If ever there was a time to eat with purpose, it is now.
COVID is spreading like a bullet train through our communities and…
every bite we take can help us fight this virus or invite it to take hold.
Over the last week, Thrive has been featuring COVID-busting shopping lists & meal ideas.
Today, we are going to look at how to stock your pantry with foods that we can use to effortlessly create meals that optimise our immune system and support our mental health.
Having a well-stocked pantry is KEY during COVID because we don’t want to make more trips than necessary to the supermarket. A “well-stocked” pantry will effortlessly produce nutrient-rich meals which support your immunity and mental health.
The question is:
How do we prioritise our pantry dollars?
By classifying foods into three functional areas:
Foods that help us SLEEP by supporting our stress response and melatonin levels.
Foods that show our body LOVE by protecting our organs & lowering inflammation.
Foods that helps us POOP and detoxify daily.
Once you build a SLEEP LOVE POOP Pantry, it’s super easy to create nutrient dense,deliciously satisfying meals.
Step 1: Pick a food from each category.
Step 2: Possibly add some fresh veggies or fruit from your fridge.
Step 3: Cook / assemble.
It is that easy!
You’ve effortlessly made three healthful, delicious, superfood meals that are helping you & your family build physical and mental resilience.
Now, I know there are a tonne of pantry foods that don’t make the SLEEP LOVE POOP cut.
Breakfast cereal, cookies, crackers, pancake mix, chocolate and pasta are examples that come to mind.
I’m not saying - don’t buy them (except for maybe breakfast cereal. Don’t buy cereal).
I am saying: think about how much space these other foods are taking up on your plate and your cupboard and make an active choice to prioritise SLEEP LOVE POOP foods. That way, if you want to have some chocolate after dinner - you can enjoy it guilt-free, because you’ve already had a super nutrient-rich meal. Similarly, if on the weekend, you want to break out the pancake mix and maple syrup - you can do so with joy because you’ve been filling the immunity and mental health bucket all week.
People ask me all the time:
what should I buy instead of flour? instead of pasta? Should I buy gluten-free?
The truth is there is no WRONG ingredient to have in your pantry. It’s not WRONG to eat pasta. But pasta in and of itself - even gluten free pasta - doesn’t carry a high enough nutrient value to help build your immunity or support your mental health.
So if pasta (for example) is taking up more than 50% of your meal plate and you’re having it 3x a week — and you’re also having cereal or just plain toast for breakfast every morning — then it’s very likely that these foods (as organic, gluten-free and fairtrade as they may be) are crowding out the space for foods that are rich in the nutrients you need to lower inflammation, support organ function, facilitate your sleep cycle, make stress hormones and optimise detoxification.
Don’t give COVID that edge. Shop smart. Eat smart.
Shop with purpose. And eat to SLEEP LOVE & POOP.
Watch my TEDx talk for how SLEEP LOVE POOP changed my health.
Work with me to supercharge your wellness.