Or
https://www.drmcdougall.com/recipes/
Or
https://happyherbivore.com/recipes/
Or
https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/plant-based-diets/recipes

Or if you prefer paper, get How Not To Die cookbook and How Not to Diet cookbook (specify cookbook not book)

Recipes from Del Sroufe are good and he has cookbooks too:
https://chefdelsroufe.com/category/recipes/

I think these are good references if you have health problems and need a drastic approach, but the whole plant based, Whole Foods no oil movement are not the most satisfying meals and would be too low fat for most people. You can be on a Whole Foods diet without being vegan/low fat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at websites like

Forks Over Knives https://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/page/2/
Or
https://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/
Or
https://www.drmcdougall.com/recipes/
Or
https://happyherbivore.com/recipes/
Or
https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/plant-based-diets/recipes

Or if you prefer paper, get How Not To Die cookbook and How Not to Diet cookbook (specify cookbook not book)

Recipes from Del Sroufe are good and he has cookbooks too:
https://chefdelsroufe.com/category/recipes/

I think these are good references if you have health problems and need a drastic approach, but the whole plant based, Whole Foods no oil movement are not the most satisfying meals and would be too low fat for most people. You can be on a Whole Foods diet without being vegan/low fat.

I don't think that's a problem for most people, PP. They look at these suggestions as inspiration, but don't follow everything to the letter. OP, tweak any diet to see to YOUR needs.

[Anonymous]

A whole food plant based diet is not for people with medical problems, it’s for anyone who wants to eat a healthy diet. The recipes are varied and delicious, and one can always add something in to a recipe if they like. OP said they didn’t want fake meats.

[Anonymous]

Cut way back on pork and beef, add fish/shellfish to your diet. Get used to eating a variety of whole grains, beans/legumes, and lots of produce. Cut back on refined carbs and avoid fried anything.

[Anonymous]

Change where you source your foods. Go to MOM's and/or get a farm share. It's much harder to rely on packaged/processed foods when you're shopping at places that sell less of them. I also just find it more inspirational to shop at MOM's because the produce all looks so good. Same with the farmer's market. And a farm share basically forces you to plan your meals around the random assortment of produce you get.

[Anonymous]

What do you know about healthy eating already? What is your baseline knowledge? We can build from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to eat a healthier diet. I want to eat more plant-based foods but also will eat chicken, pork, and some lean beef. Don't like tofu or fake meats like seitan, Beyond meat, etc.

Want to start making things like acai bowls and want it to be filling and tasty. What are your go-to foods for what I've described?

I live in San Francisco and eat this way (no pork though). All meat is free range and organic. TJ's sells acai. We make our own granola in the oven. Look up options for vegan meals and pull from those to create a list of foods you'd like. Then start making those. I eat meat or dairy only once a day. So breakfast might be a half bagel with avocado and a side of fruit, lunch is chicken soup, dinner is a big salad with lentils, snack is a handful of nuts.

[Anonymous]

Eat mostly fruits and veggies, with a bit of meat added in. Use honey as your sweetener. Healthy dairy like organic cottage cheese

[Anonymous]

OP here. Goals: lose a little weight, have more energy. Cholesterol and everything is fine but I want to keep it that way.

I don't enjoy cooking so I just want easy, healthy, filling stuff. I generally know what's healthy but don't really know how to stock my pantry well for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A whole food plant based diet is not for people with medical problems, it’s for anyone who wants to eat a healthy diet. The recipes are varied and delicious, and one can always add something in to a recipe if they like. OP said they didn’t want fake meats.

There is a specific movement called “WFPBNO” (whole foods plant based no oil) that was linked above. That is what I would recommend only for people with medical problems. There is no need to cut healthy fats, ,eats, eggs, etc to be “healthy.” OP can find plenty of delicious and healthy recipes without over-restricting - that was my point.