In my last blog post, Rather Than Count Calories, Make Calories Count, I discussed how calories are not all created equal in their effects on your body. Your body survives and thrives off the nutrients provided by your food. That’s why it is so important to get as much nutrient bang for your calorie buck as you can – so your meals will optimize your health and energy.
In the same post, I linked to the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) to show how many popular foods stack up in terms of micronutrient density per calorie. It is no surprise that the majority of the highest ranking foods are vegetables and fruits. And dark leafy greens reign supreme.
But please don’t bog yourself down with all the numbers. A simple way to ensure you get a full complement of micronutrients in your diet is to “eat the rainbow”, including dark leafy greens, daily. Challenge yourself to consume as many colourful foods as you can each day. My Make Calories Count Menu covers off red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown and white. Add some blueberries with breakfast and you are golden! I hope you enjoy this technicolour menu and share it with your family and friends!
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Make Calories Count Menu
Breakfast: Asian Veggie Omelet (see below for the benefits of bok choy for breakfast)
Lunch: Mango, Edamame & Cabbage Salad with Peanut Sauce (full of flavour, colour and crunch, this salad is high in protein and fibre and keeps 3-4 days in the fridge)
Dinner: Kale Greek Salad with Steak (perfect on a sultry summer evening, the steak and red peppers can be grilled on the BBQ or roasted in the oven; use pre-washed, organic baby kale to save time if you wish)
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You might not expect to hear this from a nutritionist, but I ask my clients not to count calories. Why is that, you might wonder. After all, isn’t consuming fewer calories than you expend the magic formula for weight loss? Well, it isn’t quite that simple. For one, it is very difficult to accurately measure the calories we consume and expend. But what’s more important is that counting calories puts the focus in the wrong place. Because it isn’t so much the amount of calories in a food but what your body does with the food that counts. And, in that respect, foods of equal calories are not necessarily equal.