I have been experimenting with intermittent fasting throughout January as part of my research for my next blog post, Fasting Forward into February. So I am tempted to joke that February’s Menu of the Month is “nothing”, but I wouldn’t want to let you down. 🙂
Instead, I’ve created a sort of fasting mimicking menu for you. You can sign up here to receive the recipes. I say “sort of” since this isn’t in accordance with the Fasting Mimicking Diet that you may have heard of. What it does do is mimic an aspect of fasting in that it reduces the release of insulin in your body.
Insulin is the hormone needed to move the sugar that comes from the food you eat from your blood and into your cells where it is used for energy. Insulin also directs the storage of excess sugar to regulate blood sugar levels.
All foods stimulate the release of insulin. When you are fasting, there is no insulin release because you aren’t eating any food. When you consume fat, however, there is very little insulin release.
So this menu is pretty fat-forward (I guess I should have called it Fat-Forward into February). I hope this leaves you hungry for my upcoming blog post, Fasting Forward into February. I will discuss why it is so beneficial to lower both the quantity and frequency of insulin released by your body. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these recipes. And do please share them with family and friends!
Fasting Mimicking Menu
Breakfast: Overnight Paleo N’Oats (N’Oats as in “no oats” – this is all nuts & seeds)
Lunch: Cream of Broccoli, Kale & Spinach Soup (the creamy coconut milk and high fibre content of this soup makes it very satisfying)
Dinner: Creamy Spinach & Sun Dried Tomato Chicken (where the recipe notes offer suggestions for more carbs, for this purpose just don’t do it…if you must, the cauliflower “rice” from January’s menu is the way to go)
Fasting instead of feeding? Pressure Cooker Bone Broth (bone broth is recommended during fasting protocols to meet electrolyte requirements and prevent dehydration)
Join The Nutritional Reset community here to receive this month’s menu today (as well as each month to come)! And read on for some nutritional tidbits about a few featured foods from the recipes…
A few featured foods
Avocados
Most know that avocados are high in fat, at 15 g of unsaturated fat per 100 g serving. But did you know that you are eating a whopping 7 g of fibre at the same time? Fibre reduces the amount of insulin required by the body by slowing the absorption of sugar. And it fills you up so you eat less!
Seeds
We all love to snack on nuts, but don’t forget about seeds! Pumpkin seeds are a fave of mine as they are full of magnesium. This mineral is important for bone health, blood pressure and for reducing blood sugar! I toast up a batch to keep in the fridge and toss ’em on salads, soups, yogurt or straight into my mouth!
Cooking your own food is the single most impactful step you can take to improve your health and energy!
I hope you enjoy February’s Fasting Mimicking Menu (sign up here to receive the download link). And if you want to cook more of your own food but don’t know what to make or have the time to organize your own menus and shopping lists, The Nutritional Reset offers a meal planning service so you can prepare tasty, nutritious meals in a snap. Click here to find out more.