Keto Whole Healthy Food Favorites

Keep it SIMPLE! Keep it clean and HEALTHY! Real Food is DELICIOUS! Focus on Nutrient Density!

Focus on animal-based proteins. For more education on this, please follow the brilliant @carnivoremd. And read Dr. Paul Saladino’s book, “The Carnivore Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Optimal Health by Returning to Our Ancestral Diet“. Following an omnivore diet is optimal for most, but the Carnivore approach can be a very healing “elimination diet” to address food sensitivities and chronic digestive issues.

All you need:

  • Steak (Grilled, Reverse Seared)
  • Salmon (Air Fryer, Baked)
  • Eggs (Soft Boiled, Scrambled, Fried, Egg Salad)
  • Pork (Smoked Pork or Carnitas from Costco)
  • Ground Beef, Turkey, Chicken, or Lamb
  • Chicken Breasts (Grilled or Instant Pot / Shredded)
  • Tuna Salad
  • Scallops, Shrimp
  • Ahi Tuna
  • Good quality deli meat with cheese slices
  • Rotisserie Chicken (available at all grocery stores, hot and ready to eat!)

Next level optimal health:

Sides:

  • Avocado (main side that I include in my diet)
  • Zucchini (sautéed or grilled with butter+salt)
  • Broccoli
  • Green Beans
  • Mushrooms

Toppings / Flavors / Sauces:

  • Mayo+Mustard+Salt (great on salmon and turkey)
  • Chipotle Mayo
  • Cheese! (Makes everything more tasty, but moderate when in fat loss mode. Tip: A dollop of cream cheese or goat cheese is especially tasty on ground turkey.)
  • Butter (makes everything better!)
  • Bacon (Delicious on its own of course, but can also be used to amp up the flavor of ground meat, burgers, chicken, etc.)
  • Pesto (try to find options made with olive oil, not canola oil)
  • Cilantro Lime Crema (Don Poncho brand is at Costco, not the cleanest ingredients, but acceptable in moderation, 2 Carbs per 2 TBSP)
  • Sour Cream
  • Guacamole
  • Poke Sauce: Some mix of; Sesame Oil, Tamari Sauce (or Coconut Aminos) {2:1 ratio soy/tamari:sesame oil}, Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
  • Marinara Sauce
  • Caesar Dressing, Ranch Dressing

Snacks:

  • Blueberries, Strawberries, and Raspberries (limit, usually I eat as a dessert with whipped cream)
  • Macadamia Nuts
  • Olives
  • Pepperoni (delicious with melted mozzarella cheese)

For a comprehensive keto food list created by PerfectKeto.com, click here.

REFERENCE: Health Articles

Keto Research

Benefits of Keto
 
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Keto Highlights (including benefits of focusing on animal proteins and fats) as an optimal healthy lifestyle…

  • The goal should be to burn as little sugar as possible over the course of your lifetime, as this is the path to overall health and longevity. Excess sugar is the most detrimental to aging, cellular function, and brain health.
  • Insulin / blood sugar spikes from eating carbohydrates should be avoided, as this can lead to inflammation and destabilize our brain and body chemistry.
  • Meat is the most nutrient dense food since the nutrients are also more bioavailable. Meat is the only nutritionally complete food, containing all the protein/fat and vitamins/minerals that we need (especially when organ meats are included). Meat contains all 20 of the amino acids our cells use to build proteins
  • Vegetables contain cellulose, phytates and tannins that may interfere with digestion or absorption of vitamins and minerals. In contrast, meat is easy to digest and absorb as it does not contain these “anti-nutrients”.
  • Fat is vital to our health. There are some essential vitamins (i.e., A, D, E and K) that require fat to be absorbed by our intestines.
  • Best sources of essential omega-3 fatty acids are grass-fed meats (incl. organ meats) and fatty fish.
  • Not only are grains and beans/legumes low in nutrients, but they also contain lectins and phytic acid. This can irritate your gut and immune system and interfere with our ability to absorb minerals.

From Dr. Georgia Ede’s website, Micronutrients Availability in Plant and Animal Foods

Video: Your Body’s Real Age

Foods to Restore Intestinal Flora

Probiotic Foods

  • Yogurt (no added sugar, instead add berries, ground flax seeds, nuts, coconut flakes, etc.)
  • Kefir
  • Artisan Cheeses – Blue Cheese, Feta, Ricotta, Mozzarella, etc.
  • Sour cream
  • Miso
  • Sauerkraut
  • Pickles

VIDEO: Brain Benefits of Fasting, TEDx Talk

TEDx Talk by Professor Mark Mattson, John Hopkins University

HEALTH: SIBO Protocol + Resources

Treatment Protocol, 5R’s:

  1. Remove
  2. Replace
  3. Rebalance
  4. Repair
  5. Reinoculate

REMOVE – Eliminate unhealthy bacteria and avoid any foods that may be contributing to the imbalance in your microbiome. Remove stress!

Anti-Microbial Protocol: To remove unhealthy bacteria, you need herbal anti-microbial supplements and dietary changes. Popular Herbs: Berberine, Oregano, Allicin.
(Consider alternating herbs, take 2 types for 4 days, then switch to 2 more, then back again, etc.)

Diet Protocol (Minimum 3 months): Low FODMAP (PDF) / List of foods to avoid and eat (website)
AVOID: Garlic, Onions, Mushrooms, Cauliflower, Cashews
Grocery List, Whole30 Low FODMAP Modification

REPLACE – Add in digestive support.

  • Take Digestive Enzymes before each meal to help break down food and absorb nutrients, take HCL stomach acid after each meal.
  • Each evening, take Magnesium Citrate (osmotic laxative- draws water into intestine) 500-2000 mg/night, start lower, (1000 is a common effective dose)
  • Increase Insoluble Fiber Intake (less likely to cause gas) (i.e., nuts, green beans)

REBALANCE – Rest. Relax. Restore. Lifestyle improvements and self-care such as good sleep, mindful, relaxed eating (with lots of chewing), meditation, yoga, or other relaxation practices, acupuncture.

REPAIR – Restore optimal digestive function and heal the lining of your intestinal walls.

  • Take L-glutamine supplement to help seal leaky gut as it’s a primary nutrient source for the mucosal lining of our GI tract.
  • Take prokinetics to help to propel the GI tract and stimulate the migrating motor complex (MMC). Popular suggestions: Triphala, Ginger, and Iberogast.

REINOCULATE – Replenish the gut with healthy probiotics, and incorporate prebiotics and fiber. (IMPORTANT: Timing of reintroducing probiotics and fermented foods will vary by individual. Specifically, some do not do well with lactobacillus species until gut problems are resolved.)

Useful SIBO Resources/Websites:

Other Supplements Commonly Recommended:

  • Bile salts and bitter extracts to help break down fats.
  • Medical Futures ‘Iberogast’- 20 drops with meals as needed and at bedtime.
  • Bone Broth

The Bountiful Year: A Visual Guide To Seasonal Produce

Books: Inspiring Health/Nutrition Authors

Below is a short list of a few health and nutrition experts / authors who have influenced and inspired me (in no particular order). Each expert may promote different health philosophies, but a common theme is to eat real, nutritious (unprocessed!) food. I take nuggets of expertise from each of them and incorporate the elements that work for me.

  • Michael Pollen (Author of In Defense of Food)
  • Dr. Mark Hyman (Author of Ultra Wellness)
  • Mark Sisson (Paleo, Author of Primal Blueprint)
  • Gary Taubes (Low-Carb, Author of Good Calories, Bad Calories)
  • Mariel Hemingway (Author of Healthy Living from the Inside Out. One of the first books I read that inspired me to live healthier!)

Book Summary: The Beauty Detox Foods by Kimberly Snyder

“The Beauty Detox Foods” book by Kimberly Snyder was a very inspiring read. The author focuses heavily on a vegan lifestyle, but the overarching principle is the importance of having an abundance of greens and plant foods in your diet to enable your body to function optimally and to be your most energetic and beautiful self.

WEBSITE:
http://kimberlysnyder.net/

Important principles from the book:

  • Digestion takes more energy than any other internal function of the human body, so by eating ‘beauty detox foods’ you free up this energy from digestion leading to superior health and radiant beauty.
  • The high content of minerals, enzymes, and fiber in ‘beauty detox foods’ also help cleanse and unclog waste from your intestines allowing your body to more optimally absorb nutrients.
  • Greens are the most important, nutrient-dense food group in your diet, full of alkaline minerals, chlorophyll, and amino acids to regenerate and purify your cells.
  • Drink water between meals, NOT at meals. Too much water with your meals will dilute your digestive juices and slow down the digestive process.
  • Blending your greens into smoothies “predigests” them freeing up more energy from digestion.
  • Increasing fiber is the very important to cleanse your body!
  • Sugar destroys your beauty, contributing to wrinkles, stiff joints, weight gain, and several other negative effects in your body.

The connection between food and beauty is incredibly powerful. Just by changing the foods you eat, you can radically change the way you look and feel. -Kimberly Snyder, “The Beauty Detox Foods”

Some favorite “beauty detox foods”:

  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Avocados
  • Nuts and Seeds (Almonds, Walnuts, Flaxseeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Hemp Seeds, Chia Seeds, Sunflower Seeds)
  • Cucumbers
  • Lemon
  • Carrots
  • Blueberries
  • Bananas
  • Asparagus
  • Broccoli
  • Romain Lettuce
  • Parsley
  • Sprouts
  • Spirulina/Chlorella
  • Dulse
  • Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Radishes
  • Nutritional Yeast
  • Coconut Oil

 

In moderation:

  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Figs
  • Pineapple
  • Pears
  • Apples
  • Bee Pollen

One of the most important assets you have in your quest for beauty is energy. Energy is a key factor in your ability to shed weight easily and permanently, achieve great health and look your most beautiful. Energy regenerates your liver and other tissue cells, flushes toxic waste from the body, helps maintain your ideal weight, keeps your skin’s collagen smooth and your hair healthy… -Kimberly Snyder, “The Beauty Detox Foods”

 

Superfood: Spirulina

Superfood: Spirulina

Spirulina, a single-celled blue-green algae, is a great ingredient to add to your smoothies. It has a lengthy list of nutrients and benefits!

  • Nutrient-dense, excellent source for several important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, including calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, B12, and beta-carotene.
  • Excellent protein source, containing the eight essential amino acids, and 10 non-essential amino acids – the building blocks of protein.
  • Easily digested and assimilated by the body.
  • Highly energizing
  • Contains chlorophyll which cleanses and alkalises the body. It’s highly alkalizing properties rid the body of acid waste, and helps to promote a healthy acid-alkaline balance in your body. (Interesting fact – chlorophyll is only one molecule different from our blood!)
  • Other benefits include, cancer prevention, enhanced immune function, detoxification, cholesterol lowering, liver-protection and anti-inflammatory effects.

Apparently, NASA has even selected spirulina as an important space foods, as it provides nearly everything the human body needs!

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