The Rule of Three

One of my favorite resources for learning about the how's and why's of food is a podcast called "Dishing Up Nutrition". The team is made up of nutritionists and food experts. Each week they go through and explain different foods and how they affect the body, but they also explain how to change the food you eat in order to feel better, reduce cravings, and even reduce many different health concerns.

There are two main messages that the podcast has in almost every show and that is 1) Don't eat processed foods and 2) Follow the rule of 3's.

The Rule of 3 means that for each meal and snack you should include 1 protein, 1 good fat, and 1 good carbohydrate. These three things should all be incorporated to have balanced meals. They all work together to help your body and mind. Without one or two of these components, it throws the balance off and you wind up having intense cravings, feel hungry soon after eating, or even are sleepy and grumpy.

What are classified as healthy?

Healthy Fats:

• avocado
• real butter (not margarine)
• fats in grass-fed animal protein
• coconut and olive oil (stay away from canola and vegetable oil)
• coconut milk 
• eggs

 

Healthy Proteins:

• grass-fed animal protein
• eggs
• nuts
• whey protein

*stay away from processed proteins 


 

Healthy Carbohydrates:

• Fresh vegetables (carrots, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, etc) 
• Fresh fruits (blueberries, strawberries, apples, tomatoes, watermelon)
• Frozen fruits & vegetables (just make sure they don't have any additives)

* The more color in a vegetable, the more nutrient rich it is.
* Stay away from breads, pasta, and grains

So try to get one of each of these into every snack and meal. An example of a great breakfast would be some eggs cooked in coconut oil, half of a sweet potato with real butter, and some spinach. Delicious too!