I am borderline obsessed with superfoods. My husband hears me exclaim about them at least twice a week. “Oh, grapefruit?! It’s a superfood!” He’s also had to endure more than one occasion of me listing the superfoods that are in the meal he’s currently eating.
For better or worse, right?
Once I discovered superfoods, I was hooked! I am familiar with the paleo diet and Whole 30 and various other theories on eating. I love them all. But I love them from a distance. I love them vicariously through others. I love them in stories that don’t involve me. I love them in someone else’s life. For me, it’s too much. Too complicated. With too many “can’ts.” I just can’t with the can’ts. Plus, I have children and am usually pregnant or nursing which means I need to have a full diet. I don’t know if we understand the human body well enough to say whole categories of foods can be safely removed from our diet all at once.
It all started when I picked up a cookbook highlighting superfoods and knew instantly that it was for me. What is a superfood? It’s whole food that has the most nutrition per caloric value. It has the most bang for its buck. These are the foods that are chocked full of nutritional value and variety. And they are what I plan our family’s diet and meals around.
Here are the reasons I love thinking this way:
- It’s safe and applicable to everyone.
Focusing on whole foods has nothing risky or quirky about it. It doesn’t omit anything that we should be eating. It’s good for my kids and their growing bodies. It works for me when I’m pregnant, when I’m nursing, and when I’m just breathing.
- It’s simple!
There are no riddles here. We just eat a lot of these foods and since there are so many of them on my list (which I share below), we get plenty of variety. Plus, by filling our diet with good food, the stuff that I shouldn’t be eating naturally gets pushed out. I don’t have to count calories or nutrients or try to fixate on anything in particular. Eating treats isn’t a negative. I just don’t eat as many treats now cause I’m too full with the good stuff.
- It’s vibrant.
I automatically shut down when told I can’t eat something. Womp womp. I’m like a child rebelling against restrictions. But with superfoods, instead of taking things away, I get excited about trying different dishes with leeks and quinoa and get to figure out how to add scallops to the occasional meal. It’s like a puzzle to me. It’s motivating, colorful and fun!
Here’s the list of superfoods I use. Unfortunately, the good old cookbook I mentioned is buried in storage and I can’t seem to find it online to reference for you. Luckily, these foods are as old as time and this list is in no way set-in-stone or exhaustive. What is the best dish you’ve made using ingredients from below?
- Apples
- Avocados
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Kiwifruit
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Red bell pepper
- Brussel sprouts
- Tomatoes
- Spinach
- Garlic
- Kale
- Celery
- Peas
- Beets
- Leeks
- Pumpkin
- Turkey
- Chicken
- Grass-fed beef
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Trout
- Scallops
- Oysters
- Kefir
- Greek yogurt
- Eggs
- Brown rice
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- Pot barley
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Buckwheat
- Miso
- Honey
- Cinnamon
- Green tea
- Red wine
- Dark chocolate
- Walnuts
- Brazil nuts
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
How does Marabou support women?
We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.
Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.
Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.
With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.
Postpartum doulas for a first time mom
House cleanings for moms of multiples
Childcare for moms with older children!
Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.
More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.
