All week I have shared the dangers and harmful effects of certain food/food groups and fake foods. Today I want to share with you tips on what foods to avoid and what foods to include in your daily diet.

One of the best resources you could ever find is Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Disease-Proof Your Child. Know that when Dr. Fuhrman speaks about “what to feed your child,” simply replace the word “child” with “you.” No matter your age, you will be miles ahead on your journey to live your best life ever if you follow his sage advice.

Dr. Fuhrman’s “The Five Most Dangerous Things to Feed Your Child” are as follows:

1. Butter and cheese – full of saturated fat and fat-delivered chemical pollutants
2. Potato chips and french fries – rich in trans fat, salt, and carcinogenic acrylamides
3. Doughnuts and other trans fat-containing sweets – rich in trans fat, sugar, and other artificial substances
4. Sausages, hot dogs, and other luncheon meats – contain N-nitroso compounds that are potent carcinogens
5. Pickled, smoked, or barbequed meats – places you at risk of both stomach cancer and high blood pressure

Dr. Fuhrman’s “Fab Five” are as follows:

1. Berries –Add berries to morning cereals. Make dessert sorbets from frozen berries. My kids love frozen strawberries blended with an orange or orange juice. We usually add a slice of dried pineapple and use our Vita-Mix to make a smooth and delicious strawberry sorbet.
2. Greens –Make steamed greens with a cashew butter cream sauce. Kids love it. We blend raw cashews and a few dried onion flakes with some soy milk* and make a great sauce for chopped kale or broccoli.
3. Seeds –Seeds are supernutritious wonder foods. Try sprinkling some lightly toasted unhulled sesame seeds and sunflower seeds on salads and vegetables. We like to grind some into a powder and use it like salt on food.
4. Beans –Beans are fiber- and nutrient-packed. They give soups that chewy goodness and long-lasting satiety. Add a mixture of split peas, lentils, and adzuki beans to soups and simmer over low heat about three hours.
5. Tomatoes –Tomatoes are a wonder food in their own class. Whether you consider them a fruit or a vegetable, it matters not. Slice them into pita pocket sandwiches. Mash some almond butter with a fork into some tomato sauce to add the vegetable-tomato-sprout-avocado pita pocket. What a great school lunch.

*Just a note about soy…I personally am concerned about the over-use of soy in our diet today. They are just too many studies speaking to the harmful effects of too much soy in our diet. I personally think it is wise to use soy, like anything else, in moderation. Other “cow-milk” alternatives include rice milk and almond milk, which both have a great taste.

Dr. Fuhrman also lists “Ten Super Foods to Use in Your Recipes and Menus” as follows:

1. Avocadoes
2. Blueberries/Blackberries
3. Cantaloupes
4. Carrots/Beets
5. Flax Seeds
6. Green Lettuce
7. Kale
8. Sesame seeds
9. Strawberries
10. Tomatoes

In the back of his book, Dr. Fuhrman features his child-tested, kid-friendly recipes that are “delicious, easy to prepare, and great for the whole family.” Tomorrow I will cover more about this topic of the “whole family.”

 Dr. Fuhrman’s book is published by St. Martin’s Press, and his web site is www.drfuhrman.com. Check out his information. You, and your family, will be glad you did!