Down and dirty. . . .

You enjoyed the holiday and now you seriously want to take back control of your indulgent side.  I couldn't get to the gym fast enough this morning to work up a major sweat and burn some calories.  My last two blogs have discussed preparing for being fit and a road map to ramp up your metabolism.  So the next thing is,  what do I eat? Let's go with the big picture -  a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, lean meats, poultry and seafood.  This variety of food all have one thing in common -they are "nutrient dense" foods with few calories. No empty calories, no liquid sugars (soft drinks, etc), no refined carbs (white bread, french fries, etc.), no packaged or processed foods (pretzels, chips, etc).

So here's my down and dirty list of nutrient dense foods:

Avocados
Chard, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach
Organic peppers
Brussel sprouts
Mushrooms (crimini and shiitake)
Sweet Potatoes
Cantaloupe, papaya, raspberries, strawberries( organic), blueberries, kiwi
Yogurt
Eggs
Seeds (flax, pumpkin,sesame, sunflower)
Beans (garbanzo, kidney, navy, pinto)
Lentils, peas
Almonds, cashews, peanuts
Barley, oats, quinoa, brown rice
Salmon, halibut, cod, scallops, shrimp, tuna
Lean beef, lamb venison
Chicken, turkey

Think about what protein you will have at each meal, each day. Think about the readiness of healthy snacks to keep your metabolism stoked between meals. Think about choosing healthy foods and enjoy!