My kid came home for the weekend and like most moms, I enjoy cooking for her. She's a busy girl, working and taking classes and doesn't often get the chance to eat healthy. I am a firm believer that eating a nutrient dense diet is key to maintaining a healthy body, but especially so for my daughter because she may have an autoimmune disease.

What is a nutrient dense diet you ask? It simply means eating food as close to its natural form and cooked in a healthy manner*. That means you buy your groceries and you cook your food. It means you don't eat prepared packaged dinners, fast food, frozen packages of vegetables laden with cheese sauce, canned ravioli, boxed mac and cheese, etc. You buy fresh meat, vegetables, fruit, rice, oats, potatoes, bread, eggs, milk. Getting it yet? Like the way our grandparents shopped when they were young.

Now, I understand that busy people don't have a lot of time on their hands to prepare food, but grilling some meat, simmering some veggies and making a salad is really not all that difficult or time consuming. It only takes a bit of fore-thought, organization and prep. When you do cook, make enough to have leftovers for a second meal. Make a big pot of rice (preferably brown) or better yet, quinoa to serve different ways for a couple of meals. One night make several different kinds of veggies that you can eat all week. You should strive to eat a big salad every day as raw vegetables provide you with added fiber and enzymes.

The reason you don't want to have a steady diet of processed food is because if you look at the ingredient list you are sure to find a plethora of unknown, possibly unpronouncable items that are usually chemicals, i.e. preservatives, artificial flavors or colors. There may also be more sodium in these food items than you'd like to consume in a serving. Now, I'm not saying you can't eat this food in a pinch, I'm advocating avoiding them and keeping them to 10% or less of your diet.

You can also take your healthy eating plan a step further by avoiding unhealthy fat, GMO food and non-organic produce, particularly the "dirty dozen".

A friend recently told me "I don't know how to cook healthy". Well, I live to show you! Let's take for example the breakfast I served this morning.

On the plate are scrambled eggs with a moderate amount of cheese (I slice to 4 eggs). The eggs were scrambled in a bit of olive oil and a bit of butter (I like to buy grass fed or Irish butter).
Small red potatoes steamed in the microwave and tossed with a small amount of butter (maybe 1/2 T) and some fresh herbs from my garden and finished with a sprinkling of cajun and steak seasoning. They take the place of hash browns which not only saves you the fat and calories, but provides you with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that come from fresh produce.
There's one slice of bacon on my plate, it's Applegate bacon, which is nitrate free. It's an indulence, my daughter adores bacon. (She got two slices, which is what you should limit your portion to and eat very infrequently if you are trying to trim down.)
Since my daughter is trying to avoid wheat I served up some leftover veggies from last nights dinner: green beans sauteed in olive oil with shallots, mushrooms, and a bit of sundried tomato.
And of course, I always like to serve fresh fruit for breakfast. I sprinkled this bowl of fruit with a spoonful of chia seeds which are super antioxidants.

You should concentrate on feeding your body nutrients, not just bulk to fill up. If it's beige, brown, white or drab, it's probably mostly empty calories.
Which is why I say, REAL FOOD IS PRETTY!!

*Grilled, baked, steamed or sauteed in olive oil, not deep fried.