How to Crowd Out Junk Food

Avoid Refined Grains

Rice, noodles, pasta, bread, crackers, biscuits, cereals.

Avoid Sugars, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Candies, Chocolate Bars

These are the villains in any type of diet. You should watch this lecture by Dr. Robert Lustig.

Avoid Fruit Juice

Juices can be great for packing lots of nutrients and quick absorption if you are out of time. Juices can spike blood sugar so may be appropriate on occasions (athletic performance). Always drink fresh, ideally cold pressed with no added sugar, additives or preservatives. 

Avoid Alcohol, Soft Drinks

Try to stick to one type of alcoholic drink. Cocktails are usually the most sugary.

Limit Grains, Beans & Legumes

unless sprouted & fermented

Grains, beans and legumes contain antinutrients such as phytate acid and enzyme inhibitors to prevent us from absorbing minerals and nutrients contained in them. Read this.

Avoid Low Fat Dairy

Fats with all the fat soluble nutrients in the original food is remove and replaced by sugar empty of nutrients. Why would you want to lose these valuable nutrients for sugar which makes you fat.

Avoid Peanut Butter, Highly Processed Chocolate Spread

It may sound surprising. Peanut is actually a legume not a nut. If you really like peanut butter, go for organic with minimal additives.

Avoid Artificial Sweeteners

Xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol, commonly found in chewing gum and calorie free beverages.

Avoid Refined Vegetable Oils

Highly processed corn, canola and soybean oils are stripped of the original nutrient. They can cause oxidative damage under high heat, and unsuitable for cooking.  Read my blog on cooking oils.

Avoid Processed, Deep Fried Food, Pizzas, Cookies, Pies, Cakes

Plenty of these in the supermarket aisles of frozen pizza, baked goods, cookies, biscuits and crackers. Lots are made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are essentially trans fats.

Add Starchy Vegetables, Fresh Fruits

Sweet potato, yams, squash, parsnips, carrots, beets, pumpkins, banana, apple, any whole pieces of fruits with all the pulp and fibre - not juices.

Add Root Vegetables, Berries, Natural Sweeteners, Dark Chocolate

As above, plus maple syrup, honey, coconut nectar, stevia, monk fruit sugar.

Berries are lower in sugar than most fruits.

Dark chocolate with 70%+ cocoa content is ok. Don't over-consume any of these.

Add Whole Fruits, Water & Citrus Fruits, Vegetable Smoothie

Coconut water, water with lemon, lime and herbs. Try vegetable smoothie with avocado, coconut, nut butter, MCT oil, protein powder. 

Add Kombucha, Sparkling Water with Herbs & Spices

As above. Spice up your sparkling water or coconut water with herbs (basil, mint, rosemary) and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla).

Add Ancient Grains, Nuts & Seeds - Chia, Flax, Hemp

Amaranth, quinoa, teff, buckwheat (soba noodles), chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashew, hazelnut, coconut flakes.

Add Grass-fed, Pastured Dairy or Non-Dairy Alternatives

High quality dairy comes with fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin A, D, E and K. If you are lactose intolerant, try coconut  milk or yoghurt or even goat's milk and yoghurt.

Add Almond, Cashew, Walnut and Hazelnut Butters

Many nut and seed butters are more nutritious than peanut butter. Try almond, hazelnut, cashew , walnut, tahini. cashew cacao butter.

Add Honey, Maple Syrup, Stevia, Monk Fruit, Coconut Nectar

These are also sugar but contain plenty of micronutrients beneficial for your gut bacteria that are not present in sugar alcohols or artificial sweetener.

Add Grass-Fed Ghee, Unrefined Coconut, Olive, Avocado Oils

These oils contain a range of saturated, mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids, as well as lots of soluble vitamins and nutrients essential for our body functions and health. Saturated fats are more suitable for cooking under heat.

Add Whole Foods: Avocado, Nuts & Seeds, Olive Oil, Oily Fish

These are foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids that are anti-inflammatory and support heart and brain health.