NUTRITIONAL DIET PLAN
Nutrition is fundamental to health, a basic fact that's been largely forgotten for various reasons but fortunately is reclaiming territory in the modern consciousness. While nutritious foods often cost more than factory-stamped simulacra, it is much less expensive in the long run to eat foods pulled straight from Earth. An organic diet will also greatly improve everyday quality of life by making the body and mind more functional and resilient.
The standard American diet is high in useless calories but void of nutritional value which is the main reason people overeat. Like all life forms, we are electro-magnetic beings that need certain elements to function properly. These elements naturally came from the foods we ate, but factory farming has depleted the soils, thus the foods grown in them are also deficient in vitamins and minerals. Fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides are toxic not only to weeds and bugs, but also to humans. While not apparent up front, these toxins accumulate in the body and over time cause disease.
To avoid the toxins and meet our nutritional requirements, our best course of action is to avoid the factory foods and eat organically. If someone who eats a diet high in processed foods were to switch to an organic diet for a month, they would probably notice a significant improvement in health and find going back to bland factory foods very unappetizing.
Indian, Thai, and Chinese foods have a lot of vegetarian options and are loaded with nutritional herbs and spices. Mexican, Greek, and Italian are also good options. People cutting down on meat will need to add foods high in protein such as beans, chick peas, spinach, oats, nuts, cheese, eggs, and yogurt so that muscle mass and brain function don't atrophy.
I personally don't think meat is unhealthy. It's a controversial subject, but there's a lot of evidence that cholesterol, which our bodies produce, is not the cause of heart disease, but rather highly processed foods like bleached flour that cause arterial inflammation, restricting blood flow and thus straining the heart.
In a nutshell, the best thing we can do for our health is to stick with whole foods and eat as few packaged goods as possible.
staples
having some of these ingredients on hand will allow you to
prepare a number of nutritional dishes at low cost
rice; white, wild, brown, and/or jasmine, basmati
pasta
rice noodles
potatoes; white and red
sweet potatoes
onions; red, white
tortillas; corn and/or flour
cheese; dry asiago, romano or parmesan, fresh mozzarella, feta, white cheddar, swiss, cottage, mexican farmer's
nuts
dried fruit; gold and brown raisins, craisins, figs, dates, apricots
beans, dry or canned; pinto, kidney, black, navy
chick peas, dry or canned
green peas, frozen
berries, frozen
butter
yogurt
eggs
brown mustard
vinegar; apple cider, rice
olive oil
sesame oil
toasted sesame oil
soy sauce
better than bullion; chicken, beef, veg, mushroom
herbs and spices
sea salt
black pepper
cumin
oregano
thyme
chili powder
cinnamon
chinese five spice
curry powder
produce (perishable)
garlic
parsley
cilantro
ginger root
green onion
tomatoes
cucumbers
cabbage
carrots
chili peppers
avocadoes
lemons
limes
stores
honey bee, great produce, tortillas, cheese, meat, etc.
e & l supermercado, similar to honey bee
aldi; nuts, cheese, yogurt, frozen veg and berries
low fat / fat free
don't buy dairy products that are low fat. the fat is replaced by sugar or corn syrup which is less healthy than fat, a good source of energy.
equipment
8" chef's knife
pairing knife
sharpening stone
spatula
cooking spoon
tongs
cast iron skillet
large pot and lid
sauce pan
wok
9 x 13 x 2 pan
colander
box grater
pressure cooker (cooks dry beans and tenderizes meat quicker)