12 Steps to Whole Foods
Making Plant-Based Main Dishes eat green food, your body has all the amino acids in a free-floating pool to assemble proteins, so you don’t have to eat all of them simultaneously in one meal to get enough protein. The amino acids you eat are used over a 24-hour period, so you needn’t make rocket science of your eating habits. 28 Above all else, just eat lots of plant foods, especially greens. Because of the way amino acids in plant foods combine, the amount of protein in the chart below, both for the legume and the grain, don’t give the whole picture. Trust your body to manufacture enough protein, even if your food isn’t “quality” protein. “Quality” only means that it matches human flesh closely, as animal protein does. The building blocks of proteins are amino acids, and your body can assemble proteins when you give it all the amino acids found in dishes made of a variety of five natural, whole food categories: grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. If you are imagining these foods being a limited menu, think again: you have a huge variety of highly sustaining foods to choose from! When your body builds muscle mass from plant proteins, the muscle mass is more durable and long lasting, even if it takes longer to come by. I am an avid weight lifter, and when I once injured my shoulder kickboxing, I had to stop lifting weights for nine months. When I started again, I was thrilled to find that I had lost virtually no strength, and was lifting my previous weight within two weeks. This was personal proof to me of my studies that plant proteins create durable muscle mass. I seem to have regular conversations with my powerlifter friends about this topic. Suggesting that a competitive weightlifter consider eating less meat and more plant food is like trying to tell a Catholic priest to quit going to Mass. What powerlifters do to build up huge pecs, lats, biceps, and triceps muscles might win competitions, but it also accelerates aging as well as disease risk. My friend Roy (who maxes the bench press with 455 lbs.) recently told me he’s on a 60% protein diet. While he’s thinking of his upcoming competition and fearing the ungodly carbohydrate, I’m thinking of the massive enzyme-draining load on his body. So, the question isn’t “How do I get enough protein?” The more appropriate question may be “How can I avoid getting too much?” Dr. Colin Campbell says this, referring to the Oxford/Cornell China Project: There is a strong correlation between dietary protein intake and cancer of the breast, prostate, pancreas, and colon. The culprit in many of the most prevalent and deadly diseases of our time, according to this study, is none other than the very thing most of us have been taught to hold virtually sacred—animal protein. People who derive 70% of their protein from animal products have major health difficulties compared to people who derive just 5% of their protein from animal sources. They have 17 times the death rate from heart disease and the women are five times more likely to die of breast cancer. In conclusion, animal protein is at the core of many chronic diseases. 14 Consider that along with the protein in animal sources also comes synthetic hormones, steroids, antibiotics, pesticide chemicals, bacteria, and sometimes saturated fat. 160 12 Steps to Whole Foods © Copyright Robyn Openshaw
Making Plant-Based Main Dishes What If I Love Potatoes? Some popular foods are not “glycemic friendly.” Potatoes are a highglycemic index food, releasing sugars into the bloodstream quickly, but many people love them. The good news is that as a whole food, with the right food combining, you can include them in your dinners. Use two tips to allow you to significantly slow the impact on your blood sugar. First, leave the potato peels on (scrubbing them well). Most of the nutrition and valuable fiber in most foods are in the peel. Potatoes are no exception. Fiber is well documented to slow the uptake of sugar into the bloodstream. Second, eat potatoes in combination with a large portion of low glycemicindex (GI) foods, and your blood sugar will remain stable. The effect of a low GI food on blood sugar levels carries over to the next meal. Plan to eat at least one low GI food per meal—and greens are perfect. If you love potatoes, I recommend these recipes in this chapter, eaten with a big green salad: Garlic-Greens Mashed Potatoes (page 169) (a bigger hit than regular mashed potatoes at our family Thanksgiving) Twice-Baked Green Potatoes (page 170) Turnip-Leek Barley Soup (page 168) The Twice-Baked recipe has plenty of broccoli and spinach, which are both more than 40% protein, so don’t worry that your meal is too carb heavy. Just keep that green salad the biggest serving in your meal, as we discussed in Chapter 2, and if you feel your personal need for protein is high, put some kidney beans or lentils in your salad when you eat potatoes. I often keep cooked legumes in my fridge left over from making soups/ main dishes just for this purpose. What about Protein, Carbs, and Glycemic Index? Glycemic index refers to the measurement between 1 and 100 of how quickly a food raises blood sugar. Foods with a high glycemic index (above 60) release glucose quickly into the blood stream. These foods include refined sugar and fruit like bananas and watermelon. Foods with a low glycemic index (under 45) release glucose more steadily over several hours, keeping blood sugar levels stable. These foods include greens, most vegetables, nuts, beans, yogurt, and whole grains. These foods are the emphasis in this chapter. Eating low-glycemic foods prevents insulin resistance, Type II diabetes, weight gain, colorectal cancers, heart disease, and many other conditions. Carbs have been vilified in the media as being high glycemic index foods—but, in fact, legumes and whole grains, especially when combined with greens and vegetables, are excellent foods that do not contribute to blood sugar problems and associated health problems. Also consider that the carbohydrates in whole grains and legumes are complex, slowing the absorption of sugars. Eating a salad with a whole-grain dish further slows sugar uptake in the bloodstream, as greens are a very low glycemic index food. They are also high in dietary fiber, leading to healthy digestion. © Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 161
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Making Plant-Based Main Dishes<br />
eat green food, your body has all the amino acids in a free-floating pool <strong>to</strong> assemble proteins, so you don’t have<br />
<strong>to</strong> eat all of them simultaneously in one meal <strong>to</strong> get enough protein. The amino acids you eat are used over a<br />
24-hour period, so you needn’t make rocket science of your eating habits. 28 Above all else, just eat lots of plant<br />
foods, especially greens.<br />
Because of the way amino acids in plant foods combine, the amount of protein in the chart below, both for the<br />
legume and the grain, don’t give the whole picture. Trust your body <strong>to</strong> manufacture enough protein, even if<br />
your food isn’t “quality” protein. “Quality” only means that it matches human flesh closely, as animal protein<br />
does. The building blocks of proteins are amino acids, and your body can assemble proteins when you give it<br />
all the amino acids found in dishes made of a variety of five natural, whole food categories: grains, legumes,<br />
nuts, seeds, and vegetables. If you are imagining these foods being a limited menu, think again: you have a<br />
huge variety of highly sustaining foods <strong>to</strong> choose from!<br />
When your body builds muscle mass from plant proteins, the muscle mass is more durable and long lasting,<br />
even if it takes longer <strong>to</strong> come by. I am an avid weight lifter, and when I once injured my shoulder kickboxing,<br />
I had <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p lifting weights for nine months. When I started again, I was thrilled <strong>to</strong> find that I had lost virtually<br />
no strength, and was lifting my previous weight within two weeks. This was personal proof <strong>to</strong> me of my studies<br />
that plant proteins create durable muscle mass.<br />
I seem <strong>to</strong> have regular conversations with my powerlifter friends about this <strong>to</strong>pic. Suggesting that a<br />
competitive weightlifter consider eating less meat and more plant food is like trying <strong>to</strong> tell a Catholic priest <strong>to</strong><br />
quit going <strong>to</strong> Mass. What powerlifters do <strong>to</strong> build up huge pecs, lats, biceps, and triceps muscles might win<br />
competitions, but it also accelerates aging as well as disease risk. My friend Roy (who maxes the bench press<br />
with 455 lbs.) recently <strong>to</strong>ld me he’s on a 60% protein diet. While he’s thinking of his upcoming competition<br />
and fearing the ungodly carbohydrate, I’m thinking of the massive enzyme-draining load on his body.<br />
So, the question isn’t “How do I get enough protein?” The more appropriate question may be “How can I avoid<br />
getting <strong>to</strong>o much?”<br />
Dr. Colin Campbell says this, referring <strong>to</strong> the Oxford/Cornell China Project:<br />
There is a strong correlation between dietary protein intake and cancer of the breast, prostate,<br />
pancreas, and colon. The culprit in many of the most prevalent and deadly diseases of our time,<br />
according <strong>to</strong> this study, is none other than the very thing most of us have been taught <strong>to</strong> hold<br />
virtually sacred—animal protein. People who derive 70% of their protein from animal products<br />
have major health difficulties compared <strong>to</strong> people who derive just 5% of their protein from<br />
animal sources. They have 17 times the death rate from heart disease and the women are five<br />
times more likely <strong>to</strong> die of breast cancer. In conclusion, animal protein is at the core of many<br />
chronic diseases. 14<br />
Consider that along with the protein in animal sources also comes synthetic hormones, steroids, antibiotics,<br />
pesticide chemicals, bacteria, and sometimes saturated fat.<br />
160 <strong>12</strong> <strong>Steps</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Whole</strong> <strong>Foods</strong><br />
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw