What can I eat?

There is so much press on foods that we should not eat; including trans-fats, artificial sweeteners, salt and high fructose corn syrup.  Many people say they want to eat healthy, and many could stand to lose weight but unfortunately in this society, we are not taught what we should eat. What should we be putting in our mouth each day? Of course each person is different, but what I have tried to put below is some general guidelines to help people with what they should be eating.

Fruit

The first thing to eat in the morning is some fruit.  This gives you a nice natural boost of sugar to get your blood sugar up and get you energized in the morning.  Fruit is a great way to start the day also because of the fiber, it is gentle on the stomach and it is sweet which often helps people who might not be hungry in the morning.

We recommend that people eat 2 servings of fruit each day, ½ cup for each serving.

I know this can be challenging for many people as I have found that many people eat way too much fruit.  Eating more fruit consistently than this can lead to future blood sugar issues.

Most fruit is alkaline ash producing in the body (this is a good thing), but some fruits produce an acidic ash, including blackberries, cranberries, prunes and blueberries. (See past articles on pH balancing to understand more about acid/alkaline.) To get even more specific about which fruit is best for your body, check the Dr. Peter D’Adamo’s Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type for the best fruits for your blood type.

Fruit can be eaten by itself of course, use as jam/jellies, in smoothies, eaten on top of cereal, dried as a snack (as long as it is organic without the sulfur), or mixed into fruit salads.

Whole Grains

Whole grains we recommend are Quinoa, Millet, Wild Rice – these are all alkaline producing in the body. There are several brands of Quinoa pastas, quinoa cereals, millet breads and chips, wild rice chips, etc. Check your local health food store. Brown Rice, Oats, Ezekial products and Spelt are others that are beneficial, (they are acidic, but not as acidic as wheat) – we recommend avoiding all wheat products.

Grains of course are high in carbohydrates, but when eating whole grains such as the ones listed, they are higher in fiber, vegetable protein and are complex carbohydrates which take longer for your body to burn.  Regarding the blood type issues; O blood types should limit grain servings to 2-4 servings a day; A blood types should have 4-8 servings of whole grains and can also have another grain amaranth which are often seen as and are similar to graham crackers; B and AB blood types; 2-6 servings per day.

Serving suggestions for grains are; Ezekial or spelt English muffins, Ezekial, spelt or brown rice tortillas, millet, quinoa, rice or Ezekial cereals (hot/cold), quinoa, rice, or Ezekial pasta, or eating the actual cooked grain or millet, quinoa, wild rice or brown rice as a main or side dish.  I stuff tortillas with all sorts of veggies, cut tortilla’s up into chips and bake them for dipping veggie dips, and make mini pizzas out of English muffins.

Meat

Animal protein is important within balanced proportions. We recommend each serving is 2-4oz maximum. If you are going still unsure of the organic issue for food, if you must eat something organic, it should be your meats.  Else you are getting the pesticides in the food they give them, the hormones, antibiotics, and steroids all combined. O Blood types can do 2-3 small servings, A’s can get away without any animal protein sources if they want to as long as they are taking a B12 supplement and everyone should avoid all pork products.  Pork typically is loaded with nitrates, and is considered bad for all blood types per Dr. D’Adamo’s book.

Meat servings can be seen as breakfast turkey bacon or turkey sausages, organic/free-range lunch meats in sandwiches, tuna fish, or grass-fed beef, buffalo or turkey for dinner meals.  Eggs also fall into this category and are also a good source of animal protein. Free-range chicken, and other meats for dinner are fine as long as there is a balance of vegetables being served as well.

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds can be eaten in fairly large quantities. Almonds, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds are especially beneficial for all body types.  Nuts are high in essential fatty acids, a good source of vegetable protein and fiber. Sprouted nuts are even better for us as they have less fat, less calories but higher protein and fiber.  Look for sprouted almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. at your local health food store.  Chia seeds are high in fiber, are 18% calcium, balance blood sugar and are high in omega’s. 

Servings for nuts and seeds can be used on top of all kinds of salads, as a snack or cooked with vegetables.  My son loves green beans sautéed in coconut oil with garlic, scallions and sprouted almonds – yum!

NO DAIRY

If you are trying to get healthy, dairy is not the best thing for our bodies.  I have written about this before in past articles.  If you must do dairy products, at least make them raw so you are getting the enzymes and none of the toxins that are typically found in dairy products.  To take that another step try some of the milk alternatives there are available including rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk, oat milk or soy milk.  Our favorite is the hemp milk.  It is so very creamy and yummy, like a dessert.  Try not to do too much soy, as unfermented soy inhibits the absorption of iodine and can cause hormone problems in some people. There are also cheeses, cream cheeses, ice creams, etc. made from these as well.  Coconut milk ice cream is especially good.  Check your local health food store for the yummy options!

Vegetables

There is no limit on the number of vegetables - as many as you want!  People always ask me if there is a secret to staying healthy and young and other than ½ hour of walking every day – making 80% of your diet is the other secret.  Vegetables are so good at providing our bodies nutrients, fiber, essential fatty acids, water and alkaline ash to keep our pH balanced.  Check the blood type diet book to find the optimum vegetables for you.

For serving suggestions for vegetables, check out your library for vegetarian cookbooks.  You can add meat if you want to any dish at some point, but these cookbooks can give you some great ideas for preparing and seasoning vegetables that might surprise you. Of course you can always eat them raw, blanched, boiled or steamed – JUST EAT THEM!

Oils

We recommend olive oil for salads, and coconut oil for cooking.  Pay attention to the olive oil as it is a sensitive oil and can go rancid if heated too much or not kept cool. Coconut oil is much hardier and can withstand high heats. Avoid margarine, canola oil (from the rape seed) and butter substitutes.  A little organic butter once a week or so can be ok for some.

Best to your health, Kasara