I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a family beach day yesterday. It was our first time to the beach with FIVE children; the baby doesn’t sit well yet and needed to be held most of the time. But it was fun.
I can’t believe it’s time to post a menu plan. As I’ve said before, I’m glad for this accountability. I haven’t made my menu plan yet. I don’t want to. I’m making it right now, literally as I type. Sometimes I’m more organized than this; this week is not one of those times. So…
I can’t believe it’s Monday again. Time flies, as you well know. I’m glad I’ve made this commitment to post my menu plan, because otherwise I might not make one. And that would be bad. Here goes:
Did you know that it’s not just what you eat, but what you eat together? Even really healthy food, when combined improperly with other really healthy food, can cause indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating, cramps, general malaise, fatigue, and more. Alternatively, proper food combining causes you to digest and assimilate the most nutrition out of what you eat.
Who Should Worry About Food Combining?
* Anyone who is sick or in recovery * Anyone trying to detox their bodies * Anyone with signs of indigestion * Anyone in need of an immediate energy boost
Food combining is eating the proper combinations and quantities of foods at a meal as to contribute to easy and proper digestion of all the nutrients in the food you have eaten. Remember, digestion doesn’t just mean that you put it in your mouth and swallowed it. Digestion means also that it must be assimilated–converted into living tissue.
Proper food combining helps avoid all the symptoms of not doing so, which most would be classified under the heading: “INDIGESTION.”
There are 3 basic categories of macronutrients. They are
* Carbohydrate (fruits, potatoes/squash, and grains/breads/pasta/beans) * Protein (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, nuts/seeds) * Fat (nuts/oils, butter, avocados, coconut)
Non-starchy vegetables (like green leafy type) don’t fall under any of these categories. They have few calories and are eaten for their mineral & vitamin content.
The easiest digestion comes when you eat foods that contain most of their calories from one macronutrient source (carbs, protein, or fat).
Combine any of these three with a nice green salad, and you are good to go. HOWEVER, if you combine 2 or more of these 3 together, you are asking for trouble!
Example: Baked Potato (carbohydrate) and salad, GOOD. Baked Potato (carbohydrate) and Steak (protein), BAD.
That’s right. Meat plus potatoes is NOT a good food combination. The same can be said for meat plus grains (that Big Mac)
The reason these things need to be divided into categories is:
The chemistry of your body, because you have one stomach, does not let you digest efficiently when you create a contrasting environment in that one stomach. Protein digests in an acid environment, and carbs digest in an alkaline environment. Remember chemistry? If you mix an acid and a base together, you get salt and water. You cannot digest food anything in salt and water! The food will pass through the body undigested, never broken down, not assimilated. It becomes food for bacteria which have a good ole’ time. Of course those produce gas, etc.
The quantity of the food matters, too. If you eat a baked potato and feel good, that does not mean that you can eat 3 baked potatoes and still feel fine. That is because your body only has a certain amount of digestive enzymes available at any given time. You eat too much of one thing, even if it’s a good thing (and properly combined), and you will get indigestion.
So it’s best to not mix multiple sources of the same macronutrient you are eating at a single meal. Example: Don’t eat bread AND potato AND dessert in one meal.
Practical Plan to Institute Good Food Combining In Your Diet
* Stop eating proteins and carbohydrates in the same meal. * Do eat concentrated protein meals and concentrated carbohydrate meals with a big veggie salad. * Stop eating 2 or more types of carbohydrates or protein in the same meal * eat grains and foods derived from grains no more than 3 times per week (unless gluten intolerant) * Eat animal proteins no more than 3 times per week (if at all). * Eat fruits alone * Stop drinking with meals. Do drink 8 oz of water 30 mins prior to meals.
I love using my crock pot. I don’t do it very often, because it seems to work best for stewed type meat, and we only eat meat for dinner about once a week. ( I do also use it for soups and beans). But when Friday comes and I have SO much to do before our special family dinner that night, it really takes a load off my mind to make a one-dish-meal that I can start in the morning and forget about until dinner time.
It’s simple. And it simplifies. Something that I REALLY like.
I recently listened to this WellWithU radio show about proper food combining and why it’s important. I was reminded that meat & potatoes or grains is not a good combo. This I already knew; we don’t do it much and seem to tolerate it all right once in a while. But the important thing that I was reminded of was that couscous AND potatoes AND bread all in one meal would be TOO MUCH of the same type of thing in our bodies (even if it were properly combined). So, I made a change in the dinner I was preparing. I usually add potatoes to the stew, but realized that it would be much better to leave those out and fill up with more veggies instead. Crock Pot Stewed Chicken
About 2 lbs chicken parts*. I’ve done it with wings, legs, thighs, whole bird cut up. Whatever. 1 large onion, chopped 3 carrots, sliced 4 celery stalks, sliced Any other veggie that you have laying around and want to use up. I usually add cabbage or zucchini. This time I added 1/2 a bag of frozen green beans. 1 can crushed tomatoes 1 tin tomato paste About 1/3 c white wine A big pinch (approx 1 tsp) each of Basil, Oregano, Thyme 1 Bay leaf
Put everything in, turn it on, walk away, come back 8 hrs later to dinner. Serve over rice/couscous/quinoa (whole grain, of course)
*I recommend that you only consume animal meat that is certified organic and free to roam, with no antibiotics or hormones injected. And even then, do so sparingly. Accompanied by lots of veggies.
Did you know that it’s not just what you eat, but what you eat together? Even really healthy food, when combined improperly with other really healthy food can cause indigestion, heartburn, gas, bloating, cramps, general malaise, fatigue, and more. Alternatively, proper food combining causes you to digest and assimilate the most nutrition out of what you eat.
Join Dr. Jeff and Chaim to find out what a healthy “combo platter” looks like. Topics to be covered: * Who should worry about food combining? * What is food combining? *Why is proper food combining essential for many people? * Common symptoms of not combining well. * Combining foods properly. * A practical plan to institute good food combining in your diet. *** Plus the last 15 mins of the program is reserved for listener questions. *** (Dr. Jeff broadcasts from Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chaim from Jerusalem, Israel.)
You can listen to the player here (after the show, of course), or click this link to the archive.
This is an important topic: I haven’t gotten to it yet as a post, but realized I can just send you over to the good information there. Enjoy! I know I will.
I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Hubby made me a special breakfast, after which we all spent the day at the zoo together. The together-ness was wonderful, but after all of that I really enjoyed a quiet bath, book, & bed. It was a special treat.
Now, back to reality 🙂 Here’s what’s coming up:
Monday-Shakshuka, Hash Browns, OJ (I didn’t make it last night as I’d planned)
I’ve been away (from posting, not really away) for too long. It’s going to change. Starting by just keeping it “real”, not only informative about health stuff. That stuff is important, and I love researching and teaching it, but the truth is, I don’t have much time. Go figure.
But I miss posting, and I have aspirations of a blog that actually reflects my life on a regular basis. So, I’m going to start adding more, but very regular day to day kind of stuff. And as I have time, I’ll share my “natural” version or take on the topic, as well as add others specifically in that vein.
I long ago discovered the many pluses of creating a menu plan for the week. No need to think about what to make at the late hour of 5:00. That’s stress I don’t enjoy. But, for whatever reason, I haven’t been doing it. That needs to stop.
So, yesterday, I sat down and made a plan. A menu plan, that is, for this week. I’m a day late posting it, but here it is:
Monday- Vegetable&tuna noodle casserole (it was good!)
Tuesday- Pancake supper (whole-grain, of course) with fresh fruit toppings
Wednesday- Baked potatoes with grilled mushroom&onions topping, and steamed peas & lima beans
Thursday- Minestrone soup & salad
Friday (Shabbat dinner) – Roasted Chicken, steamed broccoli or green beans, coucous or mixed grains, fresh challah bread, chocolate chip banana bread
There are plenty of food & recipe blogs out there. I will add recipes slowly. Please ask me if there’s something specific you want me to post or explain.
I’m going to try to post our menu plan each week on Monday. I have no idea if any of you out there give a hoot what we eat, but posting it each week will help keep me accountable for actually making a plan. I’d love your feedback. Share what you’re making!
We had a family beach day yesterday. It was our first time to the beach with FIVE children; the baby doesn’t sit well yet and needed to be held most of the time. But it was fun.
