Sonia's Basic Nutritional Information and Grocery List

Sonia’s Basic Nutritional Information

Below is a "grocery list" of good food! I included a few of my personal favorites. You've got loads of options. What I have listed is a breakdown of healthy carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Yes, fats. Fat makes up part of every cell in our body and we need it (in moderation...). We need all three (CHO, PROTEIN, FAT).

-As a general rule for shopping: if you've got two options, compare them! If you need something sweet, ask yourself if you can substitute something with less fat. Try to avoid transfat altogether! You'll see saturated and unsaturated fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Saturated means that it has hydrogen, making it denser and harder to break down. So: less saturated fat is what you want to look for. Mono and poly are the good ones! They're on the list below. If you have more questions, please ask me.

-Think about "Grazing" or "Fueling" your body instead of "Filling" it. These terms make a big difference. We can't change overnight, but we can slowly introduce new ways of thinking.

-Metabolism is the building up and breaking down of proteins in the body. Your machine works hard to process what you put in it. So make it easy on yourself. Eating smaller more frequent meals helps burn your fuel much more effectively. Eat breakfast!!! What you're doing is breaking the fast. This is one of the key components of speeding up your metabolism (encouraging it to burn fat faster!!!).

CARBOHYDRATES: 45-60% (Our primary fuel source)
PROTEIN: 12-20%
FAT: 10-25%


Proteins: (breakdown time depends on the protein)
Beef (cubed steak, chuck roast, hamburger- choose the leanest one you can find!)
Chicken breast (no skin)
Turkey
Scallops
Tuna
Pork loin
Salmon
Halibut
Soy burger
Lentils
Kidney beans
Cottage cheese
Yogurt
Tofu
Roasted soynuts
Peanut butter
Soy milk
Eggs

Carbohydrates:
(Complex- longer lasting energy; takes 2-3 hours to break down)
Corn
Oat bran
Whole grain breads
Oatmeal
Pasta
Rice
Cous cous
Quinoa

Vegetables:
Boiled corn
Peas
Sweet potatoes
Lima beans
Carrots
Onions
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Asparagus
Cabbage
Greens
Spinach!!

(Simple carbs- these are monosaccharides, fructose. AKA- instant energy! This is a great way to get your carbs. 15-20 minutes to break down)

Juice
Honey
Prunes
Apricots
Figs
Bananas
Grapes
Cherries
Apples
Pears
Pineapples
Oranges
Strawberries


Fats: (it takes about 9 hours to process fat in the body. 9 hours...)
Walnuts
Almonds
Olive oil
Fish oils
Canola oil
Avocados
Eggs

My day to day between meal snacks tend to include:
V8
Honey sticks
Trail mix (almonds, raisins, and walnuts)
Yogurt
Fruit
Cottage cheese pack with fruit (Knudsen's)
AND LOADS OF WATER!