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The Fit Foodie®
HIGHER VEGUCATION:
WHY OUR LIVES
DEPENDS ON IT
BY MAREYA IBRAHIM, THE FIT FOODIE
There aren’t many things we need in life to survive. Yet, there is one essential element that can imprint your DNA, and that is food. It is our lifeline. e truth is, it can completely change your destiny and those around you, and the fork in the road is what you choose to put in your mouth.
Knowing how to cook healthy foods may
just be one of the most important survival skills we can nurture in our children. Our grab-n-go society might advocate convenience and ease - to have it your way and to lick your ngers while you’re at it - but at what price? When we sacri ce this attachment to intentional eating, we can
lose our health, our identities, our culture, our
traditions and a chance to bond with each other. We are no longer
in control of what goes into our bodies.
“I don’t have time to cook...or eat.
“Eating healthy is expensive”
“My family won’t eat vegetables”
“My kids are fussy eaters”
“I don’t know how to make veggies taste good.”
Calorie for calorie, veggies are the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, meaning that you will get more phytonutrient – aka cancer-preventing, anti-aging, bone-building, skin-loving and blood- boosting – support than you could drum up in any other food group. Duh! at’s why everyone in the world has told us to eat our veggies. Dr. Joel Fuhrman created a system of ranking the densest based on a calorie to nutrient ration and it no surprise that the top 10 foods are green.
We all know they’re good for us, so why don’t we suck them down like a milkshake and excuse pizza as one? e problem very well could be that we get in our own way.
e perceptions that they’re cumbersome, expensive, hard to make taste good and all
the other inconveniences we conjure up
come from our entry into the world as a 2 year-old. It’s about that time when we start making choices, and letting them be known, punctuated by foot stomps and tantrums. Our parents either listened to us and let us rule the roost or they kept trying until we got over ourselves. at pivotal time shaped us to the kind of people we are today.
So what’s the best gift you can give yourself and your family? Vegucation. Teaching them how to love veggies, especially the green ones, nurtured by helping them ex the strongest muscle in their bodies – their tongue. It will help their health,
26 Winter 2016 - 2017
www.edibleorangecounty.com
Mareya Ibrahim is e Fit Foodie. She is the creator of EAT CLEANER® and the Cleaner Plate Club, teaching families how to enjoy cleaner, safer, longer last- ing fresh food. She is also a fea- tured chef on “Everyday Health’s Recipe Rehab” and hosts “Fit Foodie” Fridays on Channel 6 San Diego. is time of year, she can’t get enough of golden beets, butternut squash and Branzino.