Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to clean out your pantry and fill your kitchen with super nutritious food. If not, what are you waiting for? Also, we hope you understand now why you need to end your abusive relationship with sugar and processed food that is beating you up on the inside. The list of simple swaps I gave you last week should help you form new, healthier relationships. If you haven’t downloaded it’s not too late.
Now I want to give you some take off tips and an example of what a typical day of food looks like for me. Here’s the truth about a typical day of food in my family’s house — we make it simple! I’m going to give you examples to show you how many possible options there are for you to eat. But truth be told, we don’t have time to do that much cooking. I don’t cook lunch or prepare fancy snacks. Part of our strategy is to make use of left overs and make sure we have lots of grab-&-go snacks prepped and packed.
Typical Amen Day of Food
6:30 am – Breakfast (Eat within one hour of waking up):
- 16- 20 ounces of warm water with lemon and ginger upon waking
- “Brain Balancing Smoothie” made with protein, fat, ½ cup berries and lots of greens
10:00 am – Mid-morning snack:
- A hard-boiled egg and a green juice or veggies with hummus
- 16 ounces of water with fresh-squeezed lemon juice
12-12:30 pm – Lunch:
- Left over salad w lots of chopped veggies with 2-3 ounces of lean protein (usually chicken, salmon, or shrimp) and chopped, raw almonds or walnuts
- 8-10 ounces of water with lemon
3:30 pm – Late-afternoon snack:
Option 1: Apple Cinnamon Chicken Salad and water with lemon
Option 2: If I’m on the run, I have another “Brain Balancing Smoothie” with ½ apple, ½ grapefruit or pear, ½ carrot, ½ cucumber, one scoop of dried greens, 10-15 grams of protein powder*, and 1 Tbsp. flax or pumpkin seeds; 16 ounces water with lemon
6:30-7:30 pm – Dinner:
- 1½ cups shredded spaghetti squash or Shiritaki noodles topped with tomato-basil sauce containing 2-3 ounces of lean protein (shrimp or ground turkey)
- A large green salad with 1 Tbps. olive oil dressing, 1-2 cups steamed broccoli
- 1 cup of caffeine-free herbal tea with a few drops of Stevia
Dessert: (small amounts):
Takeoff Tips
Now that you know what to eat, try these simple tips to get started and help you stay on track. Keep these strategies in mind as you plan your meals each day:
- Eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.
- Eat every three to four hours, having a meal or snack five or six times a day.
- Limit foods that are overcooked. Instead, opt for as many raw and lightly cooked choices as possible.
- Measure your portions.
- Shake hands with protein. When nutritional information and measuring aids are unavailable, you can use the palm of your hand to determine a good portion size for protein foods. A 20 to 40 gram serving of meat or fish is about the size and width of the palm of your hand (minus your fingers).
- If you’re going to cheat, do it with lean protein and health fat, not carbohydrates! This will help give your brain the signal that your hunger is satisfied, unlike simple or starchy carbs that will make you hungrier.
- Never allow yourself to become too hungry. Be sure to eat every three or four hours, and always include protein and healthy fats in each meal.
- If you do feel hungry, increase your intake of raw or lightly cooked (non-starchy) vegetables—they’re “free” foods, and you can have as much as you want. Keep in mind fruit, with its high concentration of fructose (fruit sugar), raises blood sugar and insulin levels and should be limited to one or two servings a day.
- Instead of bread, use lettuce wraps for sandwiches and burgers.
- Always plan ahead. Do your menu planning, shopping, and food preparation in advance—it’s great if you can use one day each week to prepare for the following days. Pack your lunch and have plenty of healthy snacks on hand, along with an ice chest that’s ready to go whenever you leave the house. The better prepared you can be, the more likely you are to stick with the program. As Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Father’s of the United States, says, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
- When you’re preparing meals, cook extra and pack leftovers for lunch the next day.
- Always have fresh avocados handy for guacamole.
- In restaurants, don’t let the waiter leave bread on the table.
- Have a delicious list of alternatives handy for the things you will be eliminating.
Brain Warriors, to get you started check out the free recipes on this site. You’ll also find simple to make and delicious recipes the whole family will enjoy in The Brain Warrior’s Way Cookbook* or The Omni Diet. *Get 21% off with coupon code TANA21 at checkout.
