Minimalist Nutrition Made Easy
First of all, you need to find your local farmers markets. Not only are these cheaper than the grocery stores but the food is healthier. And they have the only foods most people should be eating, anyway.
There will always be a local farmer there selling every kind of meat you could ever want. The best part is it’s all grass fed, free roaming, drug, hormone and disease free, top quality meat. Any type of meat you buy on the cheap at the local supermarket is laden with drugs, grains, diseases and poor fatty acid profiles. Ingesting that type of garbage is not a good idea if you’re interested in performing at your highest level and staying healthy.
So stock up on enough local, organic meats and eggs to pack your freezer with and get you through to the midweek farmers market or until the following weekend. Next, load up on fresh, organic fruits and veggies. Since these don’t keep as well it’s best to only buy a few days worth and then restock midweek.
Most farmers markets have a stand that sells nuts and seeds as well. These are a great part of a healthy diet and an easy way to get high quality calories so I recommend getting a few bags for the week. But don’t go crazy. Even though you can keep nuts in the cabinet for months the goal is to minimize the clutter and excess in your life.
Your food cabinet or pantry should be no different. You don’t want to have to be climbing through there for an hour every time you need something. So just get as much as you think you’ll eat for the next seven days.
Everything You Need For a Healthy Diet
With one quick and easy trip to the farmers market you have just about everything you need to eat for the week- meat, eggs, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. If you live in a state where it’s legal you could also try some raw dairy as well.
Unless you’re on a mass building diet that’s all you ever need to eat. If everyone ate nothing but what they could buy at a farmers market a lot of doctors and hospitals would go out of business and six-pack abs would be as common a sight as leaves on a tree.
If your goal is to gain muscle the only other thing you would need is some potatoes; red, white and sweet. You can get all three of these at the farmers market as well. White and red potatoes are good for post workout feedings and sweet potatoes are a good low glycemic carb for the ectomorph who needs more carbs on a regular basis.
The only other thing I would consider throwing in here for hardgainers desperately trying to build muscle fast is some Jasmine or brown rice and possibly some quinoa. I’m not a big fan of grains in general, but these foods will help you gain size when the boredom of potatoes gets to be too much to bear.
What if You Want to Have a Cheat Meal or Day?
First of all, it should be scheduled. When it’s scheduled you have to earn it. And you have something to look forward to. The key to having it last for only one day is to buy only enough for that one day. Last weekend we bought an organic pumpkin pie from the farmers market. Jen had two tiny pieces and I ate the rest. It was gone in a day.
Yesterday’s cheat day consisted of rolls we picked up at the farmers market that we added to our normal meals, raw, organic chips, a huge pasta dinner and blueberry pie with coconut milk ice cream for dessert that we shared with a few friends we invited over.
Don’t keep leftover cheat food in the house. Get rid of it. Give it to someone else. If you keep it around it will be staring you down like Marvelous Marvin Hagler every time you open the fridge or cabinet and sooner or later you’ll give in or get knocked down.
Never have cheat food sitting around the house. Buy just enough of it on the day you plan to consume it. Restock next week and repeat every seven days.
The Only Things Your Food Cabinets Should Contain
• Nuts
• Nut butters
• Spices
• Olive oil
• Vinegar
• Coconut oil
• Green tea
• Potatoes
• Rice (In a mass building phase only)
• Quinoa (In a mass building phase only)
Everything else is causing excessive clutter and isn’t healthy.
The Only Thing Your Refrigerator Should Contain
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Grass fed beef
• Free range, organic chicken
• Wild caught fish
• Organic, free roaming eggs
What If You Live in the Northeast and the Farmers Markets Stop at Thanksgiving?
If you ask the local farmers that are there every weekend most of them will tell you that they deliver throughout the winter. So get their info and get on a regular delivery schedule until the spring rolls around.
I promise you this minimalist approach to nutrition, similar to what our grandparents or great grandparents probably followed, will be far better for your wallet, mind and body.
Good luck.
Please your questions and comments below.
