Sample Menu: Food Combining

In the beginning, the easiest way to get into the habit of food combining is to divide your meals into categories.  Later on, when it is second nature to you, it is not necessary to be so structured.  Right now, for the sake of simplicity, try to think of your meals like this:

Breakfast = Fruit

Lunch = Protein + Veggies

Dinner = Starch + Veggies

Depending on the day that you are having, it is totally fine to swap your lunch and dinner meals.  However, always keep fruit in the morning and by itself.  If you are a coffee drinker, have your coffee first thing (like I needed to tell you that…) and on a empty stomach.  And for my sandwich lovers, while you are transitioning to a sandwich-free existence, here are two Food Combining friendly options that can be used as your Starch Meal:

1. Almond Butter and Honey on sprouted grain bread
2. Veggie Sandwich (lettuce, tomato, avocado, grilled veggies, etc.) with hummus on sprouted grain bread  (I like this brand.)


Happy Combining!!
-♥ J :)


VEGAN MENU
Breakfast
Pineapple Berry Lemonade:
-3/4 cup frozen organic berries 
-3/4 cup frozen pineapple
-1/1/4 cup of water
-juice of one whole lemon
-Half a packet of Nu Naturals Stevia.
Makes 1 serving.
Put all the ingredients into a blender.
Blend and drink.
Agave or (a touch of) maple syrup can be substituted for Stevia.

Lunch
Salad topped with:
-1/2 cup (Trader Joe's pre-cooked) lentils
-2 (Trader Joe's pre-cooked) beets
-1/4 cup walnuts
Jen's Stupidly Easy Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe here)

Snack
sliced cucumbers and 1/4 cup hummus

Dinner
sauteed broccoli with garlic
sweet potato
1/2 an avocado (If you are very hungry, go ahead and eat one whole avocado.)

Dessert
1/4 bar of dark chocolate (About the size of your thumb...)
I like Trader Joe's Organic %73 Cacao Super Dark Chocolate w/ Almonds.


NON-VEGAN MENU
Breakfast
Orange Blueberry Banana Smoothie:
-1 1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries
-1 banana
-1 cup orange juice
-1/4 cup water
Put all the ingredients into a blender.
Blend and drink.

Lunch
Salad topped with:
-1or 2 hardboiled eggs
-1/2 avocado
-tomato
-cucumber
Jen's Stupidly Easy Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe here)

Snack
1/2 cup nuts (I like Trader Joe's individual packs of cashew, almond, cranberry trail mix because they are the perfect potion size.)

Dinner
John's Favorite Stupidly Easy Black Beans and Rice with a side of broccoli (recipe here)

Dessert
1/4 bar of dark chocolate

The Easiest Diet Change Ever: Frequently Shouted Questions

"So wait. What am I supposed to put my raw almond butter on? Not bananas and not bread? What is it for then? I have to eat cashews with fruit? What about dark chocolate? Where does that fall? Seriously."

-My friend Jennie on Food Combining

Oh, the cries…the pleas…the abject horror.  Nothing gets people's panties all up in a twist more than talking about Food Combining.  I'm not sure why.


Like I said in this post, food combining doesn't require you to change any of the foods that you normally eat…just the order in which you eat them.  It is an efficient blueprint for eating that structures your meals in a way to ensure the optimal digestion of all the food that you consume.  It is a best case scenario.


However…it is a best case scenario.  It is understandable that if you are traveling or particularly busy or a new mom to twins (Jennie…) it may not always work out.  Life happens.  So, yes, if you have to grab a sandwich or two the world will continue to rotate on it's axis.


But let's not coddle ourselves.  Most of us, most of the time can make room in our day, in our lives and in our minds to make one small change.  Especially one that can yield such amazing dividends.  Don't start with what is hard about it and write off the whole idea.  Start with what is easy and deal with the challenges should they come up.  

Food Combining FAQ's:

1. What about nuts and nut butters?
Hmmm...nuts are tricky (insert your own joke here).  I suppose, strictly speaking, nuts should only be eaten with vegetables or on their own.  Most days I have nuts on a salad or by themselves as my afternoon snack.  That being said, I've never had a problem digesting nut butter sandwiches or using nut butter in smoothies.  And even though technically it would be considered poor food combining to eat fruit with nuts or nut butters, I've been eating like this for over 10 years and have never found having an apple with some almond butter to be that big of an issue.  When it comes to nuts, you are going to have to experiment with your own body (again...joke here).


2. Why do so many diet plans recommend eating protein and carbs together and then having fruit for dessert?
Because they want you to feel full.  That way you will feel like the plan is working.  For a short time this will work, because if food is sitting in your stomach not digesting...guess what??  You will feel full.  But when your body does not digest it's food properly, it does not get the nutrients that it needs from the food.  It will then it signal hunger because it thinks that you need to eat more food to bring in more nutrients.  So even though you may get that initial brick-in-the-stomach "full" feeling from a poorly combined meal, you may find yourself "hungry" again in a very short time.


3. Why should I care about this?  My body seems like it is working just fine the way it is.
I once watched a television show about a woman who casually ate Ajax for twenty years and she was still alive. TWENTY. YEARS.  Your body can deal with a lot of shiznit.  It is steely, high-tech, mythical engine that will, to the best of it's ability, manage anything that you throw at it.  But it is your body.  You. Get. One.  Why not do everything you can to help it function at it's peak?  Your body asks so little of you and gives so much in return.  When you think about all the work that your body puts in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to keep you happy, healthy, dancing and laughing…eating fruit by itself seems like the least a person can do. 


Oh, and dark chocolate combines perfectly with everything.  
At least that's what I'm telling myself...
-♥ J :)


**Tomorrow: Sample Food Combining Menu.

The Easiest Diet Change Ever.

"So, wait…what is it again?  I can't eat meats and breads together??  Or is it bread and cheese??  No, I'm not supposed to have cheese at all, right?  Stop looking at me like that…just explain it again.  You're going to write about this on the blog, aren't you?"

-Sophie asking me about food combining…again.

Your food is supposed to go in one end and out the other.  End of story.  Anyone whose ever spent time around a newborn knows that almost as soon as their little bodies ingest food it's shooting out the other end.  However, for most people, somewhere between diapers and drivers license this stops being the norm.

So, what changes?  What turns our bodies from a high speed rail to the painfully sluggish 6 train on a friday afternoon?