Whole Food Diet Guide...American child doesn’t know how to identify the most basic fruits and...

Whole Food Diet Guide

DUGGARWELLNESS JUMPSTART TO WELLNESS © JW Duggar, Inc

28 Days to Renewed Vitality

Dr. Jerald Duggar D.C. Holistic Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Specialist

Tammie Duggar, C.T.N.C.

Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach

Copyright © 2019 JW Duggar, Inc.

All Rights Reserved.

Published by JW Duggar, Inc. A Utah Corporation

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means without the

permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

While the author and publisher have taken every precaution in preparing this content, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. The

author and publisher do not make any claims that these dietary protocols will prevent, treat or cure any known or unknown medical diseases. No suggestions contained in this work should overshadow personal medical advice given to

the reader from a competent health practitioner.


Welcome to Habit #1 Whole Food Diet Did you know that in America we are currently raising the second generation of children who don’t know how to cook? I’m amazed when I hear people say that they don’t know how to cook. I just can’t figure out what they eat, it baffles my mind to think that every time they eat they will either open a box or package or they will be eating out. To top that all off the average American child doesn’t know how to identify the most basic fruits and vegetables. Here are just a few startling statistics: • Worldwide childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s.1 • Data from 2015-2016 show that nearly 1 in 5 school aged children and teens (6-19) in the

United States is obese.2 • 65% of the world’s population live in countries where obesity kills more people than starvation.

Where do I start? Did you realize that nutrition is the only science on the planet that people can prove opposites to be true? There are countless dietary theories out there and we aren’t going to address them in this program. The one diet that the majority of science can agree in is that a real whole food diet is the best for all humans. (the nuances of quantity/quality/timing/etc. are the details that are best left for each individual to discover what works best for their own body.) Every day you have a choice when you wake up and it starts with the very first thing you put in your mouth. Am I building health today or am I building disease? Every change you make toward improvement Matters! You will get out of the Jump Start to Wellness program what you put into it. As Dr. Henry Cloud, clinical psychologist stated, “We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Consequences give us the pain that motivates us to change.” Stop Counting Calories & Make your Calories Count Calorie counting has been drilled into our heads for so long that we just look for numbers and don’t recognize that there is something more important to think about when it comes to calories. Calories are just a measure of how much energy is in a food, calories don’t take into account how many benefits a certain food can provide, we need to remember that not all calories are created equal.

1 Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Ogden CL. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents: United States, 1963-1965 through 2011-2012. Health E-Stats. 2014. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_child_11_12/obesity_child_11_12.htm. Accessed December 21, 2017.

2 Hales CM, Carroll MD, Fryar CD, Ogden CL. Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2015–2016. NCHS Data Brief. 2017;288:1–8.


For example: 1 avocado contains approx. 200 calories and so does 1 single serving pack of M&Ms. The avocado will provide us with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber and essential fatty acids. These micro nutrients fuel and build the cells of our body and when our cells are nourished, we are nourished. The M&Ms on the other hand provide none of these nutritional benefits and offer us 27 grams of sugar (that is just about the total number of recommended grams of added sugars an adult should eat in one day.) Making our calories count means eating nutrient dense foods. We find these foods by reading labels and being aware of ingredients, or we purchase foods that don’t have a label. Using whole real food to prepare our meals will guarantee that we are eating calories that are nutrient dense. Eat as Close to Nature as Possible Whole real food is food that is as close to nature as possible. It is food that does not contain added chemicals, colorings, preservatives. In order to determine if something is as close to nature as possible, we like to ask ourselves these questions: Could I have hunted it, caught it, harvested it or picked it? There are a lot of bottled, canned, and frozen foods at the grocery store that I could answer yes to those questions. On the other hand, there are a lot of foods that I wouldn’t be able to find in nature. Convenience foods are fabulous and save us time and allow us to not have to grow, harvest and store our own foods. But we need to be selective about using convenience foods. Here’s an example to think about: Canned beans vs. canned chili. Canned beans are a processed food. They have been soaked, cooked and preserved in a can- this is very convenient for me. Canned chili contains, processed beans, maybe some meat (from an unknown source), added ingredients like spices, preservatives, and sometimes fillers and thickeners.) It might take me a little extra time to prepare my own chili, but the nutrient content is going to be higher. I can season with fresh veggies, herbs and spices. I can use meat from an organic and free-range source, and I can still use the canned beans. We believe it’s time to decide what cost we are paying for convenience. Convenience might be costing our health because the foods we are choosing are not nutrient dense to fuel our cells, or it may be disrupting our metabolism or gut health because of the added sugars that most convenience foods contain. It may also be costing us our relationships. Our relationship with food, the connection we get from preparing and enjoying a home-cooked meal, the connection to family as we work together to prepare, eat and clean up after a meal. Don’t Go Crazy Trying to Be Perfect Making changes to our dietary habits can be difficult. It is important to remember this may be totally new to you, preparing every meal, may be something you have never done. Your family might feel deprived and “hate” every new recipe that you try. Just like anything new that you


pursue, there is a learning curve and it is best to set goals that will one step at a time lead you to your desired destination. We suggest that you follow the 90:10 rule. This means that 90% of the time you are doing your best, making nutrient dense choices, preparing your own meals, eating foods that contain the best ingredients, etc. And then you give yourself some slack for 10% of the time. You get to decide what this looks like but this way you won’t feel like a failure if something doesn’t go according to your plans and you have to open a can of chili. J This 90:10 rule has nothing to do with “cheat days”. We hear all too often about people that schedule a cheat day each week so that they can indulge in the foods that are eliminating from their life.

If you spend a week eating “good-for-you-foods” while simultaneously planning for everything you will save to eat on your “cheat day,” in reality this represent a continued disordered relationship with food.

Think about how twisted it is to “reward” yourself by doing something that has a negative impact on your health. Regardless of how well you have planned, the unpredictability of our day-to-day lives will create times when we can’t eat perfectly. That’s why living the 90:10 rule works. We don’t need to set aside a special day of the week to abandon all control.

We’d recommend that you take the word “cheat” out of your vocabulary. Food should not be about punishment and reward. Instead you can categorize food by whether or not it will get you to your health goals. By focusing on eating a wide variety of delicious foods we can allow our mind and body to appreciate that food is fuel, food is information, food either builds us up or tears us down. Why schedule a day to tear yourself down?

Understanding Physical and Emotional Hunger Learning the difference between physical and emotional hunger is a step towards achieving a healthier relationship with the signals that your body sends.

True hunger is a sign that your fuel tank is approaching empty and needs fuel. A desire to eat when you don’t need fuel generally stems from the psyche and not the stomach. Everyone needs an appetite to survive. But in our society food takes on so many roles and is often the focal point of celebrations, achievements and gatherings. Therefore, when we learn to recognize what our appetite signals are really telling us we will avoid times of overindulgence.

Many people eat for emotional reasons. We celebrate birthdays with cake, we show praise, love, accomplishments and milestones by sharing a scrumptious dessert. Or we use food to heal disappointments. "From a very early age, food takes on a meaning totally independent of the nourishment it provides," says Lee Kern, MSW, CCSW, Clinical Director of Structure House, a weight loss facility in Durham, North Carolina. "We learn to associate food with love, comfort, reward, security and nurturance."


Many use foods to handle emotions but, "food drowns emotions -- rather than helping you deal with them," says Kern. While many people feel better while they are eating, using food for emotional escape is short-lived and leads to feeling worse shortly afterwards.

Putting an end to emotional hunger is not necessarily and easy thing to do. But by following these tips you will be better at recognizing and determining if the signal is physical or emotional.

How do I know if I’m hungry? Sometimes we eat because it’s just that time of day. Maybe we are tempted to eat because others around us are eating. Maybe we’re bored or stressed. But in the end, it doesn’t benefit us to eat unless we are truly hungry for food. It is important to tune into our body and recognize what it feels like to actually be hungry. Some of us may have already lost the ability to differentiate the signals that our body is really sending us. If you are unsure if you are really hungry, try to have a drink of water and wait to see if the hunger goes away. If it doesn’t, you can ask yourself where you are along this “hunger to stuffed” continuum. Hunger to Stuffed Continuum

-5

“Now I’m Hangry!” You are irritable, can’t concentrate, feel

physically weak, and or emotionally out of control.

-4

“I really have to eat.” Beginning to feel irritable and it’s hard to

concentrate, you could even feel nauseous.

-3

“I’m really hungry now.”

You’re feeling physical hunger pangs, your tummy starts to growl and you may be feeling a

bit anxious.

-2

“I’m hungry.” You are starting to think about food and feeling that you will need to eat soon.

-1

“I feel fine now, but I’m going to need to eat soon.”

You feel a little less than satisfied but you’re still ok. You’re not full but not hungry yet.

0

“I’m good.” You feel 100% satisfied.

1

“I think I’m a little too good.” You’re starting to feel uncomfortable. You know you shouldn’t eat more but you do.

2

“I feel uncomfortable.” Now you need to loosen your belt, maybe

unbutton the top button of your pants and wish you hadn’t taken those last few bites.

3

“For sure I ate too much.” You feel very tired, bloated, and uncomfortably stuffed.

4

“I Do Not Feel Good!” You swear you’ll never eat or look at food again.


Emotional hunger is at times harder to identify. We may have been using food to satisfy needs that are not at all related to basic nourishment. Often times we need to heal our relationship with food and begin recognizing it ultimate purpose of nourishing our bodies. The best part about food is that it can be nourishing, give us pleasurable experiences that can touch all our senses. The key is to figure out how to enjoy food that will build and strengthen our body not tear it down. Our Best Tips for Creating a Positive Relationship with Food Be Thankful Show gratitude for all the food on the planet. It was created for us so that we could nourish our body. Be thankful for every bite you eat, for all the flavors, colors, smells and textures.

Listen to Your Body If you learn how to listen, you will be surprised at how much your body is talking to you. By listening to your body, you will learn if cravings are a way to get needed nutrients or to tell you there is a problem.

Celebrate Life Food gives us life. Food helps us celebrate and enjoy life. Allow meal time to be a time when you can connect with those you love and build cherished memories.

Enjoy Yourself Enjoyment is a nutrient that many people are deficient in. When you do things that you enjoy you boost the effectiveness of your metabolism. Enjoyment makes life worth living- always enjoy the food you eat, even if it is chocolate cake!

Breathe When you sit down at the table allow yourself to take several long slow deep breaths. Oxygen is a nutrient enhancer, so getting your body full of fresh oxygen will help you use the nutrients you are eating.

Take Time to Relax The more we relax after a meal the better we will digest and assimilate the food we eat. If we are just rushing from one thing to the next, we may suffer from digestive disorders. Slow the Pace It’s time to slow down and value each meal time. Give yourself time to chew your food thoroughly before you swallow, allow meal time to be a needed respite from the other chaos of your day.

Allow yourself to Feel Nourished Allow your meal to satisfy you. Let it warm you, nourish you, fill you.

Trust Your Body


After you finish eating, let go of any worry about your meal. Trust that your body will use what it needs and discard what it doesn’t.

The Mindful Eating Pledge “During my next meal, I will take time to be mindful. I will enjoy the aroma, the tastes, textures and colors of my meal. As I chew each savory bite, I will think about how that food will benefit and nourish my body and I will remember to express gratitude.”

What if I have Picky Eaters in my Home? Being a picky eater is just another type of food relationship that can, over time be corrected. Winning over a picky eater is no easy task, but generally it can be done! Convincing them that “real food” is good food may take time, but it is worth the time and effort. You may already know, but it can take time for your palette to adjust to new tastes and textures. It can get discouraging if you experience some failed attempts, trust me I know! Don't let these failures cause you to give up. Keep trying and before you know it your efforts will pay off!

10 Ways to Impress a Picky Eater

1. Start by switching out the refined and processed ingredients in meals they love for more nutritious ones. Instead of buying pizza sauce, make your own.

2. Presentation is key, give a good first impression of the real food you want them to try.

3. Hiding veggies in food can be a double edge sword. If you tell them what is hiding, they may not take another bite or they may decide they really do like the hidden veggie. They need to know the hidden ingredient isn’t so terrible, after all and you can’t hide veggies forever. You don’t want them going off to college thinking they have never eaten broccoli, but all along you have been hiding it in their food since they were three.

4. When shopping let them pick out their own fruits and vegetables. Visit your local farmer’s market and taste samples before making a purchase. Better yet, let them grow something in the backyard garden or a pot on the back patio or deck.

5. Get them involved in meal preparation. Many picker eaters find that they like all the individual ingredients in a recipe so they will often give something new a try. Participating in the preparation process can give them a sense of ownership and they want to taste their creation.

6. Make a strict “one-bite rule” at meal time. Studies suggest that it takes 10 to 15 exposures to a new or previously disliked flavor to change a preference.

7. Only put one new food on their plate at a time along with other real food that you know they already like.

8. Picky eaters may need some incentive. Talk to them about why it is important to eat nutritious food. Younger children don’t need the details about micro nutrients, but if you tell them they will


be able to jump higher, run faster and ride their bike farther they just might give it a try. Older children can learn about the importance of specific nutrients for sustained energy.

9. Make it fun. Cut fruit into different shapes, oranges can be peeled and broken into wedges or sliced into circles with the rind still intact. Serve steamed veggies with dipping sauce like Teriyaki Sauce, and cut fruit with Fruit Dip.

10. If you want your family to try it you better try it too. They are watching you! If you won’t eat the green stuff, why should they? If they see you eating lots of color and trying new recipes they will get curious and ask for a taste, they will I promise. Persistence is the key, you can do it!

The Secrets to Portion Control There are many reasons why the majority of people in our country suffer from obesity. As we discussed above, not recognizing hunger signals is one, another is having a poor relationship with food and another prevalent one is over eating. Many people over eat because the foods they are eating are not actually nourishing so their body continues to send hunger signals hoping for nutrients.

Secrets to help you get control of portions. Before Eating, Divide the Plate Follow this simple rule to portion a plate properly: divide it in half, fill one side with non-starchy vegetables, leaving the rest for equal parts protein and carbohydrates which include starchy vegetables, grains and fruit. Stop the Mindless Munching Don’t eat out of the bag of chips or even the bag of nuts or air popped popcorn. Serve yourself a portion in a separate bowl and eat only that portion. Share or save the rest for later. A handful of nuts is one serving, and 2 handfuls of chips or popcorn is one serving. Downsize the Dishes Use standard sized dinner plates that are 8-10 inches. If your plate is regular sized, then your portions will be too. When researchers gave study participants 34 or 17 ounce bowls and told them to help themselves to ice cream, those with the bigger bowls dished out 31 percent more ice cream. Limit Your Choices A buffet is the worst invention ever! The more options you have, the more you want to try and the more you will eat. Be a Good Gatekeeper Most homes have a “nutritional gatekeeper” that’s the person who controls 75 percent of the food eaten by everyone else, because this is the person who chooses food, buys it, and prepares it. If that’s you, take advantage of it, and use your power for good!


Eat at the Table Sitting in front of the TV or computer distracts you from how much you’re eating, and the more you watch, the more you’re likely to eat. In a study comparing how much popcorn viewers ate during either a half-hour show or an hour-long show, those who watched more television ate 28 percent more popcorn. Plus, eating at the table with your family gives you a place to talk and create lasting memories. Keep Healthy Foods Visible and Accessible Place the foods you want your family to eat more of within easy reach in the pantry or refrigerator. Make fruits and veggies an easy grab and go food, by pre-washing and cutting them.

Setting Up for Success Just like any habit that you want to change, switching to a real food diet can be tough and overwhelming. But, believe us when we say that it is worth it! So much of what we eat and how we shop is just patterns and habits. Habits we may have been taught in the family we grew up in, habits that may have been adopted out of convenience or our situation. Because they are just patterns and habits, they can be changed and adjusted. Positive change is good, but it is also hard. Overhauling how you purchase food and how your family eats is not an easy task. But it can be done! We know this because many years ago, we did this. With a little persistence, you’ll be into a new routine. One thing that helped us through this time of change was to keep reminding ourselves that this change was a choice and we were ultimately choosing better health for our family. Kitchen Clean Out Three things you should know before you take the plunge.

You will not starve. As strange as that may sound, many people ask if they are going to starve. This proves just how dependent many of us have become on premade-packaged foods. We assure you, you will not starve. There is plenty of food to eat and plenty of ways to prepare it. There is a learning curve but you will figure it out in time.

Feelings of being deprived will pass. In time as your taste buds readjust, you will discover that real homemade food tastes better, is more satisfying, improves your mood and increases your energy.

Real food is more sustaining. Processed foods are made with refined grains, added sugars and very little fiber. Real food fills us up and keeps us feeling full longer because it is packed with nutrients, and fiber. Because processed foods lack the nutrition and fiber of real food our body sends us hunger signals because it is not getting the needed nutrients, so we eat more of what generally is empty calories.


You’ve heard the saying, “Out of sight, out of mind.” That is just what you must do when changing your food habits. Stashing junk food for those “emergency cravings” will not work in the long run. Out of sight means, out of the house. We know this because it has happened to us. We’ve saved a few of our favorite indulgences in the back of the pantry or freezer and every time we do, we’ll have a moment of weakness at some random time of the day or night where we can’t get that treat out of our mind. Before long, we ended up eating it and wishing we hadn’t. So, from our experience you can see that it is just best to get it out of the house. When you’re ready to make changes to your eating habits follow these three steps to clean out your kitchen and make room for increased energy and health. Step 1: Keep It The list below is a general list. Based on this list you may still have some dietary restrictions that you need to follow based on the stage of healing that you are in right now. So, keep that in mind as you clean out your kitchen. Whole Grains: Keep whole grains on hand that are tolerated well on your dietary program as well as those for any family members who can eat them. Upgrade your grains to organic and non-GMO varieties. For example, the grains we keep on hand are rolled oats, steel cut oats, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat and corn meal. Baking Supplies: Dried herbs and spices, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, coconut flour, arrowroot powder, almond flour, brown rice flour, raw honey, coconut sugar, vanilla, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, butter. Condiments: Pure maple syrup, unsweetened vinegars, mustard, homemade dressings. Nuts, Seeds and Legumes: Raw nuts and seeds like almonds, pecans, cashews, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds. You can store these items for a short time in the pantry but for long term storage put them in the freezer. Nut butters that have 1-ingredient. Dried beans and lentils are good to have on hand and can be prepared in large batches and frozen for later use. Fruit: Dried or freeze dried fruit without added sweeteners. Fruit juice sweetened jams and jellies and 1-ingredient apple sauce. Frozen fruit is perfect for making smoothies and can be purchased in bulk or harvest fresh fruit in season and store for later use. Veggies: Fresh veggies just like fruit can be harvested and frozen for later. Frozen vegetables are nutrient dense because they are packed during their peak. Canned food: Canned beans, tomato products and unsweetened coconut milk. It’s a good idea to purchase these foods in BPA-free lined cans. Step 2: Upgrade It Replace conventional products with those that have better quality ingredients. That may mean making them from scratch.


Meats: Ideally, we should be eating organic, grass-fed, free-range or wild-caught meat, poultry and fish. Dairy: If you can tolerate dairy products, we suggest that you upgrade to organic, whole fat dairy from grass-fed cows and goats. If you cannot tolerate dairy, replace milk and yogurts with unsweetened almond or coconut milk products. Condiments: Prepare homemade dressings and spice mixes, make your own ketchup or purchase ketchup without added preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup. Replace soy sauce with Tamari Sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos or coconut aminos. Snack Bars: Replace store bought bars with homemade snack bars that can be stored in the freezer for convenient on-the-go snacks. Frozen Waffles and Boxed Cereals: Make a large batch of “paleo” or gluten free waffles or pancakes, allow them to cool and store in freezer bags. Just toast them for a quick breakfast. Make homemade granola and hot cereal from rolled oats, steel cut oats or quinoa. If you need cold cereal, choose boxed cereal that is organic and has no added sugars. Pre-made Freezer Meals: Schedule some time for batch cooking so that you can store your own homemade meals in the freezer for those days when you don’t have time to cook. This is a great thing to do with neighbors. Deli Meat: Upgrade to uncured deli meats and bacon. These meats have no added gluten or chemical preservatives found in conventional deli meats. A great brand to look for is Applegate Naturals or Boar’s Head. Pasta: Of course, depending on your dietary needs you may need to eliminate pasta all together. If it is okay for you now in moderation, we recommend that everyone upgrade to brown rice based pasta. Our family’s favorite brand is Tinkyada and can be found in most alternative food stores like, Whole Foods, Natural Grocers and progressive grocery stores. A better alternative is to use spaghetti squash or make zucchini or sweet potato noodles with a spiral slicer. Step 3: Toss It Once you have made it through the Keep it and upgrade it lists, what you’ll be left with is a pile of foods that aren’t serving your overall wellness lifestyle. Some of the major offenders are: Processed foods: Processed foods come in packages, boxes and cans or bottles. They have an extended shelf life and a long list of ingredients, many of which will be hard to spell or pronounce. Oils and fats: hydrogenated oils (margarine), industrial seed oils (vegetable oil, safflower oil, canola oil) Refined sugars: table sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar Snacks: chips, crackers, cookies, candy, chips, soda, juice, meal replacement bars, Convenience foods: frozen meals, ‘hamburger helper’ type of meals.


You might want to make two piles. One pile for unopened foods to donate to your local food pantry and the other to throw away. This step isn’t the easiest, you may have some emotions come up when tossing out favorite foods. You may need to do this with a friend so they can help you be accountable, and you may need to do this without your family around. You can do this! Cleaning out the kitchen is a big project and a project that can get expensive depending on how much you need to change. We suggest strategizing a plan that will fit into your budget and time. Just don’t wait too long to get this done! Change happens when we are motivated if you wait too long you may decide it’s not worth the effort but trust us when we say it will be worth it! Menu Planning and Meal Prep Following through on your commitment to increase the amount of whole, real and unprocessed foods in your diet will certainly be challenging. You may start out with good intentions, but often good intentions get crowded out by the general busyness of life and soon it seems like you can’t find enough time to work, exercise, get enough sleep, take care of yourself (let alone family) and eat well. There are two solutions for being successful at whole food eating. They are to create a menu plan and to set aside time each week to meal prep. Both of these steps will help you stay on track and establishing new eating habits. Tips for Creating a Menu Plan Having a menu plan is probably one of the biggest keys to your success. When you have a written plan, as well as all the ingredients needed to prepare each meal you are less likely to fall back into your old habits. The Jump Start to Wellness program includes 3 weeks of menu-plans as well as a corresponding grocery list for each week. Each menu plan is full of yummy, simple, recipes that are family friendly. The only thing you need to do is decide how many people you’ll be feeding and adjust the shopping list accordingly. You can find the shopping lists in the “Printable Resources Section” of the Whole Food Diet section of the online program.

We have also included all the recipes in this guide and a blank menu plan and shopping list for you to use to create your own plan.

Here are a few more great tips for creating and sticking to a menu plan.

Schedule time to look for new recipes Browse blogs, cooking magazines, the cookbooks on your shelf. Create a folder on your computer to save webpages dedicated to recipes you want to try. Limit the new recipes on your weekly menu plan to only 1 and maybe 2 if your family is daring. Changing up all the family favorites at once can often lead to a small-scale rebellion and then you’ve lost those that can be your best supporters.


Take a poll Ask your family to give you a list of their favorite recipes. Let them know that everyone will get at least one day in the week where one of their favorite meals is on the menu. Keep a Meal Journal Keep track of new recipes you try and give them a rating. Note family favorites and any improvements that you made to the recipes. If needed, you can slowly start to upgrade these recipes to include better ingredients. Go with “Theme Nights” This is fun if your family enjoys recipes from other cultures. It’s also less stress when everyone knows that they can plan on Tuesday being Mexican food day or Italian food day or that Saturday is soup and salad day. Make a Menu that uses the same ingredients for more than one day: For example, if you make a roast on Sunday use the leftover meat in a stew or stir-fry another day of the week. Choose a shopping day and ALWAYS make a shopping list Go through your menu and find out what ingredients you need. This saves you a lot of money because you only buy what you need, and you don’t have to guess about what you have at home. Always stick to your list. Especially when it comes to fresh produce, only buy it if you know it will get eaten. Keep a well-stocked pantry Meal prep goes a lot easier when you have all the basics on hand. Make sure you don’t run out of coconut oil, olive oil, your favorite spices, dried herbs and baking essentials. Plan at least one crockpot meal every week Sometimes life gets crazy and if you know you’re not going to be home in time to make a good meal, plan ahead and let the crockpot do your cooking for you. You don’t have to eat something different every day Batch your easy meals like breakfast and lunch. We generally eat the same few options for breakfast every day and have a few favorite recipes that we rotate for lunch. We don’t mind having the same smoothie for breakfast a couple days in a row or leftovers from dinner for lunch every day. Cook in Bulk If you have time, make a double batch of your planned meal and store one in the freezer for a day that you just might not have time to prepare a meal. Be sure that you label the item, you can even include cooking instructions. If you don’t mind eating the same meal a couple times a week, batch cooking like this saves a lot of time and brain power throughout the week. There’s an App for that There are many different menu planning apps, some even include grocery lists and recipe storage. Look for one that will best suit your organizing personality. 3 Keys to Meal Prep


Even just one hour of food prep on a weekend can make a huge difference in the food choices you make during the week when you are too busy to cook or need to grab a quick snack. Plan: Plan your meals for the week.

• Use the Meal Plan Template and the Shopping List Template. • Check the recipes you’ll be using and make sure you have all the ingredients. • Add needed ingredients and quantities to your shopping list • Grocery Shop for the week and plan time to do your meal prep.

Prepare: You can shop and prep your meals all in the same day, or I use one day to shop and then plan time on the following day to prep.

• Grocery Shop for the week. • Make a list of what you want to prep for the week. Look at your chosen recipes and see

what you can do ahead of time. • Double the recipe when you can. This way you can put a batch in the freezer for those

busy weeks when you don’t have extra time for meal prep.

Package: If you want meal prep to work, you need to have containers to store your food in.

• Reusable glass containers are the best option. • You can use canning jars in various sizes. • Use tape and a marker to label your jars and containers, especially if you’re freezing items.

Make it a Routine If the thought of prepping food ahead of time overwhelms you, start small. By taking baby steps you will start forming food prep habits that will just become part of your weekly routine. One great baby step to start with includes, simply washing and drying produce before you store it in the fridge. Fruit Set aside time to wash and prep fruit for the week. Some fruit will be better off prepared right before consuming.

• Lemons: You can juice several lemons for the week. Store the juice in a glass jar with a lid. Use this fresh juice for your daily Lemon Tonic, when a recipe calls for fresh lemon juice, to make salad dressing, or to just drizzle on steamed veggies.

• Bananas can be peeled and stored in a storage bag in the freezer for smoothies.

• Avocados can also be peeled, sliced into ¼ of ½ sections, freeze on parchment lined baking sheet and then store in a storage bag or container in the freezer to use in smoothies or blend into salad dressing.

• Wash and freeze fruit for smoothies: berries, peaches, apples, pears, pineapple (peel, slice and core before freezing).


Veggies Set aside time to wash, peel, chop and or cut all veggies for the week. Getting them ready for both snacks and recipes for main meals.

• Lettuce: separate leaves from the head and soak in a solution of water and vinegar (3:1), rinse well and let dry in a colander then put in a storage bag with a clean towel or paper towel to soak up and additional moisture.

• Carrots and celery: wash and cut into slices for snacking. Store separately in a glass jar with water to keep them crispy and fresh. If you need chopped or diced carrots or celery for a recipe. Chop them and store them in a glass container and measure out the needed amount for each recipe.

• Onions: Follow the recipes and chop, slice, or dice and store in a glass container. • Zucchini: Can be grated, chopped or spiral sliced and stores well in both the refrigerator

and the freezer. This can be done with other squash varieties too.

Meat Cooking meat ahead of time can save time and help add some protein to a quick meal.

• You can prepare enough raw chicken or beef for specific recipes. Cut into strips or cubes and place in a plastic storage container and freeze. Make sure to allow time to thaw before cooking it for your recipe. (It tends to thaw faster because it is cut into smaller portions).

• Grind pork (use a high-speed blender or food processor) and prepare sausage patties and freeze them to cook at a later time.

• Roast a whole chicken and separate chicken into specific measurements for recipes or to put on salads.

• Cook ground beef or ground turkey and store in the freezer for later use.

• Grill or pan-fry chicken breasts. Cut into strips and store in the freezer for salads and lettuce sandwich roll-ups.

Freezer Foods Sometimes even the best plans get side-tracked, so it is a good idea to have a backup plan. I like to have a few prepared items available in my freezer, so if I needed to, I could make a quick meal without much prep work. Full Freezer Meals

If you have time, make a double batch of your planned meal and store one in the freezer for a day that you just might not have time to prepare a meal. You can even store a whole meal in individual serving containers. Be sure that you label the item, you can even include cooking instructions.

Staple Ingredients


You can also focus on individual ingredients that you can use when time is limited. See the following suggestions below.

Vegetables • Onions- diced for cooking or adding into soups • Carrots- Diced or shredded for stir-fry or soups • Zucchini- shredded • Squash- peeled, cubed or pureed for adding to soups or sauces

Fruit • Apples- Sliced, diced or shredded • Peaches- for smoothies • Berries- for smoothies • 100% Juice ice cubes- for smoothies, especially pineapple for keeping cut fruit from

turning brown.

Meat • Cubed Chicken Breasts- for soups, stir fry, etc. • Shredded Whole Chicken- Soups, lettuce wrapped sandwich, salads • Ground Beef- You can brown this then freeze it for soups, chili, salads • Ground pork made into sausage patties • Beef cubed or cut into strips- for stews, stir-fry or salads • Stock- chicken and beef

You’ve Got This! These changes you are making, specifically in your diet are huge! They will make a big difference in not only how you feel but in how you look, in the energy you have, and even in the way you think! Food is powerful and when we choose life giving whole real food, we become powerful too! Make your commitment to do all you can to change, to seek out a support system that will help you keep your commitments. Read the guide, it will help you through those times that you “fall off the wagon” don’t give up! Climb back in a keep rolling to your health goals!

Whole Food Diet Guide...American child doesn’t know how to identify the most basic fruits and...

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