If there’s only one thing you do to change your diet, the biggest and best thing is to alkalize it. Our body must maintain an optimal pH level. This is the amount of acidity versus alkalinity in your body. If your body is alkaline, there are few diseases which can survive. It will give you the best chance at health. If you maintain an alkaline diet, you will have better energy levels, you’ll be more resilient towards stress, you’ll sleep better and will all-around feel better.
So what does this mean? Well certain foods are alkalizing and certain are acidic. Alkalizing foods include fruits, vegetables, almonds, and goat’s milk.
Acidic foods include – meat, eggs, fish, most grains, legumes/pulses, cow’s milk, and all junk foods – chips, snack cakes, candies, etc.
The idea is to get more alkalizing foods than acidic ones. Which means, yes MORE fruits and vegetables!
Some simple tricks to get more alkalizing foods into your diet:
1. Start small – change on meal at a time. For instance start with breakfast
2. Add instead of remove – to start with, add things into your diet instead of taking everything you love away – for instance, add a salad to your lunch at first – then eventually you’ll come to place where the salad can be your lunch
3. Get creative – find foods you like, and have them – think outside the box – a salad doesn’t have to be just lettuce, tomatoes and carrots – add some dried fruits, nuts, seeds, avocado, goat’s cheese, maybe even some roasted red peppers… now that’s what I call a salad!!! 🙂
4. Don’t expect changes overnight – they come long term. Slow and steady wins the race 🙂
A recipe to get you started:
Wilted Kale Salad
Ingredients:
• Small head of kale
• Sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt (roughly ½-1 tsp.)
• 1 avocado
• 1 lime or lemon (substitute with apple cidar vinegar for those sensitive to citrus)
• Sun dried tomatoes, soaked 10-15 minutes (roughly 1/3 to ½ cup) (replace with olives for those sensitive to nightshades)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Ground chipotle pepper to taste (be careful not to overdo it – a light sprinkling is enough! – eliminate for those sensitive to nightshades)
Directions:
1. Clean kale, remove stems, and chop/tear leaves into bite-sized pieces and place into a mixing bowl.
2. Start with a small amount of salt, sprinkle it over the kale, and massage it in using both hands. The kale will begin to wilt. Continue gradually sprinkling salt and massaging it into the kale until the kale becomes fully wilted, while using the smallest amount of salt necessary. BE CARFEUL not to overdo the salt… if you do, balance it with more avocado, olive oil and more lemon juice.
3. Cut the avocado into small chunks and set into a second mixing bowl.
4. Juice the lemon or lime and add the juice into the avocado, and mash into a creamy dressing. If necessary, add some of the soak water from the sun dried tomatoes to obtain the desired consistency.
5. Add the dressing to the kale, as well as the drained sun dried tomatoes, and mix well.
6. Mix in chipotle pepper to preferred taste.
7. Serve as a vegetable dip, as a sandwich filling, on crackers or simply enjoy as is!
Variations:
o Use spinach in place of the kale, for a lighter, sweeter tasting salad
o Add ½ cup pine nuts, or other nut/seed for extra flavour
Nalada, B. Sc., RHN, Lifestyle coach