Photo: Svadilfari
Diet facts
The human body requires:
- Proteins
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Green vegetable materials
- Carbohydrates
Raw food, by contrast, is all food. This is the essence of a Green diet.
Case study: The Green hamburger
Nobody has ever pretended that a hamburger was the way to perfect health. The problem for most people is that they love hamburgers. Ironically, if you have a hamburger with a lot of fresh greenery, whole grain bread, and the food isn’t over-processed, you’re getting some of what you need.
A Green hamburger, in contrast, is a real meal. The list of nutrients is extremely long, but check out the basics, related to essential requirements:
- Proteins- Lean meat provides essential amino acids (Fat doesn’t provide anything but problems)
- Vitamins- B vitamins, Vitamin E, Vitamin C from vegetables, beta carotene if beetroot or carrot are added, Vitamin A from some vegetables
- Minerals- Zinc, copper, iron, phosphorous, calcium, and other trace elements from meat, vegetables and breads
- Green vegetable materials- Chlorophyll, nitrogen, trace elements
- Carbohydrates- Breads have various forms of carbohydrates, low GI breads are best by far.
The Green diet shopping list
If you want to have an absolute ball shopping for food, you can get it all, cheaply.This is a sample shopping list for no more than $20:
Fresh parsley: This can turn any meal into a joy, and it’s got the dark green vegetable materials required for a good diet.
- Carrots: Beta carotene by the ton, fibre, and will go with any meal.
- Cheese: Matured cheese is much better and food values are higher.
- Sprouts: Bean sprouts have built in minerals and tastes fantastic with all dishes
- Corn: High value energy food, with trace elements.
- Potatoes: Steamed in their jackets, they’re like a whole extra meal, and it’s all good.
- Multigrain bread: The fancy brands are just that. As long as it’s whole grain, you’re getting excellent dietary value, all the time.
- Olive oil: The Mediterranean’s secret oil, absolutely trustworthy for cooking, with its own valuable nutrients.
- Meat: Lean, and remove every trace of fat you can see. (Note: More isn’t better with meat. A smaller portion is generally better in terms of digestion.)
- Soy: Most people prefer brands, but look for good value as well.
- Fruit: Go nuts on the fruits. They’ve all got high food value, and they also provide fresh, absolutely pure water.
- Salt: Salt isn’t the enemy. Too much sodium, however, is too much. Stick to sea salt and avoid the high sodium foods.