In my effort to deliver easy to consume nutritional advice, I wanted to share a quick article with three great foods to incorporate in your diet. As a nutritionist, I recommend these 3 foods daily. If not daily, as many days as you can. 1-3 days a week with these three foods is good, 3-5 days a week is great. Of course you have to listen to your own body, too. I know someone who doesn’t do well with chia seeds, and of course, you could have a nut allergy. Use your own judgement but I’m here to tell you why as a nutritionist, I recommend these 3 foods daily.

The key to getting a balanced set of nutrients through your diet is to eat a large variety of fresh plant based foods. I encourage my clients to try to get as much variety in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and herbs as they can, from types of fresh foods to colors. Adding these three foods will help increase your food variety as well as load you up with excellent nutrients to fuel your body and good health.

1. Chia Seeds

The benefits of eating chia seeds from a nutritionist

Chia seeds have great amounts of protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids (the good stuff) and are an incredible way to get some key nutrients in your diet because they are so packed full of nutrients and have many health benefits. There are many reasons why as a nutritionist, I recommend eating chia seeds, but it’s not just me recommending them either. Here are some of the top reasons:

• The added fiber helps to stabilize your blood sugar and keep you full longer.
• Chia seeds promote good gut health and give the gut microbiome a healthy sources of fiber. Having good gut health can impact your mood, hormones, food cravings, and more.
• According to Harvard Medical School, chia seeds can lower cholesterol levels, reduce blood pressure, and protect against chronic disease.
• Chia seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acid which is most commonly found in fish, so if you tend to not eat much fish, this is a great way to get these essential fatty acids in your diet and improve your overall heart health and brain function.

How to eat them

Every morning I take 1 tablespoon of dry chia seeds and soak them in water for 10 minutes. After they have soaked or 10 minutes, I drink the water with my breakfast. No chewing needed when you just swallow them in the water. I *hate* the feeling of getting the seeds stuck in my teeth so this is my favorite way to eat them. You can also add them to overnight oats, make a “chia pudding”, put them in a salad, or add some fruit juice like lemon or lime to the chia seed water. I do not recommend eating them without soaking them because they can become a choking hazard.

2. Blueberries

The benefits of eating blueberries from a nutritionist recommendation

The Cleveland Clinic says that “blueberries are one of the healthiest fruits for you”. Blueberries are very powerful in fighting against free radicals in your body. They provide good fiber (good for gut health) and are packed full of vitamins and minerals. They are one of the most magical foods AND they are incredibly delicious.

• Blueberries are a great source of: Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Manganese, and dietary fiber.
• Blueberries are rich in antioxidants and can help your body fight off stress, and free radicals while protecting your cells from damage.

How to eat them

Do we really need an explanation of how to eat the most delicious food in the world? Blueberries are magical and have such a perfect balance of sweet and sour, you can eat them by the handful, throw them in a salad, eat them with milk like cereal (add them too cereal). Many people like to add them to overnight oats. The possibilities are endless.

Please be sure to wash them very good as many store-bought blueberries have a significant amount of pesticides on them. My preferred way to clean them is to rinse them well, then put them in a bowl filled with water, a couple ounces of white vinegar, and about a teaspoon of baking soda. Let them sit in the solution for about 5-10 minutes and then rinse and enjoy. It’s also a fun little science-y experiment to wash berries like this because of te vinegar and baking soda reaction.

3. Mixed Nuts

The benefits of eating nuts on a regular basis

According to the Mayo Clinic, nuts have a number of benefits for your health. Personally I recommend eating them at the beginning of a meal as an appetizer. If folks are hungry but dinner is not quite ready yet, this is a perfect pre-meal snack. Adding the fiber and healthy fats to your meal before eating anything else will help slow down any potential glucose spike, and it will feed your gut microbes with healthy fiber. This will affect your mood, brain health, immune system, gut health, and more. Don’t take my word for it though, here are some benefits the Mayo Clinic mentions about how nuts and help with your heart health:

• Better artery health
• Reduced inflammation
• Lower risk of blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes
• Lower risk of early death due to heart disease (Eat nuts if you don’t want to die early. It’s really that simple).
• Lower unhealthy cholesterol levels and raise healthy cholesterol levels.

How to eat them

I keep a large jar FULL of nuts on my kitchen counter so it’s the first snack in sight whenever anyone is hungry and needs something to eat. This has helped us avoid the chip bag very effectively. ONE THING TO BE AWARE OF: A lot of nuts come “roasted” and include various kinds of SEED OILS. I highly recommend buying nuts in bulk that are as close to raw as possible with NO other ingredients (I know, unsalted, what?! You’ll get used to it I promise). You can add your own salt and that does the trick just fine.

• Eat them by the handful before a meal so you’re starting with your fiber and fat before indulging in any carbs – this will help control your blood sugar.
• Put them in a salad
• Add them to overnight oats
• Honestly add them to almost anything. They give a nice crunchy texture and help you feel full.

My overall recommendation is to get as much variety in your diet as you can coming from fresh whole plant based non-grain foods, but you have to start somewhere. So, as a Nutritionist I recommend these 3 foods daily: chia seeds, blueberries, and mixed nuts.