What Makes Something Healthy?

I’m going to share with you my ultimate breakfast recipe.

My definition of healthy includes:

1. It’s easy – if you won’t do it nothing else matters

2. It’s based on whole foods and super foods

3. It covers my main macronutrient (protein, carbohydrate, fat) needs and micronutrient needs.

Since this is a shake that only takes a few seconds to make, it meets the first requirement.  To understand the second and third aspect, let’s take a quick look at superfoods and why you should be including them in your diet.

Why Superfoods Kick Ass

There was a point in time where vitamin supplements were all the rage.  Just pop a few pills and then you don’t have to worry about eating a bunch of broccoli to get your nutritional needs met.

The problem with this approach is that research has shown whole foods have health benefits far and above just their vitamin and mineral content.   We simply don’t understand all the various co-factors that are present in food which help vitamins and minerals do their job.

That’s not to say multivitamins aren’t beneficial, it’s just that they won’t ever match the power of real foods.

Things get really exciting however when we get into the level of superfoods.  These nutritional powerhouses can radically improve your health and restore deficiencies in ways ordinary vitamin and mineral supplements can’t match.

Herbs like the various adaptogens such as ashwagandha, tulsi, resihi, and more have profound health effects such as:

• Modulating the immune system so it can be strong enough to fight infection without overreacting to things like allergies
• Preventing cancer and other diseases
• Balancing hormones naturally including reducing excess cortisol
• Reducing inflammation
• Providing balance to the body’s systems by raising what is too low and lowering what is too high

More Superfoods = Less Cravings

The biggest benefit of increasing your intake of superfoods and superherbs is that once you restore balance and nutrition to your body, you’ll likely notice a significant decrease in junk food cravings.

For people suffering from constant cravings, this alone can be a life saver.  Many people report weight loss as an indirect effect of increasing their superfood intake.

My Ultimate Breakfast Recipe

• 1 scoop of superfood formula (I use Shakeology) – Provides whole food nutrition, adaptogenic herbs, digestive enzymes, probiotics, and more)  Learn more here.
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil – Provides healthy fats, helps increase metabolism, good source of calories
• 2 servings of fruit such as mixed berries
• 1 scoop of protein powder – Provides additional protein

What you’ll notice about this is that it’s deceptively simple.  While I LOVE juicing and will always encourage people to juice fresh fruits/veggies if they want to add that to this formula, at the end of the day I often go with what’s most convenient.

This breakfast will cost you about $5 which is significantly less than what you’d pay to eat out and get the same level of nutrition.  For those on a budget, this may be a stretch, but it’s often easy to work out when you factor the money you save by eating less junk.

Where To Get The Ingredients

1. Order your Shakeology here.
2. Coconut oil can be found here.  Note: Trader Joe’s has the best deal on coconut oil if you have one locally.
3. I recommend either a whey protein and/or hemp protein (vegan).