51 Foods You SHOULD Be Eating

We recently wrote a blog called the 10 Commandments of Fat Loss — and it got a lot of attention …

It was reposted all over the place and in fact, a magazine editor called me asking to use it on their blog too.

And I wondered — why?  I’m honored that such a simple, yet important post can get that much attention.  But I asked one of the editors.  Why THIS post in particular?

His answer?  "When most people, including our magazine, talk about fat loss — it’s always about deprivation.  Your blog post was actually 10 things you SHOULD do, though, when trying to change your body."

Interesting.

Almost like the placebo effect, when you give someone something (even if there’s zero active ingredients) they get better.  It’s all in the mind.  Amazingly, there are even data where people go under the knife … yet the surgeons do NOTHING outside of a faux surgery, yet the people report being better after the fact and one study I’m thinking about had people with arthritis hopping around and not feeling a bit of pain 2 years after their "faux" surgery.

In their mind, a positive change happened and they got better.  Apply that to nutrition now.  Positive changes in the diet — or even the idea of being told to ADD things to the diet vs. decrease — will have a positive result on the final outcome.

That being said, incorporate some or most of these 51 foods more consistently and you’ll be better off.  Even better, for every great food you add from this list, replace a junky alternative.

51 Foods You SHOULD Be Eating

1. Spinach
2. Wild salmon (fresh and/or canned)
3. Blueberries
4. Raspberries
5. Swiss chard
6. Quinoa
7. Rolled oats
8. Pistachios
9. Barramundi (often called "the sustainable sea bass") can be found in the frozen section of Whole Foods & has half the calories, yet equal omega 3′s to coho salmon)
10. Plain Greek yogurt
11. Apples
12. Red bell peppers
13. Yellow bell peppers
14. Orange bell peppers
15. Lean red meat (we prefer grass fed beef)
16. Whole eggs
17. Blackberries
18. Almonds
19. Sardines
20. Carrots
21. Black tea
22. Green tea
23. Pink grapefruit
24. Turmeric
25. Kale
26. Cauliflower
27. Red grapes
28. Nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc)
29. Coconut (either fresh, where you crack the shell or unsweetened, shredded)
30. Strawberries
31. Avocados
32. Tomatoes (raw and cooked as both have unique benefits)
33. Pumpkin (we often add canned, unsweetened 100% pure pumpkin to our smoothies)
34. Unsweetened, raw cocoa powder or cocoa nibs (we also often add to smoothies or Greek yogurt)
35. Pineapple
36. Sweet potatoes or yams (technically not the same, yet they’re often used interchangeably)
37. Beans (black, kidney, chick peas, red beans, etc)
38. Lentils
39. Garlic
40. Broccoli
41. Red and green cabbage
42. Onions
43. Dark Cherries
44. Cinnamon
45. Oat bran
46. Beets
47. Barley
48. Mushrooms (all types)
49. Canola and olive oils (replace other less healthy fats with these, don’t simply add these to the diet)
50. Farro (a whole grain that’s super high in fiber)
51. Coffee (without sugar, cream and everything else)

Wow, there you have it – 51 of our favorite foods (and beverages).  Is this comprehensive of every single food that’s amazing for you?  Of course not.  But it is a pretty solid list of fantastic foods.  Variety is the key and quality is the key.  Aim for 1 ingredients foods when you eat (vs. processed options with many ingredients you can’t pronounce) and you’ll be much better off.

Did we forget any of your favorites?

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