 
#  Superfoods Body

### By Don Orwell

http://SuperfoodsToday.com

Copyright © 2015 by Don Orwell.

All legal rights reserved. You cannot offer this book for free or sell it. You do not have reselling legal rights to this book. This eBook may not be recreated in any file format or physical format without having the expressed written approval of Don Orwell. All Violators will be sued.

While efforts have been made to assess that the information contained in this book is valid, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any accountability for errors, interpretations, omissions or usage of the subject matters herein.

**Disclaimer** :

The Information presented in this book is created to provide useful information on the subject areas discussed. The publisher and author are not accountable for any particular health or allergic reaction needs that may involve medical supervision and are not liable for any damage or damaging outcomes from any treatment, application or preparation, action, to any person reading or adhering to the information in this book. References are presented for informational reasons only and do not represent an endorsement of any web sites or other sources. Audience should be informed that the websites mentioned in this book may change.

This publication includes opinions and ideas of its author and is meant for informational purposes only. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable for any damage or loss sustained from the usage of this publication **.**
Your Free Gift

As a way of saying thanks for your purchase, I'm offering you my FREE eBook that is exclusive to my book and blog readers.

**Superfoods Cookbook - Book Two** has over 70 Superfoods recipes and complements Superfoods Cookbook Book One and it contains Superfoods Salads, Superfoods Smoothies and Superfoods Deserts with ultra-healthy non-refined ingredients. All ingredients are 100% Superfoods.

It also contains Superfoods Reference book which is organized by Superfoods (more than 60 of them, with the list of their benefits), Superfoods spices, all vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Superfoods Reference Book lists Superfoods that can help with 12 diseases and 9 types of cancer.

http://www.SuperfoodsToday.com/FREE

## Introduction

Hello,

My name is Don Orwell and my blog SuperfoodsToday.com is dedicated to Superfoods lifestyle. Read about how I discovered Superfoods Diet in Appendix A

# Superfoods Cookbook Book One

Allergy labels: SF – Soy Free, GF – Gluten Free, DF – Dairy Free, EF – Egg Free, V - Vegan, NF – Nut Free

# Condiments

####

## Basil Pesto

• 1 cup basil

• 1/3 cup cashews

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1/2 cup olive oil

Process basil, cashews and garlic until smooth. Add oil in a slow stream. Process to combine. Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V

## Cilantro Pesto

• 1 cup cilantro

• 1/3 cup cashews

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1/2 cup olive oil or avocado oil

Process cilantro, cashews and garlic. Add oil in a slow stream. Process to combine. Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V

## Sundried Tomato Pesto

• 3/4 cup sundried tomatoes

• 1/3 cup cashews

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1/2 cup olive oil or avocado oil

Process tomato, cashews and garlic. Add oil in a slow stream. Process to combine. Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V

# Broths

Some recipes require a cup or more of various broths, vegetable, beef or chicken broth. I usually cook the whole pot and freeze it.

## Vegetable broth

Servings: 6 cups

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. coconut oil

• 1 large onion

• 2 stalks celery, including some leaves

• 2 large carrots

• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

• 8 cloves garlic, minced

• 8 sprigs fresh parsley

• 6 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 quarts water

Instructions - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

Chop veggies into small chunks. Heat oil in a soup pot and add onion, scallions, celery, carrots, garlic, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook over high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Bring to a boil and add salt. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain. Other ingredients to consider: broccoli stalk, celery root

## Chicken Broth

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. fresh chicken (wings, necks, backs, legs, bones)

• 2 peeled onions or 1 cup chopped leeks

• 2 celery stalks

• 1 carrot

• 8 black peppercorns

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 sprigs fresh parsley

• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

Put cold water in a stock pot and add chicken. Bring just to a boil. Skim any foam from the surface. Add other ingredients, return just to a boil, and reduce heat to a slow simmer. Simmer for 2 hours. Let cool to warm room temperature and strain. Keep chilled and use or freeze broth within a few days. Before using, defrost and boil.

####

## Beef Broth

Ingredients

• 4-5 pounds beef bones and few veal bones

• 1 pound of stew meat (chuck or flank steak) cut into 2-inch chunks

• olive oil or cumin oil

• 1-2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

• 1-2 large carrots, cut into 1-2 inch segments

• 1 celery rib, cut into 1 inch segments

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

• Handful of parsley, stems and leaves

• 1-2 bay leaves

• 10 peppercorns

Instructions - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

Heat oven to 375°F. Rub olive oil over the stew meat pieces, carrots, and onions. Place stew meat or beef scraps, stock bones, carrots and onions in a large roasting pan. Roast in oven for about 45 minutes, turning everything half-way through the cooking.

Place everything from the oven in a large stock pot. Pour some boiling water in the oven pan and scrape up all of the browned bits and pour all in the stock pot.

Add parsley, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns to the pot. Fill the pot with cold water, to 1 inch over the top of the bones. Bring the stock pot to a regular simmer and then reduce the heat to low, so it just barely simmers. Cover the pot loosely and let simmer low and slow for 3-4 hours.

Scoop away the fat and any scum that rises to the surface once in a while.

After cooking, remove the bones and vegetables from the pot. Strain the broth. Let cool to room temperature and then put in the refrigerator.

The fat will solidify once the broth has chilled. Discard the fat (or reuse it) and pour the broth into a jar and freeze it.

# Pastes

## Curry Paste

This should not be prepared in advance, but there are several curry recipes that are using curry paste and I decided to take the curry paste recipe out and have it separately. So, when you see that the recipe is using curry paste, please go to this part of the book and prepare it from scratch. Don't use processed curry pastes or curry powder; make it every time from scratch. Keep the spices in original form (seeds, pods), ground them just before making the curry paste. You can dry heat in the skillet cloves, cardamom, cumin and coriander and then crush them coarsely with mortar and pestle.

Ingredients

• 2 onions, minced  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced  
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, finely chopped  
• 6 whole cloves

• 2 cardamom pods  
• 2 (2 inch) pieces cinnamon sticks, crushed  
• 1 tsp. ground cumin  
• 1 tsp. ground coriander  
• 1 tsp. salt  
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper  
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric

_Instructions - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF_

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry onions until transparent. Stir in garlic, cumin, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, salt, cayenne, and turmeric. Cook for 1 minute over medium heat, stirring constantly. At this point other curry ingredients should be added.

## Tomato paste

Some recipes (chili) require tomato paste. I usually prepare 20 or so liters at once (when tomato is in season, which is usually September) and freeze it.

Ingredients

• 5 lbs. chopped plum tomatoes  
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil plus 2 tbsp.  
• salt, to taste

Instructions - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes. Season with salt. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until very soft, about 8 minutes.

Pass the tomatoes through the finest plate of a food mill. Push as much of the pulp through the sieve as possible and leave the seeds behind.

Bring it to boil, lower it and then boil uncovered, so the liquid will thicken (approx. 30-40 minutes). That will give you homemade tomato juice. You get tomato paste if you boil for 60 minutes, it gets thick like store bought ketchup.

Store sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one month, or freeze, for up to 6 months.

## Precooked beans

Again, some recipes require that you cook some beans (butter beans, red kidney, garbanzo) in advance. Cooking beans takes around 3 hours and it can be done in advance or every few weeks and the rest get frozen. Soak beans for 24 hours before cooking them. After the first boil, throw the water, add new water and continue cooking. Some beans or lentils can be sprouted for few days before cooking and that helps people with stomach problems.

# Breakfast - Oatmeal

## Superfoods Oatmeal Breakfast

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1 cup cooked oatmeal

• 1 tsp. of ground flax seeds

• 1 tsp. of sunflower seeds

• A dash of cinnamon

• Half of the tsp. of cocoa

Cook oatmeal with hot water and after that mix all ingredients. Sweeten if you have to with few drops of raw honey. Optional: You can replace sunflower seeds with pumpkin seed or chia seed. You can add a handful of blueberries or any berries instead of cocoa.

## Oatmeal Yogurt Breakfast

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, EF, NF

• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal

• Handful of blueberries (optional)

• 1 cup of low-fat yogurt

Mix all ingredients and wait 20 minutes or leave overnight in the fridge if using steel cut oats.

## Cocoa Oatmeal

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

• 1/2 cup oats

• 2 cups water

• A pinch tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. ground vanilla bean

• 2 tbsp. cocoa powder

• 1 tbsp. raw honey

• 2 tbsp. ground flax seeds meal

• a dash of cinnamon

• 2 egg whites

Instructions

In a saucepan over high heat, place the oats and salt. Cover with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep adding 1/2 cup water if necessary as the mixture thickens.

In a separate bowl, whisk 4 tbsp. water into the 4 tbsp. cocoa powder to form a smooth sauce. Add the vanilla to the pan and stir.

Turn the heat down to low. Add the egg whites and whisk immediately. Add the flax meal, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Remove from heat, add raw honey and serve immediately.

Topping suggestions: sliced strawberries, blueberries or few almonds.

## Apple Oatmeal

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1 grated apple

• 1/2 cup oats

• 1 cup water

• Dash of cinnamon

• 2 tsp. raw honey

Instructions

Cook the oats with the water for 3-5 minutes.

Add grated apple and cinnamon. Stir in the raw honey.

# Coconut Pomegranate Oatmeal

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1/2 cup oats

• 1/3 cup coconut milk

• 1 cup water

• 2 tbs. shredded unsweetened coconut

• 1-2 tbs. flax seeds meal

• 1 tbs. raw honey

• 3 tbs. pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Cook oats with the coconut milk, water, and salt.

Stir in the coconut, raw honey and flaxseed meal. Sprinkle with extra coconut and pomegranate seeds.

#  

# Savory Breakfasts

Serves 1

## Regular egg recipes

Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

Eggs are great way to start a day and you can enjoy them hard boiled, scrambled, poached or in the omelet with veggies. Eat some breakfast veggies with eggs.

## Omelet with Leeks

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

Cook leeks in little coconut oil until they get soft and then mix the beaten eggs in.

## Egg pizza crust

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 cup of coconut flour

• 1 cup of coconut milk

• 1 crushed garlic clove

Mix and make an omelet.

## Omelet with Superfoods veggies

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

• 2 large eggs

• Salt

• Ground black pepper

• 1 tsp. olive oil or cumin oil

• 1 cup spinach, cherry tomatoes and 1 spoon of yogurt cheese

• Crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch of dill (optional)

Instructions

Whisk 2 large eggs in a small bowl. Season with salt and ground black pepper and set aside. Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add baby spinach, tomatoes, cheese and cook, tossing, until wilted (Approx. 1 minute). Add eggs; cook, stirring occasionally, until just set, about 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes and dill.

Egg Muffins

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

Serving: 8 muffins

• 8 eggs

• 1 cup diced green bell pepper

• 1 cup diced onion

• 1 cup spinach

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

• 2 tbsp. water

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil 8 muffin cups. Beat eggs together. Mix in bell pepper, spinach, onion, salt, black pepper, and water. Pour the mixture into muffin cups. Bake in the oven until muffins are done in the middle.

Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs

_Ingredients_ , serves 2 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• 4 eggs

• 1 Tbs water

• 4 oz smoked salmon, sliced

• 1/2 avocado

• ground black pepper, to taste

• 4 chives, minced (or use 1 green onion, thinly sliced)

Instructions

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add coconut oil to pan when hot. Meanwhile, scramble eggs. Add eggs to the hot skillet, along with smoked salmon. Stirring continuously, cook eggs until soft and fluffy. Remove from heat. Top with avocado, black pepper, and chives to serve.

# Salad Dressings

## Italian Dressing

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1 tsp. olive oil or cumin oil

• lemon

• minced garlic

• salt

• 1 Tbsp. of Spirulina, Chlorella, Maca or Matcha (optional)

## Yogurt Dressing

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• half a cup of plain low-fat Greek yogurt or low-fat buttermilk

• olive oil or avocado oil

• minced garlic

• salt

• lemon

Occasionally I would add a tsp. of mustard or some herbs like basil, oregano, marjoram, chives, thyme, parsley, dill or mint. If you like spicy hot food, add some cayenne in the dressing. It will speed up your metabolism and have interesting hot spicy effect in cold yogurt or buttermilk.

## Almond, Quinoa, Red Peppers & Arugula Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF, V

• 1 cup cooked quinoa mixed with 1 tbsp. pumpkin seeds  
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds  
• 1 cup chopped arugula  
• 1/2 cup sliced red peppers

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil  
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

##  

## Chickpeas, Quinoa, Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF, V

• 1 cup cooked quinoa mixed with 1 tbsp. sesame seeds  
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas  
• 1 cup chopped cucumber and green onions  
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil  
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

##  

## Tuna Bean Salad

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

Ingredients

• 1 can tuna in water, drained

• 1/3 cup four bean mix (or just white or red beans), drained, rinsed

• 1 tomato, deseeded, chopped

• 1 large celery stick, trimmed, finely chopped

• 1/2 small onion, halved, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

• 1/2 lemon, rind finely grated, juiced

• 1 garlic clove, crushed & 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil

Mix all ingredients and serve.

## Pork, Arugula & Tomato Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 cup grilled pork  
• 1 cup chopped arugula  
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato  
• 1/4 cup parsley

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or cumin oil  
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

## Chicken, Tomato, Spinach & Cucumber Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF, V

• 1 cup grilled chicken  
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber  
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato  
• 1 cup cooked spinach

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil   
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

## Tuna, Tomato, Arugula & Eggs Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

• 1 cup tuna chunks  
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato  
• 2 halved eggs  
• 1 cup Arugula  
• 1/2 cup sliced yellow peppers

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil   
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

## Tuna, Quinoa, Parsley & Cucumber Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 cup cooked quinoa  
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber  
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato  
• 1 cup drained tuna  
• 1/4 cup parsley

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or cumin oil  
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

## Pork, Red Quinoa, Carrot & Pumpkin Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 cup cooked quinoa mixed with 1 tbsp. chia seeds  
• 1/2 cup chopped pumpkin  
• 1/2 cup chopped pork meat  
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot

• 1/2 cup green peas

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil   
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

##  

##

## Chicken, Roasted Veggies & Arugula Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 cup sliced grilled chicken  
• 1/2 cup tomato  
• 1/2 cup grilled veggies  
• 1 cup arugula  
• 1/2 cup chopped red peppers

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil   
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

## Broccoli, Quinoa, Shrimps & Scallops Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 cup cooked quinoa mixed with 1 tbsp. ground flax seeds  
• 1 cup stir fried broccoli  
• 1/2 cup green peas  
• 1 cup stir fried shrimp and scallops

Dressing:  
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or cumin oil  
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  
• pinch of black pepper  
• pinch of sea salt

_Instructions:_ Mix all ingredients.

##  

# Appetizers

## Deviled Eggs

Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

Make deviled eggs and optionally add some chopped green chilies, black olives, chili powder and cayenne.

## Hummus

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

• 1/4 cup (59 ml) fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon

• 1/4 cup (59 ml) tahini

• Half of a large garlic clove, minced

• 2 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil, plus more for serving

• 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

• 2 to 3 tbsp. water

• Dash of ground paprika for serving

Instructions

Combine tahini and lemon juice and blend for 1 minute. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and the salt to tahini and lemon mixture. Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and then process 30 seconds more.

Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides, add remaining chickpeas and process for 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer the hummus into a bowl then drizzle about 1 tbsp. of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with paprika.

## Guacamole

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 4 ripe avocados

• 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)

• 8 dashes hot pepper sauce

• 1/2 cup diced onion

• 1 large garlic clove, minced

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1 medium tomato, seeded, and small-diced

Instructions

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out. Immediately add the lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper and toss well. Dice avocados. Add the tomatoes. Mix well and taste for salt and pepper.

## Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1 large eggplant

• 1/4 cup tahini, plus more as needed

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed

• 1 pinch ground cumin

• salt, to taste

• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil

• 1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1/4 cup brine-cured black olives, such as Kalamata

_Instructions_ :

Grill eggplant for 10 to 15 minutes. Heat the oven (375 F).

Put the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake 15-20 minutes or until very soft. Remove from the oven, let cool, and peel off and discard the skin. Put the eggplant flesh in a bowl. Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste.

Add the 1/4 cup tahini, garlic, cumin, 1/4 cup lemon juice and mix well. Season with salt to taste. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well. Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley.

Serve at room temperature.

## Espinacase la Catalana

Serves 4

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V

• 2 cups spinach

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 tbsp cashews

• 3 tbsp dried currants

• olive oil or cumin oil

Instructions

Wash the spinach and trim off the stems. Steam the spinach for few minutes.

Peel and slice the garlic. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil and cover the bottom of a frying pan. Heat pan on medium and sauté garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add the cashews and the currants to the pan and continue to sauté for 1 minute. Add the spinach and mix well, coating with oil. Salt to taste.

## Tapenade

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1/2 pound pitted mixed olives

• 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed

• 1 small clove garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp. capers

• 2 to 3 fresh basil leaves

• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil

Instructions

Rinse the olives in cool water. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process to combine, until it becomes a coarse paste. Transfer to a bowl and serve

## Red Pepper Dip

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, EF, NF

• 1 pound red peppers

• 1 cup farmers' cheese

• 1/4 cup virgin olive oil or avocado oil

• 1 tbsp minced garlic

• Lemon juice, salt, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes to taste.

Instructions

Roast the peppers. Cover them and cool for about 15 minutes. Peel the peppers and remove the seeds and stems. Chop the peppers.  
Transfer the peppers and garlic to a food processor and process until smooth. Add the farmers' cheese and garlic and process until smooth. With the machine running, add olive oil and lemon juice. Add the basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp. salt, and process until smooth. Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Pour to a bowl and refrigerate.

## Roasted Garlic

Instructions - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

Heat the oven to 350 F.  
Rub olive oil into the top of each garlic head and place it cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the cloves turn golden. Remove from the oven and let cool. Squeeze each head of garlic to expel the cloves into a bowl. Mash into a paste.

## Eggplant and Yogurt

Instructions - Allergies: SF, GF, EF, NF

Mix 1 pound chopped eggplant, 3 unpeeled shallots and 3 unpeeled garlic cloves with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 degrees for half an hour. Cool and squeeze the shallots and garlic from their skins and chop. Mix with the eggplant, almond, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, dill and salt and pepper.

## Caponata

Serves 3-4

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF

• coconut oil

• 2 large eggplants, cut into large chunks

• 1 tsp. dried oregano

• Sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped

• 2 tbsp. salted capers, rinsed, soaked and drained

• 1 handful green olives, stones removed

• 2-3 tbsp. lemon juice

• 5 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

• coconut oil

• 2 tbsp. slivered almonds, lightly toasted, optional

Instructions

Heat coconut oil in a pan and add eggplant, oregano and salt. Cook on a high heat for around 4 or 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks and continue cooking for another few minutes. Add drained capers and the olives and lemon juice. When all the juice has evaporated, add the tomatoes and simmer until tender.

Season with salt and olive oil to taste before serving. Sprinkle with almonds.

# Soups

## Cream of Broccoli Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, EF, NF

• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, fresh  
• 2 cups water  
• 3/4 tsp. salt, pepper to taste  
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour, mixed with 1 cup cold water  
• 1/2 cup coconut cream

• 1/2 cup low-fat farmers cheese

Steam or boil broccoli until it gets tender.  
Put 2 cups water and coconut cream in top of double boiler.  
Add salt, cheese and pepper. Heat until cheese gets melted.  
Add broccoli. Mix water and tapioca flour in a small bowl.  
Stir tapioca mixture into cheese mixture in double boiler and heat until soup thickens.

## Lentil Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF  
• 2 tbsp. olive oil or cumin oil   
• 1 cup finely chopped onion  
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot  
• 1/2 cup chopped celery  
• 2 teaspoons salt  
• 1 pound lentils  
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes  
• 2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth  
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander & toasted cumin

Instructions

Place the olive oil into a large Dutch oven. Set over medium heat. Once hot, add the celery, onion, carrot and salt and do until the onions are translucent. Add the lentils, tomatoes, cumin, broth and coriander and stir to combine. Increase the heat and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer at a low until the lentils are tender (approx. 35 to 40 minutes). Puree with a bender to your preferred consistency (optional). Serve immediately.

## Cold Cucumber Avocado Soup

Serves 2-3

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, EF, NF  
• 1 cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks  
• 1 avocado, peeled  
• 2 chopped scallions  
• 1 cup chicken broth  
• 3/4 cup Greek low-fat yogurt  
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice  
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper, or to taste  
Garnish:  
• Chopped chives, dill, mint, scallions or cucumber  
Instructions  
Combine the cucumber, avocado and scallions in a blender. Pulse until chopped.  
Add yogurt, broth and lemon juice and continue until smooth.  
Season with pepper and salt to taste and chill for 4 hours.  
Taste for seasoning and garnish.

## Bouillabaisse

Serves 6.

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 3 pounds of 3 different kinds of fish fillets

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 1-2 pounds of Oysters, clams, or mussels

• 1 cup cooked shrimp, crab, or lobster meat, or rock lobster tails

• 1 cup thinly sliced onions

• 4 Shallots or the white parts of 2 or 3 leeks, thinly sliced

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 large tomato, chopped

• 1 sweet red pepper, chopped

• 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

• 2-inch slice of fennel or 1 tsp. of fennel seed

• 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp. dried thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 2-3 whole cloves

• Zest of half an orange

• 1/2 tsp. saffron

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1 cup clam juice or fish broth

• 2 Tbps lemon juice

• 2/3 cup white wine

Instructions

In a large saucepan heat 1/4 cup of the coconut oil. When it is hot, add onions and shallots (or leeks). Sauté for a minute. Add crushed garlic, and sweet red pepper. Add celery, tomato, and fennel. Stir the vegetables until well coated. Add another 1/4 cup of coconut oil, bay leaf, thyme, cloves and the orange zest. Cook until the onion is golden. Cut fish fillets into 2-inch pieces. Add 2 cups of water and the pieces of fish to the vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add clams, oysters or mussels (optional) and crabmeat, shrimp or lobster tails, cut into pieces. Add salt, saffron and pepper. Add lemon juice, clam juice, and white wine. Bring to a simmer again and cook for 5 minutes longer.

## Gaspacho

Serves 4

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1/2 cup of flax meal

• 1kg tomatoes, diced

• 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper, diced

• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 150ml extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil

• 2tbsp lemon juice

• Salt, to taste

Instructions

Mix the peppers, tomatoes and cucumber with the crushed garlic and olive oil in the bowl of a blender. Add flax meal to the mixture. Blend until smooth. Add salt and lemon juice to taste and stir well. Refrigerate until well chilled. Serve with black olives, hard-boiled egg, cilantro, mint or parsley.

Grilled Meats and Salads

## Salmon with Large Fiber Loaded Salad with Italian Dressing

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 4oz. of Salmon grilled or prepared in the skillet.

• Large mixed spinach and lettuce salad with "Italian Dressing" and some thyme sprinkled on top of it. Salad can be as large as you want, but use the prescribed amount of the dressing.

## Herb Crusted Salmon

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

Rub some tarragon, chives and parsley over 4 oz. salmon and add some salt and pepper. Heat the pan with 1 tsp of coconut oil to medium high and place the salmon, skin-side up in the pan. Cook until golden brown on 1 side, about 4 minutes. Turn the fish over and cook until it feels firm to the touch. Salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Serve with a lemon wedge.

• Large mixed spinach and lettuce salad with "Italian Dressing" and some thyme sprinkled on top of it. Salad can be as large as you want, but use the prescribed amount of the dressing.

## Ground Beef Patty with Large Fiber Loaded Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, EF, NF

• 5oz. lean ground beef patty grilled or prepared in the skillet.

• Large mixed spinach and shredded cabbage salad with Yogurt Dressing. Salad can be as large as you want, but use half a cup of a dressing.

##  

# Stews, Chilies and Curries

## Stuffed Peppers with beans

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

2 large red or green bell peppers  
1 cup stewed tomatoes  
1/3 cup brown rice  
2 tbsp. hot water  
2 green onions  
8 ounces cooked black beans  
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes  
_Instructions_

Discard seeds and membrane from peppers. Place cut-side down and cover. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes.  
While the peppers are cooking, cook tomatoes, rice and water for 15 minutes. In the meantime, thinly slice green onions.  
Stir beans, green onions, and pepper flakes into tomato mixture. Cook for 10 minutes more. Drain peppers. Turn cut-side up. Spoon beans mixture evenly into peppers and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

## Vegetarian Chili

Serves 4-6

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

1 tbsp. coconut oil   
1 cup chopped onions  
3/4 cup chopped carrots  
3 cloves garlic, minced  
1 cup chopped green bell pepper  
1 cup chopped red bell pepper  
3/4 cup chopped celery  
1 tbsp. chili powder  
1-1/2 cups chopped mushrooms  
3 cups chopped tomatoes  
2 cups cooked kidney beans  
1 tbsp. ground cumin  
1-1/2 teaspoons oregano  
1-1/2 teaspoons crushed basil leaves

Instructions

Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan and add onions, carrots and garlic; sauté until tender. Stir in green pepper, red pepper, celery and chili powder.  
Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.  
To the vegetables add mushrooms; cook 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, cumin, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

##

## Lentil Stew

Recipe is for 4 servings, but you might want to adjust to 2 servings (eat one, freeze one)

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 cup dry lentils

• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth

• few tomatoes

• 1 medium potato chopped + 1/2 cup chopped carrot

• 1/2 cup chopped onion + 1/2 cup chopped celery (optional)

• few sprigs of parsley and basil + 1 garlic clove (minced)

• 1 pound of cubed lean pork or beef + pepper to taste

You can eat a salad of your choice with this stew.

## Braised Green Peas with Beef

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced and 1/2 inch of peeled/sliced fresh ginger (if you like)

• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

• 1 tomato, roughly chopped

• 1 chopped carrot

• 1 tbsp. coconut oil

• 1/2 cup chicken broth

• 4 oz. cubed beef

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger until they are soft. Add the red pepper, carrot, and tomatoes and sauté until the tomato begins to soften. Add in the green peas. Add 4 oz. cubed lean beef. Add in the broth and simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook until the peas are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

## White Chicken Chili

Serves: 5

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 2 green bell peppers

• 1 large yellow onion

• 1 jalapeno

• 1/2 cup diced green chilies (optional)

• 1/2 cup of spring onions

• 1.5 tbsp. coconut oil

• 3 cups cooked white beans

• 3.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

• salt to taste

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the chicken breasts and cook until cooked through. Drain water and allow chicken to cool. When cool, shred and set aside.

Dice the bell peppers, jalapeno and onion. Melt the coconut oil in a pot over high heat. Add the peppers and onions and sauté until soft, approx. 8-10 minutes.

Add the broth, beans, chicken and spices to the pot. Stir and bring to a low boil. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

Simmer for 10 more minutes and stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes to thicken. Top with cilantro.

## Crockpot Red Curry Lamb

Serves: 16

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 3 pounds cubed lamb meat

• Curry Paste *

• 4 cups tomato paste

• 1 tsp. salt plus more to taste

• 1/2 cup coconut milk or cream

Instructions

Make the Curry Paste. Add lamb and the curry paste in a crockpot. Pour one cup of tomato paste over the lamb. Add 2 cups of water to the crockpot. Stir, cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4-5 hours. Taste and season with salt.

Stir in the coconut milk and sprinkle with cilantro before serving. Serve over brown rice or naan bread.

## Gumbo

8 servings

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 pound medium shrimp peeled

• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut bite size

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 3/4 cup almond flour

• 2 cups chopped onions

• 1 cup chopped celery

• 1 cup chopped green pepper

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1 tbsp. minced fresh garlic

• 1 tsp. fresh thyme chopped

• 1/2 tsp. red pepper

• 6 cups chicken broth

• 2 cups diced tomatoes

• 3 cups sliced okra

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp. hot sauce

Instructions

Sauté' chicken on high heat until brown in a large pot. Remove and set aside. Chop onions, celery, and green pepper and set aside.

Place oil and flour in pot. Stir well and brown to make a roux. When roux is done add chopped vegetables. Sauté on low heat for 10 minutes.

Slowly add chicken broth stirring constantly.

Add chicken and all other ingredients except the okra, shrimp and parsley, which will be saved for the end.

Cover and simmer on low for half an hour. Remove lid and cook for half an hour more, stirring occasionally.

Add shrimp, okra and parsley. Continue to cook on low heat uncovered for 15 minutes.

## Chickpea Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• Curry Paste

• 4 cups cooked chickpeas  
• 1 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

Make Curry Paste. Mix in chickpeas and their liquid. Continue to cook and stir until all ingredients are well blended. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro just before serving, reserving 1 tbsp. for garnish.

Barbecued Beef

Serves 8

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1-1/2 cups tomato paste  
• 1/4 cup lemon juice  
• 2 tbsp. mustard  
• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 chopped carrot  
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper  
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic   
• 4 pounds boneless chuck roast

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine tomato paste, lemon juice and mustard. Stir in salt, pepper and garlic.   
Place chuck roast and carrot in a slow cooker. Pour tomato mixture over chuck roast. Cover, and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.   
Remove chuck roast from slow cooker, shred with a fork, and return to the slow cooker. Stir meat to evenly coat with sauce. Continue cooking approximately 1 hour.

####

## Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Shallots

Serves 4-6

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF

• 3/4 pound shallots, halved lengthwise and peeled  
• 1-1/2 tbsp. olive oil or cumin oil  
• salt and pepper to taste  
• 3 cups beef broth  
• 3/4 cup red wine  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons tomato paste  
• 2 pounds beef tenderloin roast, trimmed  
• 1 tsp. dried thyme  
• 3 tbsp. coconut oil  
• 1 tbsp. almond flour

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Toss shallots with olive oil to coat in a baking pan and season with salt and pepper. Roast until shallots are tender, stirring occasionally, about half an hour.  
Combine wine and beef broth in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat. Volume should be reduced by half. Add in tomato paste. Set aside.  
Pat beef dry and sprinkle with salt and thyme and pepper. Add beef to pan oiled with coconut oil. Brown on all sides over high heat.  
Put pan back to the oven. Roast beef about half an hour for medium rare. Transfer beef to platter. Cover loosely with foil.  
Place pan on stove top and add broth mixture. Bring to boil and stir to scrape up any browned bits. Transfer to a different saucepan, and bring to simmer. Mix 1 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil and flour in small bowl and mix. Whisk into broth, and simmer until sauce thickens. Stir in roasted shallots. Season with salt and pepper.  
Cut beef into 1/2 inch thick slices. Spoon some sauce over.

# Brown Rice Dishes

Serves 4-6

## Paella

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 5 tbsp. coconut oil

• 2 chopped garlic clove

• 2 chopped tomatoes

• Salt

• 1 tsp. sweet paprika

• A pinch of saffron

• 4 cleaned small squid, sliced

• 2 cups medium-grain brown rice

• 3 cups fish or chicken broth, plus more if needed

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 12 jumbo shrimps

• 16 mussels, scrubbed and debearded

Instructions

Put the oil in a 16-inch paella pan and fry the onion until soft. Stir in the garlic and tomatoes. Add salt to taste, paprika, and saffron, stir well, and cook until the tomatoes get soft. Add the squid and the rice and stir well.

Bring the wine and broth to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over the rice, bring to a boil, and add salt. Spread the rice in the pan. Cook the rice over low heat for 20 minutes. Put the shrimp on top after 10 minutes. Once they become pin, turn them. When the rice is done, turn off the heat and cover the pan.

Steam the mussels and put them on top of the paella.

## Asparagus Mint Lemon Risotto

Serves 6-8

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

For the risotto base

• 1 liter vegetable or chicken broth

• 2 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil

• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

• 4-5 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped

• 600 g brown rice

• 250 ml dry white wine

For the risotto

• 2 bunches asparagus, woody ends removed and discarded

• 700 ml vegetable or chicken broth

• 50 g coconut oil

• 1 bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and finely chopped

• zest and juice of 2 lemons

• sea salt

• ground black pepper

• extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil

Instructions

Chop asparagus discs, keeping the tips whole. Bring the broth to a simmer in a saucepan. Put the olive oil in a separate pan, add the celery and the onion and cook until soft. Add the rice and wine and turn up the heat and keep stirring.  
Add the broth to the rice a ladle at a time, stir well and wait until it has been absorbed. When it's all absorbed, put to one side.  
Put a saucepan on high heat and pour in half the broth, followed by all risotto base and the asparagus. Simmer until almost all the broth has been absorbed. Add the rest of the broth in batches until the rice and asparagus are cooked. Turn off the heat, add olive oil, mint, lemon zest and all the juice. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

# Stir Fries

## Pork and Bok Choy / Celery Stir Fry

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

5 oz. Lean Pork Tenderloin and Bok Choy / Celery stir fry. Use as much veggies as you want or replace Bok Choy with Kale. Season with fish sauce.

## Lemon Chicken Stir Fry

Serves 3-4

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 1 lemon

• 1/2 cup chicken broth

• 3 tbsp. fish sauce

• 2 teaspoons arrowroot flour

• 1 tbsp. coconut oil

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

• 10 ounces mushrooms, halved or quartered

• 2 cups snow peas, stems and strings removed

• 1 bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces, white and green parts divided

• 1 tbsp. chopped garlic

Instructions

Grate 1 tsp. lemon zest. Juice the lemon and mix 3 tbsp. of the juice with broth, fish sauce and arrowroot flour in a small bowl.

Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Add mushrooms to the pan and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Add snow peas, garlic, scallion whites and the lemon zest. Cook, stirring, around 30 seconds. Add the broth to the pan and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add scallion greens and the chicken and any accumulated juices and stir.

## Pan seared Brussels sprouts

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 6 oz. cubed pork

• 2 tbsp. coconut oil

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved

• 1/2 large onion, chopped

• Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

Cook pork in a skillet over high heat. Remove to a plate and chop. In same pan with pork fat, add coconut oil over high heat. Add onions and Brussels sprouts and cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and put pork back into pan. Serve immediately.

## Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Serves 1 - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 5oz. of lean Beef and 1 cup broccoli stir fry. Use as much broccoli as you want or replace Broccoli with Kale.

## Garbanzo Stir Fry

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 2 tbsp. coconut oil   
• 1 tbsp. oregano  
• 1 tbsp. chopped basil  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed  
• ground black pepper to taste  
• 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans

• 1 large zucchini, halved and sliced  
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms  
• 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro  
• 1 tomato, chopped

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in oregano, basil,  
garlic and pepper. Add the garbanzo beans and zucchini, stirring well to coat with oil and herbs. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in mushrooms and cilantro; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place the chopped tomato on top of the mixture to steam. Cover and cook 5 minutes more.

## Thai Basil Chicken

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, NF

For the egg

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsp. of coconut oil for frying

Basil chicken

• 1 chicken breast (or any other cut of boneless chicken, about 200 grams)

• 5 cloves of garlic

• 4 Thai chilies

• 1 tbsp. coconut oil for frying

• Fish sauce

• 1 handful of Thai holy basil leaves

Instructions

First, fry the egg.

Basil chicken

Cut the chicken into small pieces. Peel the garlic and chilies, and chop them fine. Add basil leaves.

Add about 1 tbsp. of oil to the pan.

When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic. Stir fry for half a minute.

Toss in your chicken and keep stir frying. Add fish sauce.

Add basil into the pan, fold it into the chicken, and turn off the heat.

## Shrimp with Snow Peas

Serves 4.

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

Marinade

• 2 teaspoons arrowroot flour

• 1 Tbsp wine

• 1/2 tsp. salt

Stir Fry

• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil

• 1 Tbsp minced ginger

• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

• 1/2 pound snow peas, strings removed

• 2 teaspoons fish sauce

• 1/4 cup chicken broth

• 4 green onions, white and light green parts, sliced diagonally

• 2 teaspoons dark roasted sesame oil

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and then add the shrimp. Mix to coat. Let it marinade 15 minutes while you prepare the peas, ginger, and garlic.

Add the coconut oil in the wok and let it get hot. Add the garlic and ginger and combine. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds.

Add the marinade to the wok, add the snow peas, fish sauce and chicken broth. Stir-fry until the shrimp turns pink. Add the green onions and stir-fry for one more minute. Turn off the heat and add the sesame oil. Toss once more and serve with steamed brown rice or soba gluten free noodles.

## Casseroles

Some recipes are for 1 person, adjust for 2 or more

## Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, NF

• 1 cup broccoli florets

• 6 oz. skinless, boneless chicken (or turkey) pieces (breast or dark meat)

• 1 tsp of flax meal

• Salt, pepper

• 1 egg - beaten

• Half a cup of Yogurt Dressing (or coconut milk, if you don't like the sourish tang)

• 1/4 cup of chicken broth

• 2 tbsp of grated low-fat cheddar cheese

Heat the oven to 400°. Cook broccoli around 5 minutes. Take broccoli out and add chicken (or turkey) and simmer for 15 minutes. Cut chicken (or turkey) into cubes and add it to the broccoli.

Combine broth, flax, salt and pepper in a pan and mix. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add yogurt dressing, beaten egg and then half of the cheese, stirring until well combined. Add sauce to broccoli mixture; and stir gently until combined.

Put mixture in a small casserole dish oiled with some coconut oil. Put remaining cheese on top, sprinkle. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until mixture bubbles at the edges and cheese begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

## Beef Meatballs Broccoli Casserole

Serves 1

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF

• 1 cup broccoli florets

• 4 oz. beef meatballs (see separate recipe)

• 1 tsp of almond flour

• Salt, pepper

• 1 egg - beaten

• Half a cup of Yogurt Dressing

• 1/4 cup of chicken broth

• 2 tbsp of grated low-fat cheddar cheese

Instructions

Heat oven to 400F. Cook broccoli around 5 minutes. Prepare beef meatballs as in the recipe above. Combine broth, flour, salt and pepper in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add yogurt dressing, beaten egg and then half of the cheese, stirring until well combined. Add sauce to broccoli mixture; and stir gently until combined.

Put mixture in a small casserole dish oiled with some coconut oil. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until mixture bubbles at the edges and cheese begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with large Fiber Loaded Salad with Italian Dressing.

# Side dishes

## Green Superfoods Rice

Serves: 8

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1 cup spinach or any other leafy greens

• 1 cup leeks

• 1/2 cup or more cilantro leaves or parsley

• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 1 cup brown rice

• 1 cup quinoa

• 3 tbsp flax meal

• 3 cups water

• 1/2 tsp. salt (more to taste)

Instructions

Pulse the spinach, leeks, cilantro, pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Do it until they become very finely chopped.

Heat the oil in a pot over high heat. Add the rice and quinoa and stir continuously for 5-8 minutes, until the rice is starting to turn light golden brown. Add the water, salt. Cover and boil for 5 minutes. Stir, and lower the heat to simmer for another 10 minutes. Stir in the green paste from the step 1 and cook until the rice is fluffy. Serve with additional salt, cilantro leaves, and lime if desired.

## Roasted curried cauliflower

Serves 10

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, NF

• 12 cups cauliflower florets

• 1 chopped large onion

• 1 tsp. coriander seeds

• 1 tsp. cumin seeds

• 3/4 cup olive oil or cumin oil

• 1/2 cup lemon juice

• 3 1/2 teaspoons curry paste

• 1 tbsp. hot paprika

• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

Heat oven to 450°F. Place cauliflower florets in large roasting pan. Add onions to cauliflower. Dry toast coriander and cumin seeds in a skillet over medium heat until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Crush in mortar with pestle. Place seeds in bowl. Whisk in oil, lemon juice, curry paste, paprika, and salt. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to coat. Spread vegetables in single layer and sprinkle with pepper.

Roast vegetables until tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.

Sprinkle cilantro and serve warm.

## Roasted cauliflower with Tahini sauce

Serves 6

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil  
• 4 tsp. ground cumin  
• 2 heads cauliflower, cored and cut into 1 1/2'' florets  
• Salt and ground black pepper  
• 1/2 cup tahini  
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced into a paste  
• Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

Roast cauliflower like in the previous recipe.  
Meanwhile, combine tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and 1/2 cup water in a bowl and season with salt. Serve cauliflower hot or at room temperature with tahini sauce.

## Baked Sweet Potatoes

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 2 medium sweet potatoes

Instructions

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Quarter sweet potatoes and place them in a casserole with a lid. Bake until tender when pierced with a fork (40 minutes approx.).

## Asparagus with mushrooms and hazelnuts

Serves 4

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V

• 2 tbsp. lemon juice

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• Ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, ends trimmed

• 2 tbsp. coconut oil

• 6 cups mushrooms

• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced

• 2 tbsp. hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped

Instructions

Add the lemon juice, 1 tbsp. of the oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Boil water in a pan and add the asparagus. Boil for few minutes. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp. oil in a pan on high heat. Add mushrooms and cook them until they are soft. Add green onions and sauté 1 more minute. Add the asparagus, and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly add in the lemon juice mixture. Add the toasted hazelnuts over the top.

## Chard and Cashew Sauté

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1 bunch Swiss chard

• 1/2 cup cashews

• 1 tbsp. coconut oil

• Sea salt (optional)

• Ground black pepper

Instructions

Wash Swiss chard and remove tough stems. Heat a skillet over medium heat, and add oil when hot. Chop Swiss chard into thin strips. Add Swiss chard to the hot skillet, along with cashews. Sauté only 1 minute. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste and serve warm.

## Cauliflower rice side dish

Serves 2

Ingredients - Allergies: SF, GF, DF, EF, V, NF

• 1 head cauliflower

• 2 Tbs coconut oil

• Sea salt, garlic, ginger or ground black pepper (optional seasonings)

Instructions

Place the cauliflower into a food processor and pulse it until a grainy rice-like consistency. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add coconut oil when hot. Sauté cauliflower in a pan with oil and any additional seasonings if desired.

Appendix A

## My Life story and how I discovered a Superfoods Diet

If you're an experienced, overweight yo-yo-er, you have to accept the following facts:

• You can't change your nature and your obsession with food

• You can't control your appetite

• You can't control the size of your food portions

• You can't control your eating habits

If you are overweight, at least one of these things is off-balance, which is enough to cause your weight problems. Let's face it, if you have yo-yoed with your weight more than a few times in your life, there is no hope for you. Read that again: there is no hope for you. You have to make peace with yourself; you have to accept the fact that there is no hope for you and you have to accept the fact that you are not capable of solving your weight problems by yourself. You need help.

This book deals with core reasons of the Yo-Yo Nations weight problems. It describes issues people have while dieting and it offers solutions for every issue.

Here's how it all started.

I had some life-changing experiences in 2009 and that led me to start re-thinking my eating habits and my current lifestyle. Basically, I got scared to death, and that moved me. My blog and this book would not exist without my dieting mistakes, so bear with me and you will get slowly introduced to Superfoods. I wish that I had been clever enough to see my health disaster coming, but I wasn't, although I always thought of myself as being very smart. I was healthy in 2009, and I was overweight, but it was nothing too dangerous. At least that is what I thought.

One morning in February 2009, I woke up with a back pain (again). Usually, back pain in the morning had been a sign for me that I'm over-overweight again and that I needed to go on a diet. I was 38 at the time, weighting more than 275 pounds (125 kg.). I would run out of breath by just walking up the stairs. When it came to running around and playing with the kids, I was overheated and over-exhausted after only a few minutes. I had gotten to the stage where, when I was sitting on the bed in the morning, if I had to put my socks on, I had to get up and lean against the wall and do it or I would have to take a breath before I would lean over to put my sock on. I started to hate myself and felt disgusted with myself, too.

Like me, you have probably spent lots of money on diet books, exercise classes, fitness DVDs, gym memberships and maybe even weight loss pills. You have probably lost some weight along the way, but always seem to end up back at square one. I didn't want to go that route again.

I said to myself, "Hey, you're only 38, but you look like shit and you started to feel like an old man." And then, one morning, very early, while I was in half sleep, I suddenly understood everything and I had a solution for my problem. By trade, I'm a software engineer and my job is to solve someone else's problems, so I tried to apply the same approach to my problem. I knew that I couldn't change my eating habits when I wasn't on a diet and I knew that sooner or later I would get so busy and distracted that I would not have the mental strength to continue to pay attention to what I eat. And I was stuck with that problem. But a few days later, I solved the problem in my sleep!

I accepted the fact that I could not change my appetite, that I couldn't control myself when it came to food and that I would be cycling my weight all my life. My usual full cycle was half a year, sometimes a year, if I was lucky. I would successfully go on a diet (usually around spring time), stick with it for 2-3 months at the max, lose some weight, pay attention to what I ate for another few months, and then somehow I'd just get distracted and slip into my old eating habits. And after a few months, everything got piled back.

So, I accepted the fact that there was no hope for me. I made peace with myself about that. I also accepted the fact that I would cycle my weight for the rest of my life. And at the end, I decided to spare myself of future despair and disappointments and decided to cycle my weight every day.

Yes, that was the solution for my problems! Or at least this is what I thought at that time. I'd shorten the full cycle of dieting and going back to eating "regular food" from 6 months to one day. I knew that I couldn't control my appetite; I was and I will always be obsessed with food. But, hey, can I control the size of my food portions or the amount of food I eat in a certain period? After yo-yoing for so long, I just knew that I couldn't control it. I mean, I could have a regular portion of food, but less than 2 hours later, I'd be hungry again. And then, I would over-snack until the next meal, which I wouldn't skip. (That is a common problem for overweight people, they either can't control the size of their portions or they eat between meals.) So, my wisdom told me that this practice goes to my "cannot change" list. You're probably thinking, Hey, this guy just admitted that he can't control his appetite and the amount of food he eats, so is there a chance for someone like him to lose weight and maintain it throughout his life? Let's explore this idea some more.

Could I change something, like the type of the food I ate? Yes! I knew I could! I was successful in doing low carb diets, so I knew that I could change the type of the food I ate, at least for some time. I was not successful at low-fat diets that restricted the amount of food; I was always hungry and nervous. So, I tried the Atkins diet and it worked great for me, although I had all the possible side-effects of it. When my friend doctor saw me after one of the low carb diets, he couldn't believe his eyes. But when I told him how I lost weight, he was shocked. He kept explaining that cutting carbs too much can be very dangerous for my health, that it was plain stupid to go through the induction phase of the Atkins diet. Going on a diet that restricts any type of food is dangerous, but completely cutting out one very important type of food is as if you were about to start your exercise program after years of inactivity, akin to deciding to apply a training that a professional athlete does every day in the middle of the training (e.g. running repeat sprints or doing 100+ push-ups). You wouldn't approach your exercise program this way, would you? You wouldn't try to extremely shock your body, would you? Why would you then approach dieting by completely cutting out one type of food, even if you know it's dangerous and it has side-effects?

Before 2009, I was an average weight loss yo-yoer, with 2 highlights to brag of. In 1994, I managed to lose 35 kilos (75 pounds) in less than a year. I came down from 120 kg (265 pounds) to 75 kg (165 pounds). When I think of it now, I know that I did it in a very stupid way. I wasn't exercising at all and I ate very small amounts of food. I skipped breakfasts and ate salads with some type of low-fat protein for lunch and dinner. I remember that I ate tomato and cucumbers in the summer and sauerkraut in the winter.

Initially, I thought to exclude bread and potatoes. These were the only carbs I ate back then; I ate zero rice and cereals. I also stopped eating anything sweet, including fruits. I didn't read any books about dieting, I just decided on a whim to start a diet. Because it went great from the beginning, I didn't think that I should educate myself about dieting, so I kept eating smaller and smaller portions, which slowed my metabolism to almost a full stop, which caused me to lose almost all of my muscle mass along the way. Before that diet, I had gone the gym for 9 months and I was able to push 55-60 kg on the bench press. When I finished my diet and went back to the gym, I couldn't push more than 30 kilos for the first few weeks. I was so embarrassed! That was a lesson learned the hard way. Even at 75 kilos, I had some stubborn belly fat that I couldn't get rid of. Being overweight all of my life left a stamp on my body.

A friend who was on medical studies back then explained that fat cells are 85% fat, with the remaining 15% comprising the cell nucleus and other cell material. He said that when I lose fat, the fat cell still continues to exist; it's just has less fat, but it's still there, dormant and ready to be filled with fat that body stores when I eat too many calories. Scary to know, isn't it? Later, I read on the Internet that dieting has its rhythm and that a person loses the weight easiest in the beginning but that the weight loss gets slower and slower until it stops. This stop can be prevented with exercising, as your metabolism will get faster and faster.

I was able to keep myself under 100 kg until 2000. I went 4-5 times a week to the gym, ate protein rich food and yo-yoed between 82 (180 pounds) and 94 kilos (207 pounds). Then, in February 2000, I switched jobs, life got more stressful, and I stopped going to the gym.

Within a year, I was back to over 250 pounds (114 kg). But I was 30 at the time and my health was good. At the end of 2002 our son was born, and I somehow gained weight again. I went to over 120 kg (265 pounds). Then 15 months later, our daughter was born and my weight peaked at 275 pounds (125 kg). But, I had a new job, much less stress at work, and the Atkins diet was all the rage back then in 2004.

I embarked on the Atkins diet, but this time I was much better prepared. I wasn't exercising at all, but house chores and being around my children caused me to be more active. I wasn't worried about muscle loss because Atkins is all about protein, right? However, I was a little worried about ketosis and whether my brain would work fine, because brain feeds on glucose, which is the simplest type of the carbs. When I started the Atkins diet, I had some terrible side effects during the first few weeks (headache, weakness, tiredness, constipation, bad breath) and it took me a while to find some sort of food that wouldn't be boring to eat.

The Atkins diet encourages the eating of fat cheese and fatty processed meats, but I got bored with them after 2 weeks of eating it daily and I wanted to speed up the weight loss, so I ate low-fat protein with raw or steamed cauliflower (the "official" potato replacement). That got boring quickly too, so I educated myself about carbs that should be counted and fiber that should not be counted and started to eat a lot of fiber-loaded veggies with lean protein such as boiled eggs, fish, lean pork, chicken, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, spinach and celery. For breakfast I ate eggs and every second day either low-fat cottage cheese or low-fat yogurt with cucumbers and/or celery.

I even bought ketone test strips and was happily peeing on them every few days. The extra weight I carried melted away quickly. After 4-5 months, I lost 30-35 kilos, and I was at 90 kg (200 pounds). I was really satisfied with the results. I started to preach the Atkins diet and turned myself into a low-carb Taliban, proclaiming sugar and carbs as evil things.

I was able to keep my weight under 100 kg for almost 3 years, just because I ate a low-carb office lunch (fiber salad and protein). But after 3 years, my job got stressful again and I went back to my old eating habits. The extra kilos started to creep up on me again, and before I knew what was happening, my kids told me that I was fat. In the summer of 2008 and at the end of February 2009, I had bloodwork done. I was in the middle of my future diet engineering, but the blood test results diverted them.

I found out that I was suffering from hyperthyroidism. I had elevated levels of TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone). Our family doctor explained everything about hypothyroidism, including the side effects, and then prescribed me some synthetic hormone pills (thyroxin). She said that this problem was the easiest to handle and the least dangerous chronic disease that I could have. She also said that I should learn to live with the side effects and take a pill every day for the rest of my life. But that was not the thing that scared me to death. I'll get into that more in a moment.

At first I didn't know how to react to the fact that I had hyperthyroidism. I read that it's mostly a female disease. I also found out that I had been experiencing side effects for a few years; my hyperthyroidism was just not showing on the blood test results.

I started to lose hair, I was tired all the time (I thought it was because I was overweight), and I read that I couldn't lose weight as easily as before, which was true. I also noticed that I my memory was poor.

I decided to find some natural remedy or anything that could alleviate these side effects. But as I said, low thyroid was not the thing that scared me. Around the same time, I got my first hemorrhoid. It was very bad one; and an external one, too, as I later learned.

I went again to our family doctor (a nice older lady in the St. Lawrence district), who prescribed some ointment. While I was there, she decided to check the veins on my legs. She learned that I had very expanded external veins. They were buried in fat, so I couldn't see them, but they were as thick as my thumb. Although I had occasionally heavy legs and itching in my lower legs, I didn't have any other side effects.

Since I was sitting during all of my work hours and I was overweight, it was not surprising that I got hemorrhoids and varicose veins. That was my second chronic disease discovered in less than a month! Ugh! The doctor sent me to do some additional checks and although they found that my deep veins were okay, a vascular specialist talked to me and told me that I had a lot of small blood clots hanging from the walls of my veins and that some of them could be released into my bloodstream and clog some veins.

I knew that my veins were already clogged because of my weight. I then learned that this could cause a heart attack, a stroke, or a pulmonary embolism. Scary!

The knowledge that I could have a stroke or heart attack at any time prompted some serious diet planning. I wanted my veins unclogged as much as possible ASAP! But this time I wanted to go on a perfect diet, a diet that I won't even know that I'm on, and I wanted it to be a lifelong one.

After some thinking and researching and after examining previous diets attempts, I decided to continue with a diet plan that was supposed to work for me (going through a full cycle every day). I wanted to avoid all side effects I had experienced in my previous dieting efforts. I wanted to include carbs in my diet, too. I also wanted to prevent future weight cycling.

I wanted to have the perfect solution that would allow me to never ever go back to my bad eating habits that ruined my health. The bad eating habits that I'm referring to here are eating processed and refined foods, sugary breakfasts (muffins, donuts), and drinking soft drinks. Fad diets were out of the question. I mean, I couldn't live on smoothies or steak and eggs for the rest of my life!

I also decided to examine the mechanism of fad diets and weight yo-yoing and facts why people cycle their weight, when EXACTLY the cycling starts (when exactly they drop the ball and why), why it happens, and how long it takes them to cycle their weight. I wanted to compare those facts with my own experience. I also wanted to discover why there are so many overweight people around me and understand the processes behind food intake.

The thyroid hormone issue also prompted me to read about hormones in the human body and how they affect weight loss. I was lucky not to have any blood sugar or cholesterol issues, but I wanted to find out everything I could about them anyway, because members of my family had health problems related to them. My brother and my father suffer from high blood pressure and my aunt (my father's sister) died of cancer. She was diabetic for last 10 years of her life.

The last thing that hit my family around that time was learning that our son had ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). He was born at the end of 2002. In September 2008, he started primary school. After a few months, we got a call from his teacher. She explained that he was not focused in school and had all the symptoms of ADHD.

A few months of consultations confirmed that he, indeed, had ADHD.

My wife started to search for anything that would help alleviate the symptoms, hoping that we would be able to avoid giving him Ritalin or other medications.

A nutrition search discovered that some foods can fuel ADHD.

Around the same time, two of our close friends found out that their 3-year-old son was autistic. They had already started to take nutritional measures to alleviate his autism, which included a gluten-free and a casein-free diet. They said that he was noticeably behaving better since being on that diet. He had lower hyperactivity. His temper tantrums didn't happen as often. He began making eye contact. Also, his speech improved. The results were great!

As a result, my wife and I decided to learn everything we could about the foods that fuel ADHD so that we could treat our son without medicating him.

When I started my research, I kept coming across information about high sugar intake, blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity, cholesterol levels, fast food diets that most Americans are used to, processed foods, ingredients in processed foods, etc. It turned out that the same foods that were causing my problems were the same foods that were fueling the ADHD: sugar, processed foods, and refined carbs.

I then compiled a list of healthy, whole foods that would help with both my problems and my son's ADHD. When I started to research each food more closely, I kept hitting web sites that dealt with Superfoods. When the list was completed, I found out that all the food from my list were Superfoods. WOW!

I decided to list all the "must-haves" for our diets, which include the following:

• No food type is to be excluded (carbs, proteins, fats).

• Snacks must be included, as I knew I'd be snacking throughout the day.

• Fruits must also be included, even though they're mostly forbidden by low-carb diets. Plus, I like fruits. They're full of vitamins and antioxidants, and are healthy.

• Meals must be regular-sized, and they should be tasty.

I wanted to stop thinking about my diet at all and to have this daily cycling as a part of my life. I couldn't go my whole life on low carb or low-fat diet and I couldn't go back to my regular eating habits between diets (I knew that much).

My first assumption was that I had to mix a low-carb diet in the morning (at least few times a week) with a low-carb diet in the evening, and have a regular meal for lunch, albeit a healthy one for most days in the week. (It had to be a "regular lunch" and not a "diet" lunch.) Or I'd make my evening meal be a "regular" meal and my lunch be a low-carb lunch.

These were my beginning assumptions. Then I went to do some more research. 

# Engineering the Diet

While I was gathering together information about the body's weight loss mechanisms and metabolism, my research uncovered one very important fact: The amount of carbs you take in is directly related to the body's starvation mode.

The way in which the body reacts to the amount of carbs you digest can have a massive impact on the way in which you lose and gain weight. My low thyroid problem meant that I couldn't lose weight as easily or as quickly as I used to. This fueled my interest about how to speed up my metabolism and which carbs to eat.

Once I was aware of how important the intake of carbs was to the body's gain and loss of weight, I started working this into my future diet. When you strategically vary your carb intake by eating different types and amounts, you can really give your metabolism a much needed "kick-start." So, I decided to include brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat and oatmeal in my diet (all non-gluten), together with carbs from veggies and fruits. We were already eating brown rice as our main starch for lunch and dinner, and I was snacking on cooked buckwheat in my office before noon. And I had oatmeal breakfasts occasionally anyway. I decided to go with oatmeal because it doesn't contain gluten and keeps me fuller longer than other cereals do. No one in my family is allergic to gluten, but, because of my son's ADHD, we already tried to lower our gluten intake.

This combination of carbs would increase my metabolic rate while dieting so that I could avoid falling into a counter-productive "starvation mode." The reality is – every diet that restricts carb calories over the long term can cause metabolism slowdown. At best, if you preserve with these diets you'll end up sacrificing muscle mass rather than actual fat. I was determined to find out how I could speed up my metabolism rate, because of the diet and because of my low thyroid.

After I set some rules about what I wanted to have in my diet, I went to work on the details. Snacking in-between was the easiest part; I'd have at least an apple and a carrot once a day, and some type of citrus fruit (orange or grapefruit) accompanied with a few nuts (such as 4-5 almonds) or a cup of cooked buckwheat. The apple or orange could be substituted with any other fruit that is in season (berries, pomegranates, melons, apricots), with the same serving size as an apple or orange. If still hungry after eating fruit and a few nuts, I'd fill up with the regular low carb snacks like raw celery, broccoli, cauliflower or any high fiber, low carb veggie (more on those later).

By the way, when eating apples, don't peel them; the apple's skin contains soluble fiber called pectin, which puts hunger to rest while lowering your blood sugar levels, making you less likely to reach for additional snacks. You're also less likely to binge on sugary or calorie-dense foods when your blood sugar is steady. Since I was always thinking of pizza and cake while on my old diets, I wanted to make sure that I would be doing everything I could to keep my blood sugar steady while on my new one. By keeping my sugar levels steady, I'd be less likely to crave these foods... if I craved them at all!

Foods that stave off the hunger the longest are protein foods, followed by foods chock-full of fibers. I learned this after several Atkins diet cycles. My protein was always accompanied with a huge fiber-loaded, low-carb salad (spinach, shredded cabbage, lettuce, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli, cucumber). The typical dressing I used was a combination of olive oil, lemon, minced garlic and salt or plain, low-fat yogurt or buttermilk with olive oil, minced garlic and salt. The amount of olive oil I used was usually 1 teaspoon and the rest was added to taste. Occasionally I would add a teaspoon of mustard or some herbs like basil, oregano, marjoram, chives, thyme, parsley, dill or mint. With all these options, I had many different dressings to choose from! It was crucial to vary salad dressings every day because the main pillar of my successful dieting was a large, fiber-loaded salad with dressing (or steamed veggie or stir fried veggie) and protein on the side. This was supposed to become the main pillar of my future diet (in the weight loss phase).

I decided to eat one such "salad-and-protein" meal every second day for dinner, switching it with stir-fry with a low-fat protein and some fiber-loaded veggie. With so many options of veggies to include in a salad or stir-fry, and with so many dressing options and so many options for proteins on the side, eating should never get boring.

Studies have shown that consumption of fiber-loaded, leafy greens leads to healthier, longer, disease-free lives. The greens are loaded with all sorts of nutritious compounds, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, polyphenols, folate and various carotenoids. Most important to me was the fact that they would keep me full without containing too many calories. All these phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals were just a great bonus for my health.

I decided that most of the fat in my diet would come from olive oil, salmon, flax, nuts, and seeds because they're supposed to be great for my veins. I was already using olive oil in my salads, my family ate salmon once a week already, and we were also already eating flax in our meals. A small amount of the fat in my diet would have to be a saturated fat of animal origin, found in lean meats, eggs and low-fat dairy products, but I wasn't worried too much about the extra calories because it wouldn't be a large amount of fat.

Because I am a gourmet cook and I like to eat fatty meat once in a while, and because I decided to exclude fatty red meats and fatty cheese because of my the problem with my veins, I started to have a grilled salmon fillet at least once a week. Salmon is fatty, but loaded with good Omega 3 fat. Most animal fats are composed of saturated fats, which are the most dangerous types of fat. Consumption of saturated fats raises cholesterol levels and elevates the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Because I'm a huge fan of beans and other legumes, I included them in my diet at least once or twice per week. They sometimes caused stomach discomfort (mostly when cooked without presoaking), but they didn't cause any other problems for me. Plus, they're full of antioxidants. If you have stomach problems with legumes, soak them for 24 hours or sprout them and your problems should disappear.

At the very end, I decided to have 2 versions of the diet: one that would make me lose weight and one that would allow me to maintain it.

## Enter the Superfoods

When I had a final list of foods that would likely allow me to lose weight, and keep that weight for years, I decided to Google all of them to check all their benefits and make sure that I'd get all necessary vitamins and minerals from them. I wanted to avoid any supplements (if possible) and I wanted to check whether I'd have any side effects due to a lack of missing minerals or vitamins. I also wanted to check whether or not I should exclude some of them because of something bad. I learned that goitrogens (substances that suppress the function of the thyroid gland) found in raw, cruciferous veggies are bad for those with a low thyroid if eaten in excess and if iodine intake is low at the same time, because a goiter might result. I also learned that nightshade veggies cause arthritis problems for some people, and that legumes can cause stomach problems.

After meticulously checking each food on my list, I decided to call this diet a Clean Foods Superfoods Smart Carbs diet. Most people associate the term Superfoods with some sort of exotic berries, like the Acai berry, the Goji berry, or the Noni berry. These berries are great – they're full of antioxidants – but you can't live on them. So when you hear me say "Superfoods," think regular Superfoods, like spinach, broccoli, quinoa, olive oil, garlic, kale, and salmon... basically foods that have nothing bad in them and have many health benefits.

I mentioned earlier that I wanted to have a diet that would keep my appetite and cravings under control. Some people might think that counting calories is all that matters, but they don't take appetite and cravings into equation and I wanted to make sure that I didn't have any cravings. Think about it: What chances you have to shed successfully off some pounds if you're hungry all the time and you can't take pizza and chocolate bars off your mind? Zero! It is much easier to be on a diet when you're not hungry all the time and when you don't have cravings. How can this be achieved? By switching to Superfoods!! Switching to Superfoods will change your palate, it will clean your body of toxins, and it will stabilize your insulin sensitivity and blood sugar level. That is half of the job!!

Glucose drives insulin. Insulin drives fat. Fatty acids will not be released into the bloodstream to be used as energy if your glucose level is high. If you eat a diet that causes your blood sugar to be frequently high, all energy you consume that is not immediately needed will be stored in your fat cells and will not be released. You will not get to use all of the 700 calories you eat at one meal, only the 100 or so you need immediately, and thus you will soon be hungry again, and will over-eat. But if your blood sugar is stable and you can access that stored energy you will not be hungry and you won't over-eat. It doesn't matter if you are eating fat or glucose; your body will convert what it's got to what it needs. Every major nutritional philosophy pegs sugar as being a major problem. Circulating saturated fatty acids found in the blood (known as triglycerides in the lipid panel), are indeed a major risk factor in heart disease, but the majority of these saturated fatty acids are almost without exception the result of liver secretions, and are the consequence of a diet that is high in refined carbohydrates.

Some people are more sensitive to the hormonal effects of insulin and cortisol than other people are. The more sensitive you are, the more you're likely to get fat. Insulin is the primary hormone that fixes fat in the fat cells. This is why Type I diabetics lose weight: they're not producing enough insulin. Since insulin is manufactured in direct response to carbohydrates, if you don't eat carbohydrates, you won't have a mechanism by which to store fat.

Since Superfoods are whole foods and completely opposite of processed foods, switching to Superfoods will have a double effect on your body. You will stop eating processed foods, meaning you'll have zero intake of any chemicals, additives, food colorings, flavor enhancers and all other nastiness found in processed food. You will also stop ingesting chemicals found in processed foods and their packaging. Think about how bad plastic can be for your health! Bisphenol-A ( _BPA_ ) is found in can linings. At the same time, you'll be eating Superfoods which do not contain any chemicals found in processed food, but contain phytonutrients and antioxidants. These Superfoods will detox your body. That detox will regulate your blood sugar level and insulin sensitivity, which will lower your sugar cravings. After 10-15 days all these changes will result in a palate change and you won't crave processed food with flavor enhancers. You will learn to appreciate natural taste of the whole foods. That is half of the job on your path to a healthier you!

After that change, you will feel great and energetic. Your body won't crave the salty and fatty food you used to snack on, or the sweet and fatty food you used to gobble up a daily basis. The 280 calories from a chocolate bar and the 280 calories from a lean protein meat with fiber-loaded salad are not the same. More water and more fiber in your diet translates into a larger amount of food that will offer you more stretch; you will get fuller faster and you'll stay fuller much longer, and benefit from the antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients you'll get from these Superfoods.

When you choose the right foods, and understand how these foods react with your body, you will not have cravings for processed foods anymore. When I started this diet for the first time, I sometimes thought, Hey, I have lost some weight, I deserve a treat, so I'll have pizza for lunch or I'll have a small chocolate bar for dessert, but after a few weeks I realized that I didn't want these foods, and that I was not craving them at all. I simply stopped eating them, and I felt much prouder of myself for it.

After 8-9 months on the Superfoods diet, I went from 275 pounds (125 kg) to 195 pounds (89 kg). This was in the beginning of 2010. I felt great, looked decent, and decided that any additional weight loss would have to wait for a while. Since then, my weight went from 195 pounds (89 kg) to 210 pounds (95 kg) and back.

In March 2014,I decided to try to go under 195 pounds and describe that effort in a blog. But because I wanted to share everything about Superfoods diet, my investigation turned into a book. I'm writing this in June 2014 and I'm at 180 pounds (82 kg) and looking to go under 180 pounds in the following months.

My whole family felt better because of the Superfoods diet, my wife has lost some weight (I'm not allowed to say how much!) and her waist line has been perfect ever since.

UPDATE: Below are pictures from November 2014, after 3 months of kettlebells training:

If you're preparing yourself for a diet, you need to remove processed foods and sweets that you have in your pantry and freezer, making sure that you clean from your fridge the following:

• Any fruit juices, such as orange or apple juice, as they're considered to be processed foods

• Any frozen, prepackaged "low-fat" versions of regular meals

• Margarine

• Any protein / granola bars - make sure to check the amount of sugar, protein, fat and fiber in it. Some might be okay as a snack, but they have to have enough protein and fiber and be low on sugar and fat.

• Any processed meat but ham without sugar (ham is okay for first one or two weeks)

• Pasta

• Any diet deserts

• Soda drinks, although diet ones might be okay for first one or two weeks when your body is still craving sugar

When I mentioned that switching to Superfoods will have a double effect on your body, you can look at that fact from another perspective: your ability to avoid health problems. Basically, there are really only 2 health problems, toxicity and deficiency. These conditions can lead to vast array of diseases (actually symptoms of toxicity or deficiency).

Toxicity is a bigger problem than deficiency with modern American diets. Processed food is toxic. Toxicity is a state of being infested and overwhelmed with materials that are known to cause problems in the body, specifically to the central nervous system. The body has filtering systems that enable it to deal with the toxins that it is exposed to. However, when these systems become overloaded, toxins can accumulate in the body and cause hundreds of different symptoms that lead to chronic disease. Toxicity combined with nutritional deficiency is a recipe for disaster. Our bodies need good nutrition to be able to rebuild and repair properly.

If the body has the right supplies or materials it can heal itself of almost anything. If you are toxic, you can cleanse. If you are deficient, you can replenish. Processed food is toxic. Superfoods cleanse. Superfoods replenish any deficiencies. Clearly, Superfoods are the solution.

## Superfoods and Disease Prevention

#### Introduction

#### Superfoods and Hormone Imbalance

In addition to the many benefits of Superfoods that have already been mentioned, consuming Superfoods will also fix most of your hormone imbalance... if you have one.

I have a low thyroid. Side effects of this are tiredness, weight gain, difficulty losing weight, and an intolerance to cold. Since I changed my diet and switched to Superfoods, I can report that I feel much better, I have more energy, and I'm losing weight without any problem.

Processed food can disrupt your hormone balances, causing your metabolic rate to be decreased, meaning that you might frequently over-eat because the mechanism that should signal that you ate enough is not working properly. Your natural mechanisms for fat burning might be disrupted because of hormone imbalances.

You might not be gluten-intolerant, but you should think about excluding whole wheat for a while, just as a test. Even if you're not having gluten intolerance, you might be better off with some other whole grain food.

Refined grains are a high glycemic food. They stimulate the production of insulin – your body's fat-storing hormone. The more bread, pasta, cereal and flour you consume, the more likely it is that you will be overweight.

Even if you switch to non-gluten food, remember that most commercially prepared gluten-free foods are no better than their "super-gluten" counterparts. Most of these foods are highly processed and contain chemicals and preservatives. Gluten-free packaged foods, such as bread, pasta, cookies, crackers and cakes, typically have just as high of a glycemic index as their wheat-based counterparts (e.g. they use refined rice flour). Basically, they harm your blood-sugar regulation system just as much as wheat does. The same goes for make-at-home baking mixes. Not to mention the bread and dessert recipes on most "gluten-free" food blogs.

I'm using quinoa/brown rice/oatmeal/buckwheat (all non-gluten food and all non-commercially prepared) as the whole grains that are a part of my diet. Whole grains are low on the glycemic index, meaning they are absorbed slowly and can help you feel full longer. If you switch to whole grains, it should help with fixing your hormonal imbalance and you won't feel hungry during the day. More on wheat and gluten later.

#### Superfoods and Heart and Vascular Diseases

I'll list some reasons why the Superfoods diet can prevent heart diseases, including vascular diseases.

The basic Superfoods oil is olive oil, which is heart-healthy because it is rich in polyphenols. Polyphenols have antioxidant characteristics and studies have shown that they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and lower blood pressure. Olive oil also contains antioxidants in the form of vitamin E. As an antioxidant, vitamin E counteracts free radicals just before they hurt or kill fat cells. Olive oil is one of the number one resources of monounsaturated fats that assist reduced cholesterol and help lessen inflammation. Monounsaturated fats maintain your heart's fitness by reducing bad and total cholesterol, battling inflammation, and improving levels of good cholesterol. The FDA authorized a health claim for olive oil that says that the monounsaturated fats you will get from having 2 tbsp. daily might decrease the danger of coronary heart disease. Avocado oil is also an awesome choice, as are avocados, but only eat one-quarter daily if you are aiming for weight loss.

One of the main reasons that the Superfoods Diet stimulates heart health is the simple fact that it is a diet that is low in saturated fat. I am referring to saturated fat coming from hydrogenated oils, rendered animal fats, fat dairy products (cheese, creams), processed meats, shortening, fatty burgers, and hidden fats located in cakes, cookies and muffins. The Superfoods diet includes the consumption of healthy amounts of monounsaturated fat through usage of olive oil, salmon, flax seeds (rich in Omega 3 and Omega 9) and other nuts and seeds. The human body, in fact, does require the intake of fat on a day-to-day basis and you should never even think of going to a completely fat-free diet. The best type of fat to consume is monounsaturated fat. Some amount of saturated fat is also included in the Superfoods diet. It is found in lean meats (pork and beef), eggs, and low-fat cheese. Another source of saturated fat is coconut oil, but the saturated fat found in coconut oil is much healthier than the one found in meats. 50 percent of the fat content in coconut oil is a fat hardly ever found in nature – lauric acid. Lauric acid is an effective virus and bacteria destroyer, and coconut oil has the most lauric acid of any material on Earth. Another reason why the Superfoods diet promotes heart health is because of the inclusion of significant amounts of fruits, vegetables and smaller servings of legumes.

Saturated fat from the animal source raises "bad" blood cholesterol levels, which are a sign of possible heart disease and stroke. Monounsaturated fat does not increase blood cholesterol levels. When consumed in moderation, monounsaturated fat gives the body the element it needs for correct functioning and in general good health.

Arterial rigidity (arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis) is accountable for most cardiovascular incidents. It is the leading predecessor of stroke and myocardial infarction, two of the major causes of death in many high-income and middle-income nations. Consuming foods that are high in saturated fat can also cause plaque to build up within the walls of the arteries. When this takes place, your artery walls will solidify and your heart will have a difficult time moving blood through your body. Clots might form alongside the walls of your artery, making it harder for your blood to move through it. Arterial rigidity might also result as a complication of a number of medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.

Here are a few of the problems that might arise as a consequence of arterial stiffness:

• Tissue death. Arterial rigidity prevents the supply of blood and nutrients to the tissues and might cause harm and tissue death.

• Pulmonary embolism. Arterial rigidity may cause pulmonary embolism if a clot moves to an artery in your lungs. This condition can be deadly and will call for emergency treatment.

• Aneurysms. In many cases, arterial plaque accumulation is triggered by the decline of the walls of the arteries and might result in the development of an aneurysm (an irregular widening of a section of the artery). Ruptured aneurysms can be lethal so it is best to prevent them while you can.

Think about these problems when you have been served foods that are high in saturated fats, and instead eat foods high in Omega 3 fat. To me, olive oil tastes as great as bacon or any other type of animal fat, but it is much healthier.

Omega-3s can keep your skin soft, prevent acne and skin inflammation, delay the aging process, and help you lose or maintain weight. Incorporating enough omega-3s (found in salmon, flax, walnuts, fish, enriched eggs, enriched milk, etc.) into your diet can also help keep your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels in check to avoid diabetes, heart diseases and stroke. It can also reduce your risk for arthritis, osteoporosis, emotional and mental disorders (ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia) as well as several forms of cancer (such as breast, colon and prostate cancer). Women can benefit a lot from a high Omega-3 intake, too. It relieves menstrual pain and cramps, it can enhance fertility, it can reduce the risk of premature birth, and it can reduce severity of post-menopausal symptoms.

Vitamin K2 is found in leafy greens and is definitely good for you. One Dutch study reported in the Journal of Nutrition in 2004 that individuals with the high vitamin K2 intake had an astonishing 51% reduced risk of heart attack death rate and a 26% reduced risk of death from all reasons in comparison to those consuming the very least vitamin K2. The study determined that high vitamin K2 consumption decreased arterial calcification.

Vitamin K2 also helps prevent Arthritis. A study not too long ago published by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has disclosed that elevated intake of vitamin K2 might decrease the risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent. Foods high in vitamin K2 are farmer's cheese, eggs, chicken breasts, and ground beef.

## Fibers

The real secret behind my weight loss and maintenance of my lowered weight is my discovery of fiber-rich foods and bitter foods and what they can do for me as an experienced yo-yoer. Dieting properly with fiber-rich foods is not just about being fuller because you ate a lot of fiber, it's about sugar level change, it's about insulin sensitivity change, it's about phytonutrients and antioxidants, and it's about the thermogenic effect. Essentially, it's a 6-in-1 Superfoods deal!

Also, fibers reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol and regulate bowel function. They also may lower your risk of developing hemorrhoids! In the beginning, I noticed that I could eat it as much as I want without incurring a high calorie intake. It's almost like a "free" food; one that you're allowed to eat anytime you're hungry. Most people will think, How eating a spinach-and-shredded-cabbage salad can be tasty and exciting? I'm here to tell you it can be; just add a pinch of sea salt, 1 tsp. of olive oil and some lemon. Suddenly, your salad will taste heavenly! This is also due to the palate change that comes after you stop eating processed food and suddenly discover that bitter foods actually taste great. By adding low-fat yogurt or buttermilk, your salad will be even tastier. Add any lean protein and you're eating the healthiest meal on the planet!

Dietary fibers are found in the plants that we eat. They are parts of the vegetable that do not break down in our bellies, and instead pass through our system undigested (just like with cows eating grass). Dietary fibers are either soluble or insoluble. Both kinds of fiber are similarly significant for health and digestion, and for preventing conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, diverticulitis, obesity and constipation. Soluble fiber dissolves in water. Insoluble fiber doesn't. These differences govern how each fiber works in the body and benefits your health.

Soluble fibers draw in the water and form a gelatinized substance that decreases digestion. Soluble fiber delays the emptying of your stomach and will make you feel full, which assists in weight control. Reduced stomach-emptying might also impact blood sugar values and has an advantageous impact on insulin sensitivity, which helps control diabetes. Soluble fibers also help lower LDL (''bad") blood lipids by interfering with the absorption of dietary cholesterol.

Sources of soluble fiber: lentils, apples, beans, oranges, pears, oat bran, strawberries, flaxseeds, nuts, dried peas, cucumbers, blueberries, celery, carrots, oatmeal and oat cereal.

Insoluble fibers are considered good for the gut because they have a laxative result and add substance to the diet, helping avoid constipation. These fibers do not break down in water, so they move through the stomach relatively intact, and accelerate the passing of the food and waste through your gut. Insoluble fibers are mostly found in vegetables and whole grains.

Sources of insoluble fiber: broccoli, dark leafy vegetables, celery, cabbage, carrots, brown rice, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, seeds, nuts, grapes, and whole grains.

Eating high-fiber, nutrient-dense veggies gives you a wealth of health-boosting antioxidants and helps you feel full longer. You also get the powerful metabolism-boosting effects of the fiber-loaded food itself. This diet is low in calories and high in fiber and – above all – safe (unlike some high-protein diets).

This diet will:

• Promote healthy and fast weight loss

• Eliminate excess fat

• Detoxify your body

• Rest your system

• Stop cravings

• Break sugar habits

• Increase your willpower

• Boost your self-confidence

• Regain your energy

• Boost your immunity

• Develop a positive mental attitude

• Regain a youthful appearance

• Create a positive lifestyle change

• Promote longevity

• Promote healthy eating habits for your kids

## Superfoods that Prevent Cancer

Any antioxidant-rich food will protect you from getting cancer. Top antioxidant foods are:

• Beans (small red bean, pinto, red kidney)

• Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries (in that order)

• Artichokes

• Cranberries and sweet cherries

• Prunes and plums

• Apples

• Pecans

Any vitamin-E-rich food will protect you from cancer of the stomach, colon, lung and liver, as well as other cancers. Add vitamin E–rich foods like almonds, cooked spinach and sunflower seeds to your diet; they'll help keep your cell-defense system strong.

Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant. A diet high in beta-carotene (found in orange-colored foods and leafy greens) implies a reduced risk of cancer, particularly of the stomach, lung and colon.

Low vitamin D levels have been linked to several types of cancer, including breast and colon. Scientists say that vitamin D may help block the growth of blood vessels that feed growing tumors and help stop the growth and spread of cancerous and precancerous cells. Eat plenty of vitamin-D-rich foods, such as wild salmon, and choose vitamin-D-fortified dairy products, such as yogurt, for example.

The only supplement I take is Vitamin D, all other vitamin and mineral needs are provided by the Superfoods diet. There is just not enough vitamin D in food and that is the only supplement I recommend. Some people want to boost their antioxidants intake and therefore take some additional supplements (such as Acai berry supplements), which is fine.

Omega-3 fatty acids may prevent cancer by inhibiting cancer cell propagation and disrupt steps that are critical to cancer growth. Omega-3 fatty acids also help decrease inflammations and cellular mutations. But even if Omega-3s don't directly reduce the risk of cancer, they surely keep our bodies strong and healthy. In addition to fatty fish, mixing ground flaxseed into yogurt and/or smoothies (or about just anything) is a great way to include more Omega-3s in your diet. I always add flax meal to any stew I make – to cooked brown rice or quinoa or buckwheat.

Turmeric is a yellow-colored spice found in curry powder. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, functions as both as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and it helps prevent liver, breast, colon, stomach and lung cancer. Using curry powder to spice up dishes is an easy way to include it into your diet – and it has the additional bonus of adding flavor to your meals, almost without any calories. Black pepper enhances the absorption of curcumin by 2000%, so always add some black pepper to turmeric dishes. I love turmeric as a spice and I love curries. But I can't eat curry every day. So I settled for a turmeric supplement.

Cruciferous vegetables. All plant foods contain small amounts of phytonutrients, which are natural chemical compounds that are just as significant as vitamins and minerals for maintaining good health. There are thousands of known phytonutrients (and probably thousands of those unknown), many of which have demonstrated the potential to protect us against cancer. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage contain phytonutrients, which may help inhibition of the metabolism of certain carcinogens and stimulate the body's production of detoxification enzymes.

Green Tea contains compounds that scientists say may help in stopping the growth of cancer cells and stop cellular mutations that contribute to cancer development. Green tea drinkers have also been shown to be at reduced risk for ovarian, colon, breast, prostate, and lung cancers. All types of tea (green, black, oolong, and white) seem to have value as cancer-preventive agents, so regularly drink tea and enjoy all the benefits!

Pomegranates are full of ellagic acid, which is also found in berries, and nuts. Ellagic acid hinders cancer cell growth and deactivates carcinogenic compounds.

Cyanide-containing vitamin B 17 arrests, encloses, and even prevents cancer. A lack of intestinal enzymes was the main pathogen for the onset of cancer. Vitamin B17 is a natural cyanide-containing composite that provides its cyanide content only in the occurrence of a particular enzyme group called beta glycosidase. This enzyme group is found almost exclusively in cancer tissue, which results in the cancer's failure to survive the cyanide. There are no recognized harmful side effects of B17 (if taken in small amounts, not more than 15 seeds per day for adults), and the cyanide in B17 does not affect non-cancerous cells.

Fruits are very high in B17. Some fruits are higher than others. The apricot seed is the richest source of Vitamin B17. Wild varieties of fruits are higher in nutrients than hybridized varieties. For example, wild cranberries are much higher in B17 than their hybrid counterparts. The list of foods containing B17:

• blackberries, choke cherries

• cranberries, currants

• apple seeds

• apricot seeds (I'm taking 8 seeds every day)

• buckwheat

• flax

• nectarine seeds

• plum seeds

• prune seeds

• fava beans

• lentils

• almonds

• spinach

Certain herbs and spices contain a wide variety of antioxidants. Some spices such as cloves, turmeric, and cinnamon have 10 times more antioxidants compared to berries. Besides the antioxidants, herbs and spices can also aid with fat-burning and metabolism-boosting, as well as the stabilization of blood sugar levels. They also have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties.

• Turmeric, ginger, rosemary, and basil are powerful anti-inflammatories.  
• Turmeric, cumin, and sage help fight dementia.  
• Cumin, coriander, cayenne, and cinnamon help to regulate insulin and blood sugar.  
• Nutmeg, bay leaves, and saffron have a calming effect.  
• Garlic, mustard seed, and chicory are excellent for the heart.  
• Basil and thyme help your skin become smoother.  
• Cinnamon, thyme, saffron, turmeric, garlic, basil, garlic, and ginger boost the immune system.  
• Allspice, coriander, rosemary, cayenne, and black pepper can help banish depression.

## Buckwheat

Buckwheat was a food I tried only once or twice, and I did not like it. The flavor was unusual, and the kitchen smelled bad after I cooked it. A colleague from Ukraine used it every day, but it looked completely different from the buckwheat I used. She consumed it as a snack and as a principal starch in her lunch box. The Buckwheat I tried was brown and had an intense taste; hers was pale and tasted awesome – it had a very simple nutty taste. She explained that I had used toasted buckwheat, also known as kasha, and that she uses all-natural raw buckwheat, which is pale green. She showed me an awesome way to cook it, too.

She would put 4-5 tbsp. of raw buckwheat in a medium-sized thermos bottle, then add boiling water to it. She'd promptly shut the bottle and wait. After one-and-a-half or two hours, she would have an awesome batch of cooked buckwheat.

I decided to purchase a thermos bottle and use this method to try buckwheat again. When I did, I discovered I liked it, and since then, my regular, mid-morning office snack has been 1 cup of cooked buckwheat, totaling only 155 calories!

•Buckwheat is gluten-free, is high in protein and fiber, and is a good source of magnesium and iron.

•Buckwheat won't cause addiction. No one binges on buckwheat. Truly a cool carb!!

•Buckwheat is rich in B vitamins as well as phosphorus, iron, magnesium, folate, copper, zinc, and manganese.

•Buckwheat is very high in protein; the protein found in buckwheat consists of the eight essential amino acids.

•Buckwheat is very high in fiber. A single cup of cooked buckwheat, at 155 calories, contains over 4 grams of dietary fiber.

•Buckwheat is a great source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), one of the two essential fatty acid that is crucial for good health.

•Buckwheat reduces glucose levels and is helpful for managing diabetes.

•Buckwheat has been found to reduce blood pressure and reduce cholesterol.

## Glycemic Index and Satiety Index

The glycemic index (GI) is a rating carried out on foods that contain carbohydrates and their particular influence on our blood sugar level. In earlier times, most diets that were supposed to improve blood sugar assessed the total amount of carbs (such as sugars and starches) in foods. The GI goes outside of this strategy, looking at the impact of foods on our blood sugar. Rather counting the total quantity of carbohydrates in foods in their unconsumed condition, the GI measures the real influence of these foods on the blood sugar. The GI number ranges between 50 and 100, where 100 represents the standard, which is an equivalent amount of pure glucose.

Low-GI diets have been connected with a reduced risk of the following: strokes; cardiovascular disease; depression; type 2 diabetes; neural tube defects; chronic kidney disease; metabolic syndrome; formation of gall stones; formation of uterine fibroids; and prostate, colon, breast and pancreas cancers.

Fruits and veggies tend to have a lower glycemic index. Meat, nuts and seeds, dairy products, beans and spices all have a low GI. Grains suggested in the Superfoods diet (brown rice, buckwheat, quinoa, oats) have a low GI.

Low GI (55 or less):

• small seeds (flax, pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, sesame)

• beans and nuts (kidney, black, white, pink, almond, peanut, lentil, walnut, chickpea)

• most whole intact grains (oat, millet, rye, rice)

• most veggies

• most sweet fruits (mangos, strawberries, peaches)

Medium GI (56–69):

• not intact whole-wheat or enriched wheat

• basmati rice

• pita bread

• grape juice

• raisins

• unpeeled boiled potato

• prunes

• cranberry juice

• pumpernickel bread

• regular ice cream

• banana

• sucrose

High GI (70 and above):

• white bread

• most white rice

• extruded breakfast cereals, such as Corn Flakes

• glucose

• maltose

• potatoes

• pretzels

• maltodextrins (polysaccharides that are used as food additives)

• bagels

#### Satiety Index

In the mid-1990s, Australian scientist Dr. Susanna Holt examined the length of time particular foods can stave off food cravings. The results she found were the same as those I had encountered, proving that bakeshop goods ARE, indeed, addictive. White bread was given the baseline rating of 100. Foods that scored higher than 100 are considered to be more satisfying than white bread and those under 100 are deemed to be less satisfying. Bakeshop products like croissants scored 47, donuts scored 68, and cakes scored 65. This is proof that wheat is addictive and that consuming bakeshop products will make you desire more.

Foods that have a lower satiety index than white bread are: chocolate bars, pastries, and cakes – basically, all refined foods. Foods that were found to have the best satiety index are: oatmeal, eggs, meats, boiled potatoes, fish, fruits, and veggies.

It was also concluded that the satiety index (SI) could serve as a useful tool in planning diets for weight reduction or weight gain.

# Thermogenic Superfoods

Thermogenic Superfoods are foods that require additional calories to be broken down, leading to a raised metabolism and more calories burned. Thermogenic foods are also very high in fiber, which causes a person to become fuller faster. Simply because of the low calorie content and high fiber, thermogenic foods assist in weight loss. Basically, the Superfoods diet relies on foods that demand more calories to be digested than the exact caloric value of the food, thus burning up stored fat from one's body. Your body needs energy for body heat as well as energy to break down the food you eat. A 360-calorie piece of birthday cake may require 90 calories to be broken down, resulting in a net gain of 270 calories to be incorporated into your fat storage. On the other hand, a 28-calorie katabolic food may call for 95 calories to breakdown, resulting in a net loss of 67 calories off your stored fat deposit. Diets based on katabolic nutrients result in impressive weight losses of the real fat from the body.

Plant foods that burn more calories than they contain are:

• celery

• strawberries

• oranges

• tangerines

• carrots

• apricots

• grapefruit

• lettuce

• cucumbers

• tomatoes

• watermelon

• cauliflower

• hot chili peppers

• apples

• zucchini

As you can see, these particular foods are on the Superfoods main list and all of these foods have plenty of fiber. Many green veggies are thermogenic foods, particularly the ones that include a great percentage of water and fiber. Broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are green veggies that are common thermogenic foods. Celery is also a great additional example of thermogenic food mainly because it is primarily made of water and fiber. The body requires more energy to digest these foods than the quantity of energy they provide.

Green tea has two significant chemicals – polyphenols called the catechins and caffeine. Both of these chemical substances are known to promote thermogenesis. Apart from these two chemicals, green tea is also high in catechin, also known as epigallocatechin gallate, a compound that enhances the process of thermogenesis. The gymnemic acid and cannatic extracts in green tea decreases the assimilation of sugar into your blood. Green tea also suppresses your body's ability to digest carbs. As you likely know, sugar and high glycemic index carbs are two of the main factors of weight gain.

Coconut oil is another example of a thermogenic food. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) found in coconut oil hold off the buildup of fat in the body. Coconut oil, therefore, promotes thermogenesis. A British study has discovered that adding chili and MCT (coconut oil) to meals boosts thermogenesis by over 50 percent. With time, this practice may cumulate to help promote weight loss and restrict weight gain.

Eating ginger has anti-hypertensive, glucose-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, and stimulatory effects on the gastrointestinal tract.

Cinnamon is a thermogenic spice that assists and influences blood sugar levels. A suggested daily consumption of 1 g of cinnamon in individuals with type 2 diabetes has been discovered to reduce blood sugar, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol levels.

A protein-rich diet is recognized as an enhancer of the thermogenic process (unlike high-fat or high carbohydrate diets). As an example, studies show that there is a 6-8 percent boost in energy expenditure with carb meals, a 3 percent boost with fat, and a tremendous 25-40 percent with protein-based meals. Lean proteins are an awesome example of thermogenic foods. Lean proteins are located in foods such as chicken breasts, turkey, buffalo, lean red meat such as sirloin or top round steak, bison, and other game meats. Really good sources of lean proteins comes from seafood such as shellfish and almost every different kind of fish. Some researchers found that people whose diets consisted of more protein not only increased thermogenesis (ie. their metabolism), but also enhanced their satiety and assisted in the maintenance of an all-around leaner body mass. Simply said, it takes a lot of body energy to digest lean proteins.

Celery is one of the greatest thermogenic foods. First of all, it is really low in calories, which is why it is a really popular food for those on a diet. It also helps burn off more calories because of its thermogenic effect. Celery has a really mild taste that makes it easy to include in many meals. You can also dip it in low-fat yogurt or low-fat farmer's cheese toned down with some yogurt for a delicious snack.

Perhaps the most recognized thermogenic foods are spices such as chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) or cayenne pepper. In fact, such spices can boost your metabolic rate by 25 percent because they contain capsaicin, chemical compound that speeds up the metabolism and dilates the blood vessels. So, if you frequently eat spicy hot dishes, then you are definitely helping your weight loss. If you can't stand hot food but you want the capsaicin benefits, you can use a capsaicin supplement.

Hot foods are not the only thermogenic foods. Consuming ice water can also possess a thermogenic effect on the body. This is mainly because your body has to work harder in order to deal with the cold temperature. Nevertheless, make sure that you don't consume ice cold water with your meals as it can disturb your digestion.

And don't drink water after eating chili peppers in an attempt to rid your mouth of the "burn." Instead, drink milk. Milk contains casein, a protein that breaks the bond between the pain receptors and the capsaicin.

## Probiotic Superfoods

Recently, there has been a lot of fascination with probiotic foods, thanks to studies signifying that friendly bacteria might help with or prevent an array of problems, from irritable bowel syndrome to stomach upset and diarrhea to constant inflammation — the underlying cause of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Sauerkraut stays fresh for months and delivers outstanding health benefits in the form of probiotics and nutrients that the cabbage in its natural form doesn't have.

All of the research carried out on overweight people focused on gut bacteria, and the findings revealed higher instances of "bad" bacteria and reduced levels of probiotics amongst these people. Keeping the preferred ratio of "good bacteria" to "bad bacteria" is now gaining appreciation as perhaps the most important step you can take to defend your health and fat-loss goals.

These are the signs that your digestive bacterial harmony is beginning to get out of control:

• gas and bloating

• acid reflux

• a failure to lose weight

• skin problems

• overall sickness

• headaches

• constipation and/or diarrhea

• urinary tract infections

• sugar cravings, particularly for heavily refined carbohydrates

• difficulty sleeping

The perfect healthy ratio of "good" to "bad" bacteria is 85 to 15 percent, or 9 to 1. To re-balance your intestinal bacteria ratio and begin experiencing weight loss advantages, you need to eat more probiotic foods and reduce your sugars, artificial sweeteners, antacids, processed foods, laxatives, and antibiotic consumption. You can do this with the following proposed Superfoods: yogurt, any fermented vegetables (cabbage, cucumbers), kefir, and kimchi. Just make sure that you know the distinction between "pickled" and "naturally fermented." Pickled means that the vegetables are preserved in various acidic liquids, commonly vinegar. But these vegetables are NOT fermented and do not provide the probiotic and enzymatic benefits of naturally fermented vegetables. Simple home recipe for fermented vegetables includes salt and water. The process of fermentation produces its own acidic liquid as a by-product. So, naturally fermented vegetables are both fermented and pickled.

Lactobacilli is a bacteria produced in fermentation, causing the creation of lactic acid, which is what preserves the vegetables. It also boosts health by improving the vitamin content of the food, by heightening the nutrient bio-availability in the body, and by preserving and boosting the enzyme content of the food. It also heightens the digestibility of the food as well as the cooked foods that are eaten along with it!

Manufacturing preservation of veggies is done by high temperature and pressure and that damages nutrients. Make sure that you meticulously check whether the store-purchased, pickled veggies are factory-pickled or naturally fermented. You will most likely find some naturally fermented foods in health food shops. In any case, check the description, and if it includes vinegar, it's most likely fake, since vinegar is used in mass manufacturing. You can, with ease, make your own pickled products at home; it's quick, easy and inexpensive.

Fermented foods are high in "good" probiotic bacteria, and their intake will help stabilize your total gut bacteria ratio. The next step is to eliminate pretty much all sugar in your diet. Consuming sugar-laden foods feeds the bad or pathogenic bacteria – the yeast and fungi in your intestine – which can have more of a damaging influence on your health than sugar's influence on blood sugar and insulin resistance. What's more, artificial sweeteners are worse than ordinary sugar because they have chlorine that kills off the good bacteria in your intestine just like chlorine kills microorganisms in swimming pools.

Sauerkraut and kimchee are age-old Superfoods that are starting to make a comeback mainly because of their unique taste and advantages of "good bacteria." Fresh cabbage is full of bacteria needed to lacto-ferment itself. Sauerkraut fermentation is accomplished with lactic acid bacteria handling cabbage sugar in a process comparable to how yogurt is made. Just like yogurt, the fermentation process makes cabbage much healthier and more digestible than the plant is in its primary form. In addition to producing a naturally-occurring probiotic supplement, fermentation adds other nurturing benefits as well. Cabbage, in its raw form, includes materials called "goitrogens" that can block the production of thyroid hormone, but goitrogens are decreased or eliminated through the fermentation process. This is very significant for people who suffer from low thyroid. Such people should eat sauerkraut or cooked cabbage rather than raw cabbage. Sauerkraut is higher in B vitamins than cabbage, especially in vitamin B12, which makes sauerkraut an ideal food for vegans. Just as with kimchi, sauerkraut is high in vitamin C and intestinal enzymes. It is also a great source of all-natural lactic acid bacteria such as pediococcus and lactobacillus.

If you're purchasing sauerkraut in a container, make sure that it says "Raw" or "'Unpasteurized" in order to make certain that it's a "living" food with worthwhile bacteria. Even better, homemade sauerkraut is an uncomplicated and inexpensive way to get an excellent natural probiotic "supplement" that won't call for taking any pills, powders or potions.

One of the very best probiotic foods is live-cultured yogurt, particularly homemade. Search for Greek low-fat yogurt or check goat's milk yogurt that has been blended with probiotics like lactobacillus or acidophilus. Goat's milk and cheese are especially high in probiotics like bifudus, bulgaricus, thermophillus and acidophilus. Double-check the ingredients list, as not all yogurt is made equally. Some prominent brands are filled with high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and artificial sweeteners, so they are basically a sweet, unhealthy ice cream. Choose Greek or plain low-fat as an alternative. If however, you don't like the taste of probiotic foods, you can use supplements.

The health benefits of probiotics:

• calms colon discomfort following surgical procedure

• boosted immune system response

• relieves negative effects of consuming many types of antibiotics

• helps to support healthful skin in youth

• boosts ability to absorb the nutrients from food

• enhances ability to digest food

• acts as a treatment for bad breath (halitosis)

• decreases lactose intolerance

• decreases incidence of vaginitis, candidiasis and yeast infections

• therapeutic for upper respiratory problems

• relieves many common digestive disorders such as constipation, diarrhea and IBS

• improves ability to absorb calcium

• improves ability to synthesize vitamin B

# Bitter Foods

As I have previously said, my taste changed considerably when I quit eating refined food. It took me perhaps 10-15 days to observe the change. My sugar urges ended almost entirely. And I learned to enjoy the bitter taste in coffee, wines, cocoa, and dark green leafy vegetables. My coffee-consuming habit transformed from double cream and double sugar to double cream with Stevia throughout my Atkins period, but after I began the Superfoods diet, it transformed to pure black. My chocolate taste transformed from milk chocolate to dark chocolate and subsequently to extra dark (85 percent cocoa becoming the favored one). Also, my chocolate intake went from 8-12 squares of milk chocolate to 1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate. My wine-consuming habit modified from Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon, which I kind of could not stand previously because of the intense tannins. Now Merlot tastes dull to me. My cocoa-consuming habit altered from cacao with milk and sugar to cacao with only a dash of milk and subsequently to pure cacao. I believed that this would be the last thing that I might have to either sweeten a little bit or to use a little bit of cream or milk to take the edge off the bitterness, but, today, I take pleasure in pure cacao with hot water.

The exact same story can be applied to bitter greens. I did not like them much before, and I have constantly seasoned them in order to reduce the bitterness. Bitter greens possess phytonutrients that assist the liver as it does its job handling cholesterol, detoxifying the blood, and balancing hormones. Bitter greens are awesome sources of vitamins A, C, and K as well as minerals such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium. They are also very high in foliate and fiber and low in sodium and fat.

The bitter taste is antibacterial and antiviral so it assists with detox of the body. It also:

• is anti-toxic

• detoxifies your liver

• kills germs

• assists with skin disorders

• increases the firmness of the skin and muscles

• decrease fever

• assists digestion and minimizes intestinal gas.

List of bitter foods:

• burdock root

• Jerusalem artichoke: rich in inulin (prebiotic), which is a starchy food that is handled by the body in a different way than sugars and is also high in magnesium, iron, potassium and B vitamins

• bitter melon

• dandelion greens

• arugula

• kale, which contains vitamins, anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidants and calcium

• sesame seeds

• eggplant

• castor oil

• cocoa and dark chocolate

• dill

• sesame oil

• cumin

• neem leaves

• saffron

• fenugreek

• coffee

• turmeric, which helps detoxify the blood, replenish damaged liver cells, and fight stomach upset and inflammation

• garden sage (Salvia officinalis) tea, which addresses disorders of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, dental abscesses, skin, mouth, throat infections, infected gums and mouth ulcers, and includes thiamin, folic acid, pyridoxine and riboflavin

# Prebiotic Superfoods

When I first read about prebiotics, I thought someone made a typo, that it should say "probiotics." However, Wikipedia offered me some insight: "Prebiotics are non-digestible food substances that encourage the development and/or activity of micro-organisms in the intestinal system in ways reported to be useful to health." In other words, prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates that act as "food" for probiotics. Prebiotics help probiotics grow and remain in your digestive system.

The established definition by Dr. Roberfroid is:

"A prebiotic is a selectively fermented substance that enables specific changes, both in the structure and/or activity in the intestinal micro flora that confers advantages upon host well-being and overall health."

Resources of prebiotics include beans, garlic, raw oats, raw dandelion leaves, leeks, inulin sources (like jicama, Jerusalem artichoke and chicory root), and onions. Essentially, if you eat raw leeks, raw onions, or raw garlic, and you add onions to anything you cook, you're definitely acquiring enough prebiotics. Studies have confirmed evident effects on calcium and other mineral assimilation, immune system effectiveness, bowel pH, hypertension, inflammatory bowel problems and intestinal constipation. Prebiotics also reduce the risk of colon cancer. So, if you add raw onions or raw leeks to all of your salads and cook with onions, you are all set.

Many people know that the red wine is great simply because it contains antioxidants and resveratrol. But studies showed that individuals who drank 2 glasses of dry red wine per day had high levels of effective bacteria in their gut and low levels of bad bacteria in the gut. The research concluded that, while the red wine intake reduced bad bacteria in the gut, it in fact had a prebiotic effect in the gut in that it reinforced the development of colonies of healthy gut microbes which defend your health.

## How Antioxidants Slow Aging

Each part of your body ages. From your bone tissues to your skin and your brain, what we eat determines how we will really feel, whether or not we will be healthy, and how long we will live.

We all understand the hazards of free radicals and how anti-oxidants eliminate them, right? The antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that decrease aging are coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, carnitine, vitamins A, C, D, E, K, essential fatty acids, lutein, many of the B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, potassium, taurine, iron, and selenium.

Keep in mind, you won't get 3 times additional advantages if you take 300 percent of recommended daily consumption of any vitamin, antioxidant or mineral. Don't purchase manufactured food that has been marked as "rich in antioxidants," and don't believe that relying on supplements is the very best way to go. Buy local natural and organic whole foods Superfoods. Eat lots of different fruits and vegetables, nuts, and animal-healthy proteins every day. Rotate your antioxidants; don't stick to the same fruits, veggies, and spices. Increasing the intake of one antioxidant won't substitute for another one. For example, if you absorb 200% of the daily suggested vitamin C intake, that won't substitute for vitamin B12 or vitamin E for that particular day. Antioxidants should also come from your eating habits and not from a tablet. Antioxidants in a tablet are isolated synthetic materials, but fruits and vegetables have phytochemicals, which we already know are beneficial to us. Whole foods consists of many various ingredients that function in synergy and are far more efficient than supplements that just provide one of them.

Antioxidants impact aging in different ways. Here are some examples of antioxidants and how they slow down the aging process:

• Coenzyme Q10 – Early aging is the primary side effect of having too little Coenzyme Q10. A Coenzyme Q10 deficit also speeds up DNA damage, and because Coenzyme Q10 is beneficial to the well-being of your heart and muscles, this reduction brings muscle fragility, soreness, fatigue, and heart problems. Coenzyme Q10 essentially had a strong anti-aging impact, in the sense that you can maintain youthfulness up until the very end of life. Coenzyme Q10-rich foods are beef and beef organ meats, sardines, pistachios, sesame seeds, mackerel, cuttlefish, tuna, herring, yellow tail, pollock, chicken, and adzuki beans. There are also Coenzyme Q10 supplements and Q10 anti-aging creams.

• Vitamin D – People with elevated vitamin D amounts were found to have much less aging-associated variations in their DNA, as well as decreased inflammatory issues.

• Astaxanthin offers anti-inflammatory and DNA-protective abilities and helps reduce inflammation. Astaxanthin has been discovered in microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis. Astaxanthin is 65 times much more efficient than vitamin C, 54 times more effective than beta-carotene, and 14 times more powerful than vitamin E.

• Probiotics – Let's first mention the main reason of bad gut flora in overweight people: high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is a main element in nearly all refined foods, from snacks and frozen meals, to dressings to soft drinks. It causes genetic variations and failures that can cause illness in future generations. Refined, sugar- and chemical-laden foods actually destroy your digestive microflora. Your gut flora handles your immune system (your body's all-natural protection system). Artificial sweeteners, antibiotics, and stress can also reduce the amount of probiotics (useful bacteria) in your intestines, which can encourage disease and early aging. You can choose probiotic supplements, but it is much healthier to include fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kefir and plain yogurt in your diet regime. Yogurt is great source of iodine and zinc. If, however, you don't like the taste of probiotic foods, you can use supplements.

• Vitamin B9 and B12 – B9 has a significant role in the upkeep of DNA integrity and DNA methylation, both of which affect the size of your telomeres. B9 can be found in leafy green veggies and beans. B12 is found in salmon, beef liver, lamb, snapper, beef, scallops, venison, shrimp, eggs, and poultry. If you don't like the B12 rich foods or you are vegan, you can use supplements.

• Vitamin K2 – K2 is found in chicken breasts, cheese, eggs, and ground beef. People who take 45 mcg of K2 daily live seven years longer than people obtaining only 12 mcg per day. If you don't like the K2 rich foods, you can use supplements.

• Omega-3 – Individuals who have an Omega-3 index of lower than 4 percent age a lot faster than individuals with indexes over 8 percent. The Omega-3 index is an awesome new way to examine your health. Force your Omega-3 index over 8 percent if you wish to postpone aging. An Omega-3 index under 4 percent sets you at an elevated risk or danger for a heart attack. Omega-3 fat acids can invert telomere reducing. If the rate of Omega-6 divided by Omega-3 is greater than 10, your body is in a condition of inflammation, such as arthritis (a quiet inflammation), or other diseases and cancers. In order to better shield yourself from cancer, you ought to, ideally, take this ratio beneath 3. When you've got active cancer, you need bring the rate to under 1 – in other words, your objective should be to have a lot more Omega-3s than Omega-6s in your body. Krill Oil is a recommended Omega-3 supplement mainly because its assimilation rate is much greater than fish oil.

• Magnesium – Magnesium has a significant role in DNA reproduction, repair, and RNA activity, and it's been disclosed that magnesium favorably relates with increased telomere length in women.

• Polyphenols are intense antioxidants related to anti-aging advantages and disease decrease. Resveratrol has been discovered to be in grapes and red wine, as well as in cacao and green tea, which possess lots of polyphenols.

• Vitamin A – Telomere extent is related with dietary consumption of vitamin A. Vitamin A has a significant role in your immune system.

• Turmeric – Turmeric is an immune enhancement and acts as an anti-inflammatory, but it's mainly known for its anti-cancer capabilities.

• Exercise decreases telomere decrease.

In the end, you're most likely questioning which foods should be eliminated? The answer is the exact same as always: processed and refined food and sugar. Recognize that overwhelming sugar consumption brings insulin resistance, which tends to be the origin of numerous (if not the majority) chronic diseases. So far, scientific researchers have connected extreme sugar intake to about 78 various diseases and health issues, such as heart disease and cancer.

## Weight Loss-Related Hormones: Leptin, Ghrelin, Cortisol, Insulin (and Some Others)

Weight loss is managed with hormones leptin and ghrelin, but cortisol and insulin also carry out an important role. The ghrelin hormone is the "cravings hormone," and leptin is the "hunger hormone" or the "satiety hormone." Plenty of leptin speeds up the metabolism; a reduced level decreases it. Ghrelin amounts go up considerably before you eat; it indicates hunger. It's important to know that ghrelin is released by the stomach tissue. Ghrelin then moves down for around 2-3 hours following a meal. Research reveals that reducing levels of ghrelin results in reduced body fat. The ghrelin hormone encourages the brain to boost your appetite, but it also encourages the build-up of fat found in the abdominal region. Ghrelin levels raise after dieting because body wants to go back to a higher set point. That is one of the causes why fad diets are unsuccessful and why those on a fad diet yo-yo their weight. The body wants all of the processed foods that it was missing during the diet; Ghrelin is high all the time and people go back to eating processed foods with the result of putting all the weight back on. They didn't reset their set point to a lower value or adjust to a new weight, they didn't fix their hormones with Superfoods, and so, after a fad diet, they're back to square one.

Leptin is your food cravings suppressor – the hormone that indicates to your body that you've had enough to eat. It is a key player in perfecting weight loss. Numerous foods can either block or boost leptin. Leptin signals your brain that you have adequate energy stored in your fat tissue to take part in regular metabolic processes. Leptin is released by fat cells and the brain should recognize that body has enough fat, which should mean that body has enough energy stored... but when you eat processed food, there is a disruption and your brain doesn't recognize the leptin signals. The fatter you are, the more leptin is secreted. This is a perfect self-regulating mechanism because the brain should recognize that the body has more than enough energy stored as fat. However, it is a perfect self-regulating mechanism only in lean people and people that don't eat processed foods. Their hormonal signals are fully recognized by the brain and everything works fine. But for overweight people, these leptin signals are not properly recognized and brain thinks "Hey, these leptin signals are pretty weak, my body is starving, so let's store more fat." This leptin insensitivity is also called leptin resistance and it's primarily caused by inflammations, which are, again, caused by processed foods. Genetics, environmental factors, stress, and lack of sleep also contribute to influencing leptin-resistance, to a degree.

When men and women diet, they eat a bit less and their fat cells eliminate some fat, which then reduces the amount of leptin created. Then the brain detects starvation. Yo-Yo weight cycling results in lower leptin. Anytime you are on a fad diet that limits calories, that diet decreases leptin, increases ghrelin, and enhances your appetite. This seems like a hormonal snowball effect that hinders weight loss, isn't it? That is why it is crucial to have the right, wholesome foods Superfoods diet as a component of your life as soon as you are done with the weight loss period and are on a plateau. The Superfoods diet reduces calories, but keeps your belly full with proteins and fibers and that enhance satiety, reduces your hunger (reduces ghrelin) and fixes your appetite. Consuming 5 meals a day also controls ghrelin production.

Evolution makes it hard for women to lose fat, simply because their body is preprogrammed to accumulate fat and energy for housing babies.

There are no leptin -abundant foods because our intestinal tracts cannot process it. But we can enhance our sensitivity to it, which will help our metabolism to go upward and our cravings to go downward. Our battle can be aided along by eating protein for breakfast and eating dark, leafy dietary fiber-rich vegetables and fish for lunch and/or supper. Exercising also improves leptin sensitivity.

Swedish experts have found that thylakoids found in spinach and some other leafy greens work as a normal appetite suppressant that controls food intake, inhibits weight gain, and encourages weight loss. Thylakoids postpone digestion because they attach to fats and decrease hydrolysis of the fats. They also stimulate the release of cholecystokinin, which is the primary signal for satiety. Thylakoids also elevate the leptin amount for up to 6 hours after consuming a meal, and decrease ghrelin (measured 2 hours after a meal) and insulin.

Foods that reduce leptin sensitivity are – you guessed it – refined foods. All of them. Carbs are particularly terrible. Excessive carbohydrates do not only stop the leptin signals; they are also what we get ahold of when we are truly craving something. The more carbohydrates we consume, the more we desire them.

A couple of words about the last portion of persistent fat that you can't lose, even when we have achieved our ideal weight:

Immediately after you eat, insulin and fatty acids are elevated. You are in the "fed" condition and there is no fat consumption going on. Your body relies entirely on glucose oxidation during the hours following a meal.

As the hours go by, and the nutrients coming from a meal are utilized, there is a move to fat-burning and usage of stored fat. This process is mediated by insulin and blood-borne fat acids. The Superfoods meal plans split meals with carbohydrates for 5-6 hours, which keeps insulin down most of the time. Because insulin closes down fat-burning, if you separate carbohydrate meals, that action will bring more fat-burning time.

As long as insulin is present in your system, your body will not burn fat. If you want to lose fat, do not eat carbohydrates 3 hours before a workout and don't eat carbohydrates within 2 hours after a workout. That time will be utilized for fat-burning. The more insulin you have in your system during workouts, the less fat you'll burn. Insulin transports calories into tissues, sugar into fatty cells and muscles, and closes down fat cells from delivering energy for a period of time.

There are usually two releases of insulin. The first one occurs once the carbohydrates enter the blood, which peaks 30 minutes after a meal. In the following 3.5 hours, insulin gradually drops in the blood. Glucagon (which is hormone completely opposite of insulin) starts trickling and increasing. Glucagon is accountable for fat dripping out of the fatty cells and being utilized as energy. It also draws sugar out of the muscles for energy. A Glucagon shot (injection) is provided to diabetics when they feel a sugar drop or feel faint.

Glucagon and insulin can't be increased at the same time. Numerous meals containing carbohydrates will keep your insulin levels increased and there is no opportunity for glucagon to do its fat-loss miracle.

So, again, divide meals with carbohydrates for 5-6 hours, so glucagon can do the trick. I'm talking about starchy carbohydrates like oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes and such. Carbohydrates from other vegetables do not impact insulin levels, so feel free to eat cooked meats with fiber-packed salads.

When fat acids in blood levels decrease, an energy shortfall is "sensed" and adrenaline and noradrenaline rise.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline move through blood and hook up to receptors on fat cells. A receptor can be thought of as a "lock." Hormones and neurotransmitters are "keys" that are appropriate for that lock and make things happen. Ordinary fat contains a bunch of beta-2 receptors in proportion to alpha-2-receptors. B2-receptors are "accelerators" for fat reduction and a2-receptors are "breaks" for fat reduction.

The ratio between b2-receptors and a2-receptors controls how easy it is to allow-fat loss from one region of the body. "Easy" fat has a very good ratio of b2-receptors to a2-receptors, while difficult fat has a higher ratio of a2-receptors to b2-receptors. Easy fat is on our limbs and difficult fat is found on our bellies and love handles (in both men and women) and thighs (solely in women). Women can have up to 5-8 times more a2-receptors in her hips and thigh fat. Stimulation of the a1 and b-receptors is lipolytic (causes fat elimination) while activation of the a2-receptor is anti-lipolytic (blunts fat elimination). Persistent fat areas have a high concentration of a2-receptors, making it harder for fat meltdown to occur in that area. Stress and sleep also impact your ability to lose persistent fat. So, make sure that you get adequate sleep and reduce your stress level as much as you can. Also, eat frequently: 3 meals and 2 snacks per day. Missing meals boost stress. Here is where cortisol will come into the game.

Cortisol is the stress hormone. It's a crucial hormone, and is essential for human survival. Every time your body encounters any type of stress, your body produces cortisol, which then initiates a cascade of other physiological responses necessary for your body to continue functioning.

You can look at it like a crisis generator. Cortisol turns "off" many of the regular physiological systems and turns "on" many short-term physiological systems.

In a regular situation, cortisol release only lasts for a brief burst of time. Following that, all metabolic functions go back to normal. But this is exactly where things can go wrong, simply because in many instances, the stresses that trigger your body to emit cortisol take place too often and stay "on" for too long.

When your body encounters constant stress, it continuously secretes cortisol and that's when cortisol becomes damaging to your body. Depending on how long and the amount of cortisol you have in your body, it can really damage your health and change your metabolic processes, leading to you to gain persistent belly fat! The Superfoods diet stabilizes cortisol production. When your stress and cortisol levels are elevated, the body basically resists weight loss. Your body reasons: days are tough and you may starve, so it holds the fat you eat or current have in your body. Cortisol takes fat from healthier locations, like your limbs and hips, and relocates it to your abdominal area, which contains additional cortisol receptors.

As a summary, remember this fact: certain belly fat is natural. Its main function is actually to guard your vital inner organs. To drop all your belly fat is to oppose nature. This is why it is so hard to achieve. I have decided to lose weight and not stress personally about few pounds of the belly fat I might still have. 

# Inflammation – A Story about Omega-3 and Omega-6

Inflammations are a huge problem in today's American society. Most of them are induced by refined foods. Inflammations lead to achy joints, and early aging of the skin and inner organs. They make it difficult to lose fat. They make you depressive and moody. Omega-6 is the primary cause of inflammation and, in a perfect world, the proportion to Omega-3 should be 1:1. Contemporary Western diets typically have proportions of Omega-6 to Omega-3 in excess of 10 to 1, some as elevated as 30 to 1. The Japanese diet is the only diet that has the ratio of 4:1.

Excessive Omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils interfere with the health benefits of Omega-3 fats, in part simply because they compete for the same rate-limiting digestive enzymes. A high balance of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats in the diet is pro-thrombotic, pro-constrictive, and pro-inflammatory. Chronic excessive production of Omega-6 eicosanoids is correlated with arthritis, cancer, and inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatories and Omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory. More than half of Americans suffer from one kind of chronic illness or another.

Don't buy products that offer you a Omega-3/Omega-6/Omega-9 combination. You need more Omega-3 and Omega-9 and not as much Omega-6 because you're obtaining enough of Omega-6 from your diet anyway. Organic feed farm animals have a much lower amount of Omega-6 than farmed animals. It's straightforward: when the diet of the animals are changed, their meat is changed as well. Omega-6 is not a wrong fat, we need it, and it's just bad if you have a great deal of it and not enough Omega-3 at the same time.

A person can think of Omega-3 as a thinning agent in the blood and Omega-6 as the thickening agent. Fish high in Omega-3 gets Omega-3 from algae. Omega-3 is also located in green leaves. Think of Omega-3 as a "spring season fat," found in leafy vegetables. It thins our bloodstream so we can move faster and be more agile. Then imagine Omega-6s as "fall fats," the ones that are eaten by animals preparing for the winter. As you can picture, Omega-6 is found in corn, nuts, soy and seeds. All of them are ready for usage in autumn, just before winter. Think of Omega-6 as a fat storage space for animals. And THAT is what American people eat during the whole year – LOADS of high-processed corn syrup and soy oils. Constantly. For the whole year. If you draw a diagram of the refined wheat, corn, and soy intake increase in Western society and then draw a diagram of the increase in obesity, you will see the connection.

How can you change your diet so you consume a perfectly balanced Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio? Try consuming more Omega-3s (avocado, flax, salmon, chia seeds, raw nuts), or take Omega-3 supplements and avoid vegetable oils full with Omega-6. High Omega-6 intakes are associated with a rise of all inflammatory diseases:

• atherosclerosis

• cardiovascular disease

• type 2 diabetes

• rheumatoid arthritis

• obesity

• metabolic syndrome

• irritable bowel syndrome

• cancer

• macular degeneration

• asthma

• psychiatric disorders

• autoimmune diseases

Some pro-inflammatory foods found in the Western diet are:

• trans fat

• processed oils

• sugar

• flour containing gluten

• corn

• fatty meat and dairy

• soy

• alcohol

Foods, herbs and spices that have anti-inflammatory properties are pomegranates, green tea, ginger, turmeric, garlic, and all foods with a high Omega-3 content.

# Superfoods Allergies

Note that some Superfoods can cause allergic reactions in some people (for example, some Superfoods nuts or the casein in kefir). We are all different and there is no diet that will fit all people. To find out if you have allergies you don't know about, get tested. Find out if you are anaphylactic or are lactose intolerant, for example, and simply exclude the Superfoods that could cause you to have allergic reactions or inflammations (beans, nuts, dairy). You could also experiment and exclude some foods for 2-4 weeks and monitor how you feel each week.

I excluded wheat from my family's diet and noticed an instant improvement in my son's ADHD behavior as well as in my own energy levels. We experimented with exclusion of dairy products and came to the conclusion that simple, fermented, non-processed dairy (plain yogurt, kefir and yogurt cheese/ farmer's cheese) are not causing problems to any of us. Fruit yogurts were terrible for my son's ADHD, however, due to the additives and food colorings used in them. I stopped drinking milk because it was causing me some discomfort, but I continued consuming fermented dairy, such as plain yogurt, kefir, and small amounts of yogurt cheese. If you suffer from milk intolerance, swap yogurt in recipes with tahini sauce and cheese with hummus, red pepper spread or baba ghanoush.

Note that food allergies and food intolerances are two different things. A food allergy is caused by a specific food protein, which causes an overreaction when that protein is ingested. Mild food allergy symptoms are hives, rashes, swelling, or itching. Severe ones can include breathing problems and, in some cases, a loss of consciousness.

Food intolerances generally don't involve the immune system. People with intolerances are simply unable to digest that particular food. Symptoms of intolerances include gas, cramps, bloating, nausea, and diarrhea. Celiac disease is the only food intolerance (gluten intolerance) that does involve the immune system and causes a reaction in the small intestine. Gluten is found in wheat, rye and barley.

## Common Weight Loss Rules

How can you make the switch from processed foods to Superfoods? It's simple. Remove all processed food from your home! Every experienced dieter knows that all processed foods, refined foods, baked goods, pasta, white rice, sweets, pop, Cheetos, and similar snacks should be removed from your pantry, fridge, and freezer, no matter which diet is about to be started. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind!

Eating at regular intervals stabilizes blood sugar levels and it's necessary to keep eating snacks 2-3 hours after each meal, to prevent cravings. Eating the right foods at regular intervals throughout the day keeps blood-sugar levels steady and hunger at bay. Again, empty your cupboards and fridge of all problematic foods; you want to make sure that if the cravings appear, you don't have any such food handy and that you have your "Binge Emergency Kit" available. (More on that later.) If you have kids, they will benefit if you don't serve them processed foods. Plan out your meals for the week and stock food that is recommended for this diet. Again, don't skip meals! Skipping a meal means you will be so hungry at the next meal that you are likely to over-eat. Not only that, skipping meals can actually slow down your metabolism, meaning you'll burn fewer calories.

The first few times I lost weight, I didn't do any exercises. But, with time, I noticed that I lost some of my muscles, so the last few times I dieted I decided to eat more protein and exercise at least a little bit in order to prevent muscle loss. I added a 20-45 minute walk per day and 5 rounds of pushups every second day to my regimen. That was all that was necessary to prevent muscle loss. Plus, it prevented the slowdown of my metabolism. There is one more very important reason why you must include some type of exercise in your life. (More on that later.)

You're free to drink coffee, tea, or any diet pop (but only for the first one or two weeks). Avoid beer and alcohol if you're trying to lose weight and have some only when you're in weight-maintenance mode. Don't drink fruit juices; it is much healthier to eat fresh fruit and get vitamins and fibers from them that way. I drink herbal tea in the morning and have green tea in the late afternoon. Doctors suggest up to 2 cups of coffee per day, so I lowered my coffee intake from 5 cups to 2 (morning and 2 pm). Green tea lowers risks of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, kidney disease and cancer. I drink coffee without sugar, but if you have to have your coffee sweet, use Stevia and avoid aspartame, Splenda, Sugar Twin, and other artificial sweeteners. I like to drink hot cocoa by adding one spoon of low-fat, unsweetened cocoa powder to some hot water. The only thing I use to sweeten this drink is by adding a half of spoon of honey or some Stevia to it. With time, I got used to the bitterness of one spoon of cocoa in a cup of boiled water, but sometimes I just like to add some low-fat milk or half a teaspoon of honey to it.

I used to eat sweets daily but since I switched to Superfoods diet, my palate changed significantly and I almost lost my sweet tooth. If I crave sweets, I have a little bit of dark chocolate or a cocoa drink with a pinch of honey or I mix a spoon of honey with grounded nuts or seeds and make a small cookie. But since I eat fruits daily, that seems to be enough of sugar for me. I won't refuse a birthday cake in Phase 2, but when I go shopping, I never look for sweets, juices, or condiments that contain sugars.

I also noticed that I don't crave fried food like I used to. Somehow I got used to grilled meats, which satisfies my fast-food urge – grilled chicken breast or pork tenderloin with some grilled eggplant, grilled red peppers and grilled mushrooms (shiitake), sprinkled with fresh rosemary and a few drops of olive oil, yummy!!

Choose your foods wisely to obtain satiety. For example, if you offer me a choice between a tomato/peppers/cucumbers salad and a fiber-loaded salad (e.g. shredded cabbage and spinach), I will choose the latter because know that the fiber-loaded salad will keep me filled twice as long as the tomato salad. Fiber-loaded salads have substance and if I pair them with any protein for dinner, they're able to stave my hunger off until the end of the day.

# Why Do Diets Fail?

Why do over 80% of people that try to lose weight fail? Why do 40% quit within the first 7 days? Why do 20% quit within a month? Why do only 20% make it to a three month mark?

The sad fact is, most overweight people are destined to stay that way, unless they get educated about processed food, sugar and wheat. Some are stuck in a cycle of yo-yo dieting, never really committing to a whole-foods lifestyle change involving regular exercise.

Here's why:

• Most people have very little knowledge of which foods cause weight gain. This is a major problem! Most people don't know what processed foods contain, or what the hidden sugars are. Foods labeled "low-fat" or "reduced fat" aren't always a healthy choice because they're full of artificial sweeteners, chemicals, and artificial colors. Read the labels! Learn about the food you eat. Know the difference between proteins and carbs. Healthy nutrition might not have been taught at school in your time, so now it's time to get educated. It's your life and your health... and the health of your children that's at stake!

• People start a fad diet which more often than not involve eliminating certain food groups. This is so unhealthy, not to mention unrealistic for long term weight loss.

• Most people focus only on their diet and forget to make sure they get enough night sleep. Most people also don't include exercising as part of their "diet," either. It's important to eat well, sleep well, and exercise in order to achieve and maintain weight loss!

• Some fad diets eliminate carbs and the body goes into starvation mode, making it almost impossible for you to resist the urge to eat the food you were used to. Long-term weight control is a lifetime commitment. Learn how to include celebratory meals, because they prevent cravings.

• People see their diet as a momentary solution, not a lifestyle change. That's why they inevitably return to their old eating habits.

• People don't track their progress. Or they do, but they have unrealistic expectations. You didn't gain weight overnight, so don't expect to lose it overnight. Don't get discouraged and abandon the diet.

• Slow metabolism might a problem for some people, which means weight loss will occur more slowly. You burn fewer calories and the diet becomes less effective. Don't get discouraged. If you have a slow metabolism, pay attention to the advice for how to speed it up.

• People always have many excuses. They blame their age, their metabolism, their busy schedule and pretty much anything else.

• Some people don't get moral support from their friends and family. "C'mon, eat it, you'll diet tomorrow!" or "You look fine, you don't need a diet!" are what we hear. We've all heard these sayings. I'm more prone to over-eat when I'm among friends or family that behave like that. And I know that I'm less likely to over-eat when I'm among strangers; I would feel embarrassed. Stay firm, stay determined, and tell friends and family firmly that you have decided to take your life and your health into your hands and that over-eating will destroy your efforts to change. When dealing with my friends and family, I mentioned that, since dieting, I feel more energetic, I sleep better, my stomachaches have disappeared, I'm more productive at work, and I no longer have back pain. Most people, after hearing these positive points, will understand you and start supporting you.

• Some people lack ambition. Period.

• Many folks fail to comprehend that they must focus on a diet that provides them with all the valuable nutrients that ensure the correct functioning of their body. A weight-loss diet must be low in calories, not low in nutrients and vitamins. Minerals and amino acids play an essential role for your overall health and well-being. If you do not fuel your body properly, you will feel hungry throughout the day and you will eventually give up and binge on food. Do not play down your hunger, as it can be your worst enemy.

• Many people pick the wrong exercises to do. You don't need to devote hours in the gym or do something you find totally boring to lose weight. When exercise becomes a chore, that's when most people give up. 80% of calories you lose comes from changing your eating habits with only 20% coming from exercising. Some exercise is good, more is better, but everything counts, even a 5-minute walk or doing household chores.

• Some people don't seek help. Getting advice from a dietician can make all the difference. Knowing which foods to eat and which workouts are the most effective are vital.

• Drastic diets or diets that are too strict can activate mood swings, headaches, physical and mental exhaustion, irritability, digestive upset, and brain fog. But changing your diet should leave you feeling happy, energized and light.

• Feeling hungry 10 minutes or even an hour after you have eaten might indicate other problems. Chronic hunger generally indicates that your diet is imbalanced or insufficient, which can cause your body to store energy, and resist weight loss. If you feel hungry all the time during a diet, this means you're not eating foods that boost satiety. Lean protein, fiber-loaded veggies and some good fat should fix that. Again, 280 calories from a candy bar and 280 calories from a lean protein meal with a large fiber-loaded salad are not the same! Protein and fiber-loaded salad will leave you a lot fuller!

• Tradition. We usually celebrate over meals, we bond over meals, we comfort ourselves over meals and we entertain over meals. Celebrate by pampering yourself with a spa or massage treatment. Bond by going on a hike together. Comfort yourself with other things.

• Some diets are based on prepackaged food and portion control. This won't work over a long term.

• Did you know that the quantity of calories in 1lb (.45kg) of body fat is equal to 3,500 calories? That means that you have to eat 3,500 fewer calories than usual in order to lose 1 pound.

• One gram of carbs has 4 calories, one gram of protein has 4 calories, one gram of fat has 9 calories, and one gram of water or insoluble fiber has 0. So, plan accordingly, but remember that you need some fats every day, so don't exclude them completely. Fat boosts satiety.

• If you're wondering how many calories you should eat for successful weight loss, here are the ballpark numbers. Aim for 500 calories lower than the amount of calories you burn daily. Of course, that amount varies between people leading a sedentary life and active people. I'd say that women should take between 1200-1400 calories per day for a healthy weight loss. Don't go below 1200. Men should not go below 1500 calories per day; the suggested amount is 1600-1800.

• For people who exercise at least 10 minutes per day, the number of carbs per day should be kept between 100 and 150. That means that you can eat a lot of fruits and veggies and you'll be fine. If you aim for a healthy weight loss, eat 50-100 grams of carbs per day. That is the amount suggested in the Superfoods Diet – Phase 1. If you eat less than 50 grams per day, you're basically low-carbing, and you might experience side effects. I don't recommend doing that.

# Fad Diets Created the Yo-Yo Nation

Again, I'll go back and talk more about fad diets, because they're responsible for weight yo-yoing and for the existence of the Yo-Yo Nation! NOTE: more than 70% of adult Americans are overweight and there are more than 1 billion overweight people in the world. The Yo-Yo Nation is huge!!

Most diets concentrate on weight loss and don't give you the bulletproof solution for maintaining your loss. Trying to lose weight by going on strict diets that are not satisfying is not going to solve anything. Forget these kind of diets. You can't lose weight by not eating. That's because the human evolution is a very slow process. Our DNA still has data from the caveman days. There was not much food back then. People, back then, would sometimes go for days without anything to eat.

When food is consumed, our bodies are programmed to turn it into fat and store it. When you try to lose weight by undernourishment, this old mechanism kicks in. This means that when you eat your next meal, what you eat will be converted into fat and stored in your body. The more you eat during this time, the more fat will be converted. There are things you can do to drastically increase your metabolism and speed up your weight loss without eating less.

Stress affects how you think. If you worry about your next meeting or other issues at work, or worry about how you are going to make your bill payments, it's less likely that you are going to have the mental energy to prepare a healthy menu for yourself each and every day. Instead, when you are feeling nervous, you are more likely to turn to sweet, fatty foods like candy and cookies. Stress is an immense problem.

You don't have to worry that you will gain weight from over-eating (even if you do, you'll over-eat on lean protein and fiber-loaded salads) and at the same time you will find that you're healthier and more energetic than before. I'll be honest with you, if you used to eat fast food and processed foods, this will be a big change for you. If you used to cook your meals, then there are no drastic changes you have to make. In fact, it will become so easy to follow that you and your entire family can adapt to it without much hassle. I am that confident that this diet is not just the program for you but will completely transform your weight lost efforts and the way you look at diets forever.

On fad diets, food gets boring quickly. Let's face it: People don't want to drink smoothies or live on steak and eggs for the rest of their lives. With recipes, diversity and taste is everything. You can create all the meal plans you want, but by the time you get two or three weeks into your diet, you're sick and tired of eating the same things over and over again.

In a world where processed food is regrettably becoming a part of everyday life, it is important, now more than ever, to be aware of what you are eating and how it affects your life. What you eat affects your mood, your health, and your confidence. A Superfoods diet will allow you to lose weight naturally because you'll provide your body with nutrients and foods that our bodies have used for centuries. There is no such thing as a shortcut to long term weight loss. If you do not equip yourself with the right knowledge, you will end up yo-yoing your weight and spending your money searching for an easy way for weight loss success. But the fact of the matter is, there is no easy way to weight loss... just effort and sticking to a proper eating habits.

There are a huge number of reasons why overweight people try to lose weight. Some want to feel and look better while others want to have more energy to accomplish their daily tasks. Some want to be healthier now and prevent health problems later in their life and avoid huge medical costs. Some want to transform their eating habits, so their children can learn at an early age that eating whole foods is healthy and that fast food and processed foods will get them into trouble, causing depression because of their looks in their teens, to a lack of self-confidence later on, to other health issues and diseases. The costs of NOT applying healthy eating habits are just too high! For you and your children, and their children, and their children, and so on. Think of it as a health retirement plan. If you become leaner, happier, and healthier because of the whole food Superfoods you are going to start to eat, you and your children will be healthier and happier, have fewer problems, and have fewer health-related costs. If you continue eating processed foods and junk foods, you're risking a lot. The price for heart surgery ranges from 70 000 to 100 000 dollars for smaller and simpler procedures to 300 000 dollars for open-heart surgery. Then there's the stroke rehab cost and cost for lost productivity. It all adds up! But it doesn't have to, if you change your diet to a Superfoods diet.

The Superfoods diet will teach you how to eat healthy unprocessed, whole Superfoods and maintain your weight. It will also enable you to lose weight in the first phase, but without side effects or without risking your health. You already saw my pictures and 5 years proof of this. Fad diets promise quick and easy weight loss and are mostly based on eating more of one kind of food and not another. While there are people who get instant results from these diets, the results are, unfortunately, not sustainable. I managed to lose weight on a low-carb diet more than once and I gained everything back, simply because I continued to eat processed foods afterwards.

We choose what we eat, but for many of us there are many other explanations for being overweight than just bad eating habits: having office jobs or lifestyles that don't give us the time we need to be active, or perhaps your day is so busy and frantic with family and children that you have been pushing your health on the back-burner while caring for others.

I was like that. I justified my weight gain because, as a software developer that sits through the day and a father of 2 small demanding kids, I felt I didn't have the time to squeeze in a workout routine and I didn't have the mental energy to concentrate on what I ate. At that time, we had a freezer full of frozen processed food and we ate just about anything. My kids were born 15 months apart and that time was very stressful and tiring both for me and my wife. You saw the pictures and how we looked. With the days being full of small tasks, work, and family time, by the end of the day I was exhausted and couldn't imagine getting up and doing a 10- or 20-minute workout or cooking a healthy meal or even making a trip to the store to buy healthy whole foods and prepare them for the next day.

But it doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming to make some changes to your life. Once I got better organized and learned few life hacks, I felt mentally prepared to change myself. With transformed eating habits and less than 20 minutes a day of body weight exercises, I was able to lose weight. And I have kept it off for over 5 years!

Let's be realistic: if you don't make time to shop for whole foods and if you don't make a firm resolution to cook a healthy meal with it, you will not succeed.

If you make these changes, not only will you lose weight, you won't feel hungry at all. If you do feel hungry, you will have healthy food at your disposal that will not make you gain weight.

A quick summary of what over-eating can cause or lead to:

• heart disease

• high blood pressure

• diabetes

• circulatory Issues

• gallbladder problems

• obesity

It's said that there may even be a link between certain cancers and being overweight, probably because of the processed foods overweight people eat.

You know the reasons why you have to finally do something about your weight. You want to live a longer and healthier life. You don't want to cause irreparable damage to your body.

Now is the time to make that decision, and experience what it's like to have a stronger and healthier body.

Take responsibility for yourself. It's only really you that can make it happen. Others can help, but it's up to you whether it happens or not. Just go for it! I've met people who managed to lose weight and keep it off for years. These people are the ones who have really made a determined decision to change. Something made them think, "I've had enough, I want to change, I want to get healthier, I want to live longer, I don't want to spend all my retirement money on heart surgeries or stroke rehab, I want to enjoy life to the fullest." They're successful because they've made that determined, definite decision that they don't want to feel unhealthy anymore.

And now it's your turn. Forget about risky diets, time-consuming workouts, and exhausting routines. You can finally lose weight by making simple changes to your daily life.

There is no easy way to lose weight. A gradual weight loss of 2 pounds per week is an optimal weight loss. It takes a long time for weight to be put on, and the most lasting way to lose weight is to do it is progressively. Let your new lifestyle become your healthy habits. There is no doubt that you can lose weight either by starving yourself or following a crash-diet plan, but as soon as you quit it, you gain back all the lost weight... and sometimes even more. So there is no point of suffering from starvation if, in the end, you are going to put on more weight. Other than absorbing a healthy lifestyle, all weight loss solutions are unrealistic and temporary. Millions of North Americans and people worldwide are overweight or obese.

A person's weight is a result of many factors: environment; family history and genetics; metabolism, which is the way the body changes food and oxygen into energy; and personal behaviors or habits.

Certain things, like family history, can't be changed. However, other things—like a person s lifestyle habits—can be changed. You can help prevent or treat overweight and obesity if you follow a Superfoods diet, are physically active, and limit the time you spend being inactive.
Drinks

During the beginning of my diet, I started to drink diet root beer because I had sweet cravings. I usually had one per day. I also drank 4-5 cups of coffee at that time, sweetened with Stevia, and a cup of herbal tea in the morning. Even before I started the Superfoods diet, I tried to lower my sugar intake for coffee, so I went from one-and-a-half teaspoons to one-half. Luckily, I never added sugar to my tea, so there were no issues with my tea once I started the diet, except that I wasn't sure which sweetener to use. I didn't like artificial sweeteners but I had them in my diet root beer anyway, so I tried Stevia and I liked it. But somehow, during my diet, my palate started to change. I didn't need sugar with my coffee and I started to avoid diet root beer. Then, just for fun, I tried pure black coffee, without cream or Stevia. And I liked it!

I'm pretty sure that my lowered sweet tooth was caused by the Superfoods lifestyle, probably because of the fruits that I ate daily and because I didn't eat any wheat bread or pastries. After less than 6 weeks, I stopped drinking diet root beer completely (in the last 4 weeks I had a diet root beer maybe once a week) and I stopped adding Stevia to my coffee. During the last 4 years, I have had a half-full small bottle of Stevia in the top drawer of my office desk, as a reminder of my sweet coffee days. I lowered my coffee intake to 2 cups per day, and I started to drink green tea in the afternoon, in addition to one cup of herbal tea (sage + mint being my favorite), which I drank in the morning. When I wanted to drink something cold and refreshing, I had a sparkling mineral water or soda with quarter of a lemon squeezed in. I also had one 5-ounce glass of red wine in the evening, but not every day. If I was invited to a party or if I was entertaining, I'd drink red wine.

Please avoid diet sodas because they're full of nasty chemicals. (They're okay for the first few weeks while you're still parting with processed foods, but avoid them once you lose your sweet cravings.)

Artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat-storing hormone production. They also increases your craving for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period immediately after consuming the diet drink. The best alternatives are sparkling or regular water, club soda with lemon, or unsweetened iced teas. You have plenty of options with teas – green, white, black, and mint. Be creative in making your iced teas and you'll enjoy them more! Plus, you'll get a more diverse array of antioxidants. I'm not a fan of fruit juices, even freshly squeezed ones. I prefer to eat fresh fruit and with additional fibers found in fresh fruit. The choice you should make regarding fruits is, therefore, obvious!

## Exercising

If you're as lazy as I am, this will be the tricky part. I used to go to the gym a lot during one particular period of my life. I know that the hardest part is getting ready to go to the gym but that once I'm there, I'm raring to go!

Often, our problems with exercising lies in our mindsets and our initial motivational preparation. We need to make up our minds to prepare for the gym, and stop making excuses.

For example, after a long day at the office, I'm usually full of excuses: "I walked 40 minutes already today," or "I will go tomorrow," or "Maybe my walk was enough exercise for today."

Generally, the only thing that can get me moving are the realizations that I feel inflexible, that I have lower back stiffness when I get up after 2 hours of sitting, and that I have to maintain my muscle mass, and that the only way to alleviate these feelings is to do some stretching and some type of strength training. I noticed that if I don't do any strength exercises for a few weeks, my back discomfort returns again, no matter what my weight is. I think that it's because when you stop doing strength exercise, your body isn't tightened anymore (there is no tension in it) and long hours spent sitting in the office start to take their toll.

To get myself moving, I decided to do shoulder exercises with two full 2L bottles of liquid, and then do a few repetitions of body weight circuit training. I also always remember that I first have to warm up. Never ever forget to warm up your muscles, joints and have your heart pumping. I had 2 strained muscles/tendons in the past (my left shoulder and my right elbow) and I still remember the problems and pain that they caused me. This is the minimum you can do for your health: some walking and/or some weight exercises. Of course, if you can do 30-45 minutes of cardio per day and 45 of strength training every second day, you're doing much more for your health. Plus, you can eat more because you burned some calories. But don't do steady cardio; research proved that an exercise regimen consisting of only cardio does not really burn fat or speed up your metabolism like it should. New research shows that you can trick your body into burning calories more efficiently, especially if you change the intervals, both during cardio and strength training. By varying intervals in strength-training and by training just a couple of times a week, you'll reverse 50% of the metabolism slow-down that comes with age. The next time you run, swim, or even walk, ramp up the intensity for 30-second intervals, returning to your normal speed afterward. Using this strategy will help you consume more oxygen and make your cell powerhouses work harder to burn energy.

If you're very overweight, start with just walking, then slowly introduce some stretching and then some body weight training into your exercise plan.

Body weight circuit training is sort of a minimal strength type of training you can do. You saw my pictures; I'm not the type of fitness guy that is "ripped" and "toned." I'm a very average guy who works at a desk and has a family. I don't have a lot of time to spend on fitness training. For example, my home body weight circuit training in the beginning was:

• 30 seconds of bodyweight squats, or until you can't do anymore (might be less than 30 seconds in the beginning)

• 30 seconds of push-ups, or until you can't do anymore (might be less than 30 seconds in the beginning)

• 30 seconds jumping jacks

Repeat 3-4 times. That's it.

This is very basic training that will lead you into strength exercising. When you can do this easily every morning (or every second morning), you can add into every circuit the following:

• 20 walking lunges

• 15-30 seconds of planking

A more advanced body weight circuit training would be to add pull-ups, dips (using bar stools), and chin-ups and to repeat the whole circuit 5 times. That should have you sweating like a pig and your metabolism should be running full steam. So, advanced body circuit training might be:

• 20 bodyweight squats

• 10 pull-ups

• 30 jumping jacks

• 20 walking lunges

• 10 chin-ups

• 30 seconds of planking

• 10 dips

• 20 push-ups

Repeat 3-5 times.

Not only does muscle weigh more than fat, but it uses more energy, too. The average woman in her 30s who strength-trains 30-40 minutes twice a week for 4 months will increase her resting metabolism by 100 calories a day. That means she's resetting her thermostat to keep running at that rate even on the days when she doesn't make it to the gym.

Muscles build metabolism. If you have more muscle mass, you will burn more calories when exercising as well as when you are resting. Strength training is the easiest way to increase metabolism. We lose half a pound of muscle per year as we get older, and that lost muscle mass should be replenished. For example, if you used to go to the gym in your 20s and then do nothing for 15 years and then in your late 30s you notice that you gained some weight, you have to know that, at the same time, you have lost 7-8 pounds of muscles too and that your body now has a very different composition.

I would suggest to do interval exercises even when you're walking, alternating short bursts of intense exercise with easier recovery periods. This will help you lose weight, but it will also strengthen your heart and lungs, reduce bad LDL cholesterol, and help your body control your blood sugar fluctuations. It will also boost your metabolism and you will sleep better.

I prefer to do my exercise in the morning, because I'm a morning person. This also helps me feel better throughout the day. I feel energized and rejuvenated. Most importantly, for the lazy person I am, I know that I did my exercise for that day and I feel great about it the whole day! I definitely think that it's better to know that you're finished with your exercise and feel great entire day, than to think "Will I find time and energy to do my exercise in the evening?"

Exercise is also vitally important for lymph activity (the "sewage" system of the body, so to speak, since it doesn't have its own heart to pump), which requires the diaphragm's breathing movements and other body movements to keep things flowing, cleansing, and flushing the toxins out. Check out these exercise videos on my blog: http://Superfoodstoday.com/video/.

There is one very important fact connected to exercising, which is the mental connection that occurs when you begin to follow a routine. Let's say you go through this diet, you start exercising, everything goes as expected, and you have achieved your ideal weight (or you came close to your ideal weight). Then, for some reason, you get into a stressful situation at work, you forget about exercising and eating healthy food, you start adding processed foods to your diet again because you don't have time to cook, and you find yourself thinking, "What went wrong... and when?" You conclude that you have yo-yoed again. But, if you had your exercising routine firmly planted into your new lifestyle, thoughts of exercising would be ingrained in your brain. These thoughts serve as a reminder that you have to eat healthy food. Every time you start thinking about exercising, you will be reminded about your current eating habits. Even if you ate a few processed foods, you'll be aware of it and you'll do something about it. This positive mental connection alone should be a good enough reason to make exercising a new habit.

People who make exercise a lifelong habit feel good all the time, and do it because they want to stay healthy and live longer. I'm pretty sure that if you switch – for life – from processed food to Superfoods, you will include exercise in your daily routine. I can tell you what motivates me to exercise daily. Again, it's the whole "feel great for the whole day" feeling. After I exercise in the morning, I feel proud of myself. I feel wonderful. I am full of energy. I'm alert. I know that I started the day on a healthy note and that I will be mindful of what I foods will be consumed that day. I know that I will have a great sleep, too.

Some exercising tips that will help keep you motivated are:

  * Find someone to exercise with. It's more difficult to let a friend down if you agreed to exercise together. It's even better if that friend has an exercise habit already firmly planted in his/her life.

  * Exercise on your way home from the office. Have an exercise bag in your car and go straight to the gym, so you avoid of temptation to stay at home.

  * Use "waiting" time to your advantage. For example, do a few lunges or squats when you find yourself waiting for something (like the microwave to "ding" or the elevator to arrive).

  * Use the stairs instead of the elevator, if possible.

There is one more option for people who know that they might revert to unhealthy eating and drop exercising as a habit. Join our online community of Superfoods eaters and get support there! It's easy to be connected these days. Meet other people who are on the same quest of leaving the Yo-Yo Nation and joining the Superfoods Nation and support each other. If you make friends there, you will support each other and it will be hard to part with your newly acquired healthy-eating lifestyle that involves regular exercising.

## Weight Loss Challenges

## Sweets

When I was in the weight loss phase before in my life, I learned that it's best for me not to have any sweets in the house at all. First of all, I can't control myself (!) and secondly, not having sweets on hand will prevent binging.

Learn to recognize that point where snacking comes close to transitioning to a binge. Recognize your binge triggers, and never ever have that food in the house. It is much easier to lose weight if you don't have access to processed sweets!

## Fried food

My way of dealing with fried food is never to make it at home, never to order it in the restaurant, and eat it only when it's served somewhere else (for example, at a party or birthday). Making these rules for myself means that I will only eat a few bites once or twice a month somewhere. That is enough for me! Occasionally, I ate some fried food (chicken, fish) as a celebratory meal, in the beginning of my diet, but I started to avoid it more and more in favor of grilled food. If you have to eat fried food, eat only occasionally, and eat it as a celebratory meal with a large fiber-loaded salad. Alternatively, you can take any meat that you wanted to grill, put it in an egg mixture, then coat with flax meal and bake it in the oven. Taste-wise, it will be the closest thing to fried food and it will be much, much healthier.

## Celebratory Meals and How to Prevent Binge Eating

The Superfoods diet is so successful because it allows people to cycle their diet every day, so they never felt like they're suffering. They know that their next regular meal is only a few hours away. Cycling means that the dieter will have one meal with the regular food outside of the diet.

You know that eating refined foods, processed foods, and fast foods has brought you here. During a celebratory meal (hey, every day is a celebration!), you should make choices that fall on the "healthy side" of celebratory. With time, you will completely switch to a "Superfoods only" lunch or dinner. That doesn't mean that you can't have an occasional fast food meal in Phase 1, but make sure that your choice is a healthy, clever choice. There is a huge range of fast food meals that have less than 500 calories (Google this), and you can eat any of them as a celebratory meal.

You'll notice that those fast food meals don't include fries and mayo. If you insist on having fries, you can have medium fries with a salad on the side, but you shouldn't have a burger at the same time. Remember, you're trying to lose weight! Now, an ideal meal would be some sort of healthy "meat and potato" type of a meal. Having said that, an ideal meal should be any low-fat grilled or roasted meat, 1 medium size baked potato (or one scoop of brown rice or quinoa) and a large fiber-loaded salad. If you want to lose more weight, you can "diet cheat" on your celebratory meal and eat some type of tasty low-carb meal instead (such as cauliflower instead of potatoes or rice, a cauliflower crust pizza, etc.). If you insist on having a Whopper with medium fries and a diet pop, you can have that, too, but you probably won't lose any weight on that day, unless you do some serious exercising or you skip breakfast.

Don't over-eat during a celebratory meal. Don't think, "OK, I'll over-eat now and ruin this one day and tomorrow I'll diet again." Instead, think of the sum of the calories you ate during the past week. That over-eating might spoil the whole week of effort.

If you're planning on attending a party, reschedule your celebratory meal and eat it at the party. If you over-eat there, again, your whole weekly effort will be ruined. My best advice is to eat any lean protein food and any fiber-loaded salad at the party and to avoid cheese, salad dressings, sweets, alcohol and breads, especially if you're in Phase 1. If you're in Phase 2, then you can have a small serving of fried food or a thin slice of birthday cake. My personal way of taking care when I'm at a party and I want to lose weight is to eat lean meat and a fiber-loaded salad, but to limit my intake to one-and-a-half plates. One plate is usually enough, but if I'm still "kind of hungry" and there is a myriad of options in front of me, (and some wicked thoughts start to pop up in my head like "Hey, I haven't tried that; I'll take just a bite"), then I risk the danger of over-eating. My one plate will turn into two, and the second plate will likely have more fat in it than the food I just ate. But if I eat one-and-a-half plates of lean meat and a fiber-loaded salad or some steamed veggies (you can call this loading up on veggies & protein too), I'm usually "full enough" and I feel that I don't have to eat anything else.

Another way of thinking about this problem is to just simply eat lean protein and a fiber-loaded salad until you're full and that's it. Or, if you're in Phase 2, load one plate with veggies and protein, eat it and then browse the buffet. You won't eat much after that plate, I guarantee it!

Parties are not good for celebratory meals because they have so many tasty options. That is why I'm suggesting protein and fiber and not a real celebratory meal. If I take one plate of some meat and potatoes and salad, I'm always hungry after that, just because I end up looking at all those other food options. However, if I behave well at a party and do not over-eat, I feel so proud of myself!

## Binge Eating

Emotional hunger can be powerful. As a result, it's easy to mistake it for physical hunger. But there are clues you can look for that can help you tell physical and emotional hunger apart. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly. Emotional hunger craves specific comfort foods. Emotional hunger craves fatty foods or sugary snacks that provide an instant rush. Emotional hunger isn't satisfied once you're full. Emotional hunger isn't located in the stomach; it's in your head. When the binge urging hits you, make sure that you have your "Binge Emergency Kit" ready in the fridge.

## Binge Emergency Kit

The "Binge Emergency Kit" consists of 2 peeled hardboiled eggs, one large container half-full of shredded cabbage and spinach leaves and a small jar of yogurt salad dressing. The salad container should be fairly large, 1 or 2 liters, with a non-airtight lid (so the veggies don't get spoiled). Put the eggs and veggies in it and put the jar beside it. Place sticky notes or stickers on them that say anything that will soothe you in that moment (pictures of your family, some calming words, some "before" photos, a reminder where to find a CD so that you can play soothing music, etc.). If the cravings do not hit you for 2 days, eat those veggies and those 2 eggs so they don't spoil. And don't forget to prepare a fresh Binge Emergency Kit. You might need one soon.

## How to Use Your Binge Emergency Kit

When a craving for sweets and/or junk food hits you, you need to slow it down. To do this, count to 10, drink a glass of water, sip some tea, brush your teeth, and then chew a piece of gum. If all that doesn't help, take a deep breath, open the fridge, look at the lid with the comforting pictures and messages, count to 10 again, and then decide if you should pour the dressing from the jar over the veggies or not. If you still have cravings, take the 2 eggs out and put them on a plate, pour the dressing over the veggies, stir it and eat eggs and salad as slow as you can while staring at the lid. This should help. If you're still hungry, even after this eating, prepare the same meal once more and eat it. You should not be very hungry by then. Afterwards, prepare a new Binge Emergency Kit.

## Evening Problem – AKA "Nighttime eating"

If I'm about to spend hours in front of my computer in the evening, I'll experience an "Evening Problem" a few nights a week. Ok, I'll admit it, I'll get it almost every night because I'm a nighttime eater. As a matter of fact, it is happening right now, as I write these words. I had a thick lentil stew with a few small bites of braised pork (added for flavor) around 6 p.m., accompanied by a large spinach and green onion salad with Italian dressing. Now is 8:30 p.m., and I'm fidgeting. If I eat an apple, I'll be fine until 9 or maybe 9:15 p.m., but then I will go into the kitchen again. I already had a small 4 oz. glass of the red wine around 8 pm. So, I'm deciding what to do. What I do most of the times is prepare a mini "Binge Emergency Kit" that contains a small or medium green leafy salad serving, with some low-fat yogurt as a dressing and 50 grams of low-fat farmers' cheese on the side (one boiled egg will do too instead of the farmers' cheese). That is enough for me. After I eat that, I feel more than full and I know that I'll be fine until bedtime. Sometimes even half of this meal will do. Then, I'll simply stop eating and leave the rest of it for another day.

When I was yo-yoing, I would go for a few cookies. But, more than once, that turned into a binge party where I would polish off a half gallon of ice cream after the cookies. Now I don't have a single cookie or any ice cream in my house, I have my "Binge Emergency Kit" and I've managed to be binge-free for years. But I can't go to sleep with my stomach empty, and if I don't eat a "Binge Emergency Kit," I have to have at least an apple or two.

It is estimated that 6 million Americans suffer from NES or "Nighttime Eating Syndrome." One third are obese and turn nighttime snacking into a binge. If you search the Internet for advice on how to stop nighttime eating, you will find different suggestions from "eat your breakfast" to "buy supplements to stop nighttime eating." But these are written by thin doctors who don't have a clue what we feel after 9 p.m. My suggestion is not to fight this urge to eat before sleep. Accept it and live with it; you're not alone. But don't go into a binge, don't eat refined carbs or any carbs at all. Instead, follow my advice and eat fruits (or fruits & nuts or seeds), have a cup of tea or eat a mini "Binge Emergency Kit." Since I started to eat Superfoods chocolate every afternoon, I don't crave sweets in the evening. My wife was shocked the first few times she saw me making a coffee after 10 p.m. and then eat 2 apples with that coffee, which was just before my bedtime, and then find me sleeping like a log 5 minutes later.

## Weekend Problem

You managed to stick to a diet for the whole week and now weekend is coming. You'll be running around the whole weekend and you're afraid that you might eat too much. Plus, you'll be invited to your friends' houses and you are worried you won't be able to say no to whatever they bring out in front of you. You're not alone.

Let's say you typically have a few temptations during the weekend. You'll be running around in malls for 3 hours before lunchtime on Saturday and in the evening you're invited to a friend's house and on the next day you'll be attending someone's birthday party. Before you were on a diet, you'd eat some fast food in the mall and have a feast in the evening. And pizza and birthday cake is what you'll be having at the birthday party. You know that this behavior has brought you to this diet. Well, now you have a few options, but not all the optimal ones. These options include:

• You decide to tough it out and stay focused on your diet. You reschedule the celebration meal for the time you visit your friend, and you have brought your binge emergency kit with you to the mall. Knowing that you're going to your friend's in the evening, you decide to spend an hour in the gym, doing extra hard training, believing that your friend will have something to offer you that is hard to resist. You also concluded that you deserved a treat for doing so great on your diet during the week and, instead of treating yourself with food, you decide to treat yourself with a spa visit after the gym. You decide to tell your friend you're on a diet and eat a healthy celebration meal while having only one glass of wine and maybe a thin slice of cake. That slice of cake cancels out the extra hard work, but in the end you'll lose weight on that day. Bravo! This is the preferred mindset!

• You'll bring a low-carb meal to the mall and eat the celebration meal at your friend's house. The decision whether to eat the cake or what to drink will make or break your calories count on that day. 12 oz. beer has 140 calories, a light one has 110. Mineral water with some lemon has almost none. It's up to you. Don't eat the cake or take just one bite.

• You'll bring a low-carb meal to the mall, but you'll slightly over-eat at your friend's house. You won't lose any weight on that day, but you won't gain it either. It's up to you.

• You opt to eat a low-carb meal in the mall and over-eat at your friend's house. That will cancel your 3-7 day weight loss effort. It's up to you.

I would suggest to script the entire weekend and make plans for what you will eat and when. That should prevent you from over-eating, because you will be mentally prepared for the whole weekend. Script it!

## The First-Bite Rule

If, by any chance, you find yourself near a box of cookies or a jumbo bag of chips, and you're unprepared to handle the situation, remember "the first bite rule." If you have one bite, there will be another. And another. And another. Processed food is full of additives, it's fatty and salty or fatty and sweet, and it's made to twist your taste buds and twist your mind into thinking that you have to have the next bite and that you have to keep eating it. IT IS "DESIGNED" FOOD! FOOD THAT IS DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU EAT MORE AND MORE! DESIGNED IN THEIR LABS! DON'T TAKE THAT FIRST BITE. THINK OF YOUR WHOLE WEEK OF EFFORT. Leave that place right away or eat something healthy and forget to think about the treat in front of you. JUST SAY NO! If you take that first bite, salt cravings or sweet cravings will kick into high gear and you won't be able to resist them. You will feel really great and proud of yourself if you resist! Ask yourself if it's going to be worth the guilt you'll feel after eating it? Chances are, it's not, so DON'T TAKE THAT FIRST BITE!

##  Clean Foods Superfoods Smart Carbs Diet Conclusion

As you can see, Superfoods that are recommended are high in fiber; are thermogenic; are low in saturated fat; contain many antioxidants, probiotics, vitamins, and minerals; are high in Omega 3 fats; and, above all, are very tasty. The Superfoods diet is also very close to Paleo in that processed food and wheat are not included. The Paleo diet doesn't allow beans, oats, cheese and yogurt. However, I don't think they are that bad for you; beans are full of antioxidants and they lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and yogurt has huge probiotic values and it's an incredible addition to spinach- or cucumber-based salads. The latest dietary guidelines recommend we triple our current bean intake from 1 to 3 cups per week. Beans contain a lot of protein and fiber. Meat is digested fairly quickly, whereas beans are digested slowly, keeping you satisfied longer. Plus, beans are low in sugar, which prevents insulin in the bloodstream from spiking and causing hunger. When you substitute beans for meat in your diet, you also get the bonus of a decrease in saturated fat. These reasons are enough for me and my family to keep eating beans in any form!

The Superfoods cuisine is also very similar to the Mediterranean diet, although it excludes pasta, hard cheeses, smoked meats and gluten breads.

As you can notice from my dieting ideas, I went through several stages. First, I was sure that cycling daily is the thing that will 100% work and allow me to lose weight effortlessly. But when my palate changed because of the Superfoods I ate, I noticed that I didn't need a "normal lunch" at all and certainly none of the planned junk food meals I dreamed of. As software techies would say, I went through several iterations of my diet idea and settled for the one that suits me the best. You're free to stick with "cycling daily" idea if you want to keep a meat and potato lunch or a fast food lunch as part of your diet.
What Superfoods are NOT:

• Not processed or refined foods

• Not preservatives, additives or artificial coloring

• Not smoked food or processed meats

• Not canned vegetables or meats (beans, garbanzos, beets, corned beef) except canned fish (sardines, tuna) once or twice a week

• Not wheat, refined flour, or sugar.

• Not corn, white rice, or potatoes. Brown rice and quinoa are fine.

• Not vegetable oils or fried food. Olive oil and Coconut oil are fine.

• Not soy products or tofu

• Not pasta, except gluten-free soba noodles (100% buckwheat) or acorn or mung bean noodles.

• Not full-fat dairy cheese. Yogurt, kefir and low-fat farmers' cheese/cottage cheese/Greek feta cheese are fine and occasionally (context-related) some low-fat cheddar or mozzarella are fine. "Context-related" means it's okay to sprinkle some grated low-fat cheddar or mozzarella on your casseroles or a Superfoods pizza.

• Not store-bought salad dressings or condiments with vegetable oils or corn syrup (mayo, ketchup, barbeque sauce). Hummus, guacamole, mustard, pesto and hot sauces are fine.

Superfoods meals have existed for ages, and you will find some Superfoods recipes in Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese and European cookbooks. Superfoods cuisine is mainly comprised of soups, salads, stews and grilled meats and veggies. Some examples of well-known Superfoods recipes are hummus, guacamole, tapenade, basic chicken or beef soup with vegetables and without noodles, any slow cooked stew with leaner meats and veggies, some bean dishes without ketchup and sugar, some lentil dishes and curries, salads without store-bought dressing, pasta, bacon or bread, any grilled lean fish or meat and veggie. A lot of other classical recipes can be easily modified and become Superfoods stars. For example, you can swap white rice for brown rice and omit sugar and soy in Japanese recipes. You can also swap rice, sauce thickener, soy and oil in Chinese stir-fries with healthier options.

I don't believe in any diet that restricts any type of food in the long term, except diets that exclude processed industrial foods. We have witnessed what the industrial food did to modern society and that is not the option to go with! Yo-Yo Nation should switch to Superfoods and not junk food!

Let me mention the last reason why I'm sure that the Superfoods Diet will change your life forever. Once you know everything about the benefits of the vast array of Superfoods, and once you learn why processed food is so bad on so many levels, I'm pretty sure that you will think twice every time you get served any processed food and I'm sure that you will keep thinking, "Why am I eating this, why am I ruining my health? I can do better, there is tasty food that will help me with my inflammations and that will protect me from cancer."

Once you expand your knowledge, you can't go back and forget about all the facts about Superfoods and all the facts about processed food. And if you have kids, I'm pretty sure that you will think twice before you serve them processed colored foods instead of healthy, tasty Superfoods meals.

Some people either hate to cook or they don't have enough time to do so, but it's obvious that Superfoods Diet will require some time to shop for fresh foods and some time for preparing them. The good news is that 90% of the meals are very easy and quick to prepare. Let me give you some examples of Superfoods meals that require only 10 minutes prep time:

• You can chop veggies while you grill meat or fish.

• Stir-fries are typically prepared in 10 minutes.

• Slow cooker meals or casseroles or stews are also typically prepared in 10 minutes or less. In all of them you typically include chopped onions, carrots, meat and one more veggie (green peas, green beans, mushrooms, eggplants, red peppers etc.). And you just pour all ingredients in a pot, casserole or slow cooker and you're done. Monitoring the stew as it cooks is not a huge time-wasting task (same with monitoring a casserole in the oven). You can prepare a large pot or casserole once a week, freeze some of it, and eat it once or twice during the week. If you prepare 2 such meals on a Sunday, you're set for the week.

• Superfoods breakfasts are very quick; eggs or oatmeal don't take too much time to make.

My point is that you can eat healthy if you are mentally prepared to shop for healthy ingredients as well as a healthy meal preparation. If you have a bunch of kids and 2 jobs, you can still find 2-3 hours on a Sunday evening to prepare all these foods for the rest of the week. Buy already-cut bags of spinach and cabbage and other veggies and only add olive oil, lemon or apple cider vinegar and salt before you eat them. Cut some veggies for salads and snacks on a Sunday evening, put it in your Tupperware container, and you're set for 2-3 days. At the same time, cook a stew in the huge pot and load food in the slow cooker. Then freeze all that cooked food so that you'll have meals on hand for when you don't have time to do preparations. Keep a bunch of hard-boiled eggs in your fridge for snacks. Be over-prepared for your weight loss journey. You're about to become a Superfoodie!! Read the Superfoodie Manifesto.

# Clean Foods Superfoods Smart Carbs 20 Days Detox

## Prep Week

Occasionally, I would decide to start a diet on a whim. But more than once I regretted it because my kitchen was full of processed food and sweets and I wasn't mentally prepared for the diet. The next time I approached it differently, deciding that next Monday I'd start a diet, and doing all I could to prepare myself mentally for it. I stocked low-fat proteins, supplements, nuts, seeds, and sugar-free pop... and got rid of any "bad" food that might beckon me.

I started to care about the foods I ate. I also developed the habit of telling everyone that I was dieting, so they could ask me how it was going. For me, social pressure works well. Because of that, I would hesitate to cheat in front of someone that knew I was on a diet.

Before dieting, I usually measure myself and take a "before" photo. Then I'm ready to get focused on my weight loss. I also do visualization exercises, and visualize myself as a lean, muscle-pumped person. This helps me endure the first few days until I get used to the diet.

So, since this is a diet & detox book, let me tell you few facts about proper detox planning. The goal is, of course, to expel all the toxins from your body. Those toxins are stored primarily in your fat cells and they get expelled from the body through the liver. Now, there is a fixed amount of toxins that the liver can process in 24 hours, so our goal is multifold:

• You want to minimize the ingestion of toxins during the detox period. That can be done by avoiding processed foods, fatty foods (red meat), alcohol, caffeine, fatty cheeses, sugar, etc. These same foods reduce liver function, so you have achieved a double goal by avoiding them.

• You want to make sure that toxins exit your body as fast as possible. Again, there are foods that prevent your body from doing that (low fiber foods), and there are foods that help your body expel toxins, which are foods that are rich in fiber.

You can also help your liver work better if you enhance your liver enzyme function. This is where bitter foods come into play (kale, spinach and other leafy greens, green tea, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, garlic). These foods are also high in fiber.

To protect yourself from all these toxins, you need to consume antioxidant-rich foods during your detox. Berries, green tea, and lemon are antioxidant-rich foods.

Finally, you also need something to speed up the elimination of toxins from your body. This will require the consumption of a lot of water and green tea as well as a lot of fiber. Veggies, fruits, oats, and legumes are the best source of fiber.

Basically, if you just switch to the Clean Foods Superfoods Smart Carbs Diet, you'll get all the benefits and you'll detox your body in few weeks anyway. But let's start with 20 days Detox and slowly get introduced to the Clean Foods Superfoods Smart Carbs Diet. Some people like to start with the full detox, meaning they'll eat just vegetables and fruits, but that can be quite hard. I propose to start slower and to have those vegetables and fruits after few days. So, the first 2 days are following rules of the Clean Foods Superfoods Smart Carbs Diet. The next 2 days are days without meats or fish and with almost no dairy or eggs. Following that, there are 4 full detox days. Then you'll go back slowly to the Clean Foods Superfoods Smart Carbs Diet.
Switch to Superfoods!

Well, this is it – you don't have any processed food in your house, you're stocked up on fresh veggies, fruits and other healthy stuff, and you're ready to change your life! Congratulations for your willingness to get healthier and achieve a better-looking you!

Just please remember these common facts:

Breakfast Veggies: When I'm referring to breakfast veggies, I mean some red or yellow pepper strips, cucumber and pickles. If you want, you can eat celery, green onions (spring onions) and sauerkraut; I eat them with eggs or farmers' or cottage cheese. Hey, you can even eat broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and spinach for breakfast. If you want, you can roast or grill some veggies (eggplant, zucchini and peppers) and have them with savory breakfasts.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon lowers blood sugar, helps maintain insulin sensitivity, and is a very powerful antioxidant. Add it every time you eat oatmeal.

Cocoa: Cocoa consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels. Some people eat dark chocolate; I add it to oatmeal or drink it. Buy unsweetened cocoa, ideally the unprocessed kind (because processing it at a high temperature destroy healthy ingredients in it).

Nuts and Seeds: Flax should be always ground. Buy flax meal or grind flax with a coffee grinder. Almond is the healthiest nut, but you can eat walnuts, Brazil nuts, or pecans instead. It's okay to eat a different type of nut each day, but remember that almonds are the healthiest ones.

Grilling and Frying: Fry a little bit of coconut oil in the skillet, and cook your meat and/or fish for 7-10 minutes. Don't overdo it. Don't grill for too long. If you don't like the meat suggested in the recipe, replace it with something similar. Use beef instead of pork or chicken instead of fish. Think about organ meats, such as liver or kidneys, as they contain more vitamins. If you don't want red meat, use chicken. If you crave fried food, dip the meat in a beaten-eggs mixture, and cover it with flax meal instead of breadcrumbs and then bake it in the oven. Delicious!

Coconut oil: Use coconut oil. Period. Avoid blended vegetable oils, corn oil and soybean oil. I cook with coconut oil and eat one spoon of coconut oil once a day because of my low thyroid; to me, it tastes like heaven. Coconut oil also fights cancer and contains MCTs – medium chain triglycerides – which fight plaque in the brain (which cause Alzheimer's disease). Coconut oil also boosts metabolism and it's great for the skin. Some people experience stomach discomfort when taking a spoon of coconut oil on empty stomach, and some even vomit. If you experience this, eat coconut oil after your meal or mix it in your meal.

Extra-virgin olive oil: Olive oil is the healthiest oil you can buy, as it contains the highest amount of monounsaturated content. Extra-virgin is the oil that results from the first cold pressing of the olives. Being the purest olive oil, it's also the most expensive. But because it has a low smoke point, it should not be used for cooking.

Yogurt and low-fat cheese: Low fat or non-fat Greek (or plain) yogurt is the only one recommended. If you can't find Greek yogurt, use any plain yogurt. In my opinion, 0.5% or 1% fat yogurt tastes the best. If you want fruit yogurt, add some fresh berries (or frozen) or fruits in the plain or Greek yogurt, and if it's not sweet enough, you can add some Stevia or raw honey. By doing that, you'll know what exactly went into that snack and you'll avoid industrial chemicals found in fruit yogurts. Choose low-fat farmers' cheese over cottage cheese. When choosing Cheddar, Colby or Mozzarella, choose low-fat.

Breads: It's best to avoid breads altogether, but if you crave something bread-like, try egg-based flatbread recipes such as egg pancakes, egg muffins or egg pizza crust or almond/tapioca flour naan.

Salad Dressings: Store -bought salad dressings contain high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil or canola oil. Forget them. Forever. The Superfoods dressing is similar to "Italian Dressing" – olive oil/lemon/minced garlic/salt + some herbs. We'll call the second dressing a "yogurt dressing" – half a cup of plain low-fat yogurt or low-fat buttermilk with olive oil/minced garlic/salt. The amount of olive oil I use is usually 1 teaspoon per person and the rest is added to taste. Occasionally I'll add a teaspoon of mustard or some herbs like basil, oregano, marjoram, chives, thyme, parsley, dill or mint to it. If you like spicy, hot food, add some cayenne to the dressing. It will speed up your metabolism.

Stir-fry: Stir-fry meats and veggies in coconut oil. Add some garlic, ginger, and half of an onion cut in wedges. Season only with fish sauce. If you have to, thicken the sauce with tapioca flour or arrowroot flour.

Condiments: Forget about mayo or tartar sauce (it's a processed food containing refined soybean oil), ketchup (contains high fructose corn syrup) or barbeque sauce (it contains more high fructose corn syrup than ketchup). Healthy condiments are **hummus, salsa, hot sauce, guacamole, mustard and pesto.** Use them sparingly in Phase 1.

Broths: Cook broths and freeze them. Every few weeks, I cook a large pot of chicken soup and freeze half of it.

Oatmeal: Buy regular oatmeal, unenriched and unsweetened.

Exotic Superfoods: When people hear that I'm eating only Superfoods they usually think that Superfoods are really expensive, and think I'm eating various Superfoods in powder form (Spirulina, Chlorella) or Superfoods berries and seeds (Goji, Chia). When I explain that I eat regular, everyday Superfoods such as kale and avocado, they ask if I have experimented with exotic Superfoods. I have, but I didn't wanted to create recipes where such Superfoods are prominently featured or put them in regular recipes because people will complain that recipe ingredients are expensive. So, I'll list here how I use various exotic Superfoods:

• I add seaweeds to any soup or stew I make and you can do the same with Chlorella and Spirulina. They also can be added to smoothies, condiments and salads. Some people use them in granola recipes or energy bars along with Maca powder.

• Spike any salad dressing with 1 tbsp. of Spirulina, Chlorella, Maca or Matcha. Chlorella has a strong taste (think pond water or horse hay), Spirulina has an oceanic taste (think seaweed or something fishy), Maca has earthy/nutty taste (goes well with smoothies), and Matcha is basically a powdered green tea. Spirulina and seaweeds taste best in a veggie soup or a fish stew. It tastes nasty in average smoothies, but another strong taste can hide it (think grapefruit, lemon, lime, pomegranate or granny Smith apples).

• I eat Goji berries as a snack or sprinkle them on oatmeal breakfasts and smoothies.

• Wherever flax seeds are used, you can use Chia seeds instead (oatmeal breakfasts, smoothies).
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Your Free Gift

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Other Books from this Author

_Superfoods Today Diet_ is a Kindle Superfoods Diet book that gives you 4 week Superfoods Diet meal plan as well as 2 weeks maintenance meal plan and recipes for weight loss success. It is an extension of Detox book and it's written for people who want to switch to Superfoods lifestyle.

_Superfoods Today Body Care_ is a Kindle book with over 50 Natural Recipes for beautiful skin and hair. It has body scrubs, facial masks and hair care recipes made with the best Superfoods like avocado honey, coconut, olive oil, oatmeal, yogurt, banana and Superfoods herbs like lavender, rosemary, mint, sage, hibiscus, rose.

_Superfoods Today Cookbook_ is a Kindle book that contains over 160 Superfoods recipes created with 100% Superfoods ingredients. Most of the meals can be prepared in under 30 minutes and some are really quick ones that can be done in 10 minutes only. Each recipe combines Superfoods ingredients that deliver astonishing amounts of antioxidants, essential fatty acids (like omega-3), minerals, vitamins, and more.

_Superfoods Today Smoothies_ is a Kindle Superfoods Smoothies book with over 70+ 100% Superfoods smoothies. Featured are Red, Purple, Green and Yellow Smoothies

_Superfoods Today Salads_ is a Kindle book that contains over 60 Superfoods Salads recipes created with 100% Superfoods ingredients. Most of the salads can be prepared in 10 minutes and most are measured for two. Each recipe combines Superfoods ingredients that deliver astonishing amounts of antioxidants, essential fatty acids (like omega-3), minerals, vitamins, and more.

_Superfoods Today Kettlebells_ is a Kindle Kettlebells beginner's book aimed at 30+ office workers who want to improve their health and build stronger body without fat.

_Superfoods Today Red Smoothies_ is a Kindle Superfoods Smoothies book with more than 40 Red Smoothies.

_Superfoods Today 14 Days Detox_ is a Kindle Superfoods Detox book that gives you 2 week Superfoods Detox meal plan and recipes for Detox success.

_Superfoods Today Yellow Smoothies_ is a Kindle Superfoods Smoothies book with more than 40 Yellow Smoothies.

_Superfoods Today Green Smoothies_ is a Kindle Superfoods Smoothies book with more than 35 Green Smoothies.

_Superfoods Today Purple Smoothies_ is a Kindle Superfoods Smoothies book with more than 40 Purple Smoothies.

_Superfoods Cooking For Two_ is a Kindle book that contains over 150 Superfoods recipes for two created with 100% Superfoods ingredients.

_Nighttime Eater_ is a Kindle book that deals with Nighttime Eating Syndrome (NES). Don Orwell is a life-long Nighttime Eater that has lost his weight with Superfoods and engineered a solution around Nighttime Eating problem. Don still eats at night. Don't fight your nature, you can continue to eat at night, be binge free and maintain low weight.

_Superfoods Today Smart Carbs 20 Days Detox_ is a Kindle Superfoods book that will teach you how to detox your body and start losing weight with Smart Carbs. The book has over 470+ pages with over 160+ 100% Superfoods recipes.

_Superfoods Today Vegetarian Salads_ is a Kindle book that contains over 40 Superfoods Vegetarian Salads recipes created with 100% Superfoods ingredients. Most of the salads can be prepared in 10 minutes and most are measured for two.

_Superfoods Today Vegan Salads_ is a Kindle book that contains over 30 Superfoods Vegan Salads recipes created with 100% Superfoods ingredients. Most of the salads can be prepared in 10 minutes and most are measured for two.

_Superfoods Today Soups & Stews_ is a Kindle book that contains over 70 Superfoods Soups and Stews recipes created with 100% Superfoods ingredients.

_Superfoods Desserts_ is a Kindle Superfoods Desserts book with more than 60 Superfoods Recipes.

_Smoothies for Diabetics_ is a Kindle book that contains over 70 Superfoods Smoothies adjusted for diabetics.

_50 Shades of Superfoods for Two_ is a Kindle book that contains over 150 Superfoods recipes for two created with 100% Superfoods ingredients.

_50 Shades of Smoothies_ is a Kindle book that contains over 70 Superfoods Smoothies.

_50 Shades of Superfoods Salads_ is a Kindle book that contains over 60 Superfoods Salads recipes created with 100% Superfoods ingredients. Most of the salads can be prepared in 10 minutes and most are measured for two. Each recipe combines Superfoods ingredients that deliver astonishing amounts of antioxidants, essential fatty acids (like omega-3), minerals, vitamins, and more.

_Superfoods Vegan Desserts_ is a Kindle Vegan Dessert book with 100% Vegan Superfoods Recipes.

_Desserts_ **for Two** is a Kindle Superfoods Desserts book with more than 40 Superfoods Desserts Recipes for two.

_Superfoods Paleo Cookbook_ is a Kindle Paleo book with more than 150 100% Superfoods Paleo Recipes.

_Superfoods Breakfasts_ is a Kindle Superfoods book with more than 40 100% Superfoods Breakfasts Recipes.

_Superfoods Dump Dinners_ is a Kindle Superfoods book with Superfoods Dump Dinners Recipes.

_Healthy Desserts_ is a Kindle Desserts book with more than 50 100% Superfoods Healthy Desserts Recipes.

_Superfoods Salads in a Jar_ is a Kindle Salads in a Jar book with more than 35 100% Superfoods Salads Recipes.

_Smoothies for Kids_ is a Kindle Smoothies book with more than 80 100% Superfoods Smoothies for Kids Recipes.

_Vegan Cookbook for Beginners_ is a Kindle Vegan book with more than 75 100% Superfoods Vegan Recipes.

_Vegetarian Cooking for Beginners_ is a Kindle Vegetarian book with more than 150 100% Superfoods Paleo Recipes.

_Foods for Diabetics_ is a Kindle book with more than 170 100% Superfoods Diabetics Recipes.

