How often is occasionally?
Do you have a list of foods that you only allow yourself to eat occasionally? They taste so great on your lips, but they can leave you feeling not as nourished as you know you can feel. So, how often do we eat these occasional foods?
The occasional meats on the protein side of the Conscious Nutrition Food Tree are white meat chicken and game meat. I have received some push back in regards to the “healthy” chicken breast. The reasons I labeled white meat chicken as occasional are to enhance our mindfulness on how often we go into autopilot versus giving our body the variety it deserves. I kept noticing people were eating the majority of their meat and protein consumption from only white meat chicken. This goes against my favorite conscious guideline, variety. If you are eating chicken breasts on your salads and for dinner you are missing out on other nutrient dense protein options. Also, now that the planet is quite populated, we need to be conscious of supply and demand. The reason for game meat and I would add organ meats to be consumed occasionally, is due to high levels of uric acid which can cause inflammation.
The starch side of the Conscious Nutrition Food Tree occasional list consists of; sprouted grain wheat and cereal, brown rice flour, gluten free options, oatmeal, corn tortillas and rice and nut crackers. The main reason these are listed is because they are a processed form of a grain or a starchy vegetable. Processed grains can inhibit absorption of essential vitamins and minerals in the small intestine. Gluten free and sprouted options are wonderful to support cravings for bread and crunch. Oatmeal was also intentionally placed here because of some of the toppings that go with oatmeal can spike blood sugar. Also, many people eat oatmeal every day and I wanted them to reflect, what else would offer their bodies more options for breakfast. Some mornings you may need a protein or even just a piece of fruit versus a bowl of oatmeal.
Then we have some comfort foods that I didn’t add to the tree. How often do we eat for comfort? What I have noticed personally is the more I experiment with the different Meal Types and eat less combined meals (refer to Meal Types under the tree) the less often I ‘need’ my comfort meals. Keep practicing the different Meal Types and notice how occasionally actually becomes occasional.
Hopefully see you often,
Heather Fleming C.C.N.
P.S. We created it! The Conscious Nutrition “Channel”–Tune in to yourself is up and running. This month’s webisodes include a Healthy Happy Hour discussion on “How long, when and when not to Intermittent Fast” and this month’s guest expert is a live Kundalini session with Jen Pourvasi of Heart Centered Revolution.
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