Have you ever experienced feeling inundated with all the information available about how to eat healthily?
We frequently pose several questions to ourselves while planning or preparing meals:
Do I have sufficient protein? Am I receiving all my nutrients? Will this satisfy my hunger? Is this dish going to be enjoyable and fulfilling?
At Nutrition Stripped, we’ve “stripped” healthy eating down to a straightforward template — which we refer to as the Foundational Five Nourish Meal — that you can utilize for every meal.
No macro counting. No need to remove items from your diet. And no elaborate trends.
In this blog, you’ll discover the benefits of using our Nourish Meal Template, highlighting the Foundational Five nutritional elements when you prepare your meals, and how it can enhance your consistency with healthy eating practices.
Why the Foundational Five is Effective for Daily Living
I’m thrilled to introduce the uncomplicated checkbox method I’ve been employing for almost ten years with thousands of clients, to you, because it’s going to empower you to feel significantly more assured and relaxed when preparing a meal, knowing you have a balanced plate with a quick check.
The Foundational Five is incorporated into our Mindful Nutrition Method™.
This approach is inspired by Nutrition Science 101 in balancing macronutrients for overall health. As dietitians, we learn extensively about the MyPlate and the Diabetic Plate Method, both of which offer guidance on how to arrange your plate with macronutrients. Our Foundational Five is our unique take on this traditional model, featuring the Flavor Factor, which is exclusive to Nutrition Stripped.
Before diving into the specifics of each macronutrient and refreshing your basics on nutrition, it’s crucial to recognize that food serves more purposes in your life than just physical sustenance. This is where our Flavor Factor becomes essential.
Food ought to also provide enjoyment, satisfaction, and delicious flavors! The Flavor Factor truly highlights our commitment to not just balancing macronutrients, but also to enhancing flavor!
Before we get into the specifics of what constitutes the Foundational Five and how you can integrate it into your everyday life, it’s important for you to grasp why we advocate this nutritional perspective at Nutrition Stripped.
Well-Balanced Meals
When discussing nutrition and taking care of your well-being, we want to ensure that you are nourishing yourself. Simultaneously, we don’t want anyone to feel that maintaining a healthy diet is complicated, consuming too much time, or detracts from life’s pleasures.
This is why we employ a genuinely simple template — the Foundational Five Elements of nutrition — to enable you to glance at your plate and confirm that you have a well-balanced meal, without having to adhere to strict regulations or count anything.
This template guarantees that every single meal is brimming with the essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body requires so you can feel satisfied, energized, and well-nourished, allowing you to tackle your day knowing you’ve looked after your health.
The Foundational Five Nourish Meal Template consists of a variety of nutrients to refer to whenever you’re crafting or assembling a meal. It comprises five nutritional elements:
Protein + Fat + Starchy or Sugary Carbohydrates + Non-Starchy Carbohydrates + Flavor Factor
The Foundational Five elements encompass the three main macronutrients, which are fundamental concepts taught to dietitians in nutrition science 101! These include carbohydrates categorized into two subtypes based on their function, along with the flavor factor.
No Counting or Tracking
We’ve all participated in those diets or plans where you must count and track everything you consume. While this may succeed for some individuals temporarily, it’s not feasible to maintain year-round throughout your life.
Most of the time, we’re not eating under circumstances where it’s even possible to track every ingredient, utilize measuring cups to portion out servings, or understand the components in a dish. We dine out, eat at friends’ or family members’ homes, etc. That resembles normal life!
This is why counting and tracking become impractical in our daily routines, which can make it burdensome or even impossible to manage. And when you can’t count and track something, you then lack the necessary skills to navigate your food selections.
This is why many individuals become trapped in a cycle of starting and stopping that hinders them from sustaining healthy eating habits in their everyday lives.
Instead of counting or tracking anything, we perform a visual inspection to ensure all five elements are present on the plate and learn the portion sizes that suit each nutrient and our personal hunger levels.
Freedom to Enjoy All Foods, Without Any Foods Deemed “Off-Limits”
Once you categorize a food as “off-limits” or “bad,” you become overly aware, hypersensitive, and fixated on that food choice.
When you encounter these foods, you may then experience a scarcity mindset, prompting you to overindulge in that food because you’re unsure when you’ll have it again, having labeled it “off-limits,” as opposed to being able to savor a portion and feel fully satisfied.
With the Foundational Five, the emphasis is on adding a diverse array of foods to your day and ensuring you’re eating in a balanced manner, rather than by removing foods (unless something must be eliminated due to intolerances, allergies, or medical circumstances).
Here’s an insight from one of our members in The Mindful Nutrition Method™ program about the Foundational Five:
“I find it liberating knowing that I have so many options for what to consume now. Portions are a bit different, and I’m definitely eating more regularly, so I feel much more energized. This weekend, I enjoyed pizza and felt okay about it. For the first time in a long while, I didn’t experience guilt. I paired it with a side salad, hydrated well, and returned to my regular routine the following morning. I have food freedom now; I indulge in a wide variety of foods without feeling restricted.”
Simplicity Breeds Consistency
One truth we recognize is that activities that are easy for us are simpler to sustain. It’s what we do consistently — not just occasionally — that can significantly influence how we feel, our overall health, and ultimately our lives. Thus, the Nutrition Stripped motto is: health is a daily ritual!
That’s why we prefer to keep things uncomplicated!
The Nourish Meal Template, utilizing the Foundational Five Elements of nutrition, simplifies the process for you to assess your plate with a visual check to ensure you have everything you require. It’s also a perfect strategy for creating easy meals in 15 minutes, ideal for busy weekday lunches and dinners, thus allowing you to maintain consistency in this eating style.
This template can be applied at any mealtime for any meal type — a nourish bowl, soup, salad, smoothie, or yogurt bowl — you name it, and it works. Moreover, it can be adjusted slightly to accommodate any individual’s specific needs.
Now that you understand how this approach to eating can benefit you and your healthy eating practices, let’s outline exactly what The Foundational Five comprises so you can implement it at your forthcoming meal!
How To Eat Well With Ease Using the Foundational Five
First and foremost, we want to prioritize whole foods as frequently as we can.
What do we define as whole foods?
The real deal, food items that are as close to their natural condition as possible; for example, whole grains, beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and proteins.
Bear in mind, this is simply a guideline. Each individual’s interpretation of the Foundational Five will differ slightly!
Whether you prefer animal-based proteins or choose a vegetarian or vegan dietary approach, the Foundational Five will still be applicable.
Now that we understand the basics, let’s discuss the details.
Protein
Protein serves as the initial component in our Nourish Meal Template employing the Foundational Five nutritional elements.
It’s a crucial macronutrient to include in each meal for several reasons. From aiding in ensuring you feel satiated following your meals, to contributing to digestion, muscle and tissue building, as well as immune health and various other functions — it’s clear that protein is essential.
Protein constitutes every cell in our bodies, including those that comprise our skin, hair, nails, muscle tone, digestive tract, and more. Since protein is involved in every body cell, it’s vital to consume an adequate amount and also prioritize the highest quality when possible.
Nutrition studies indicate that including protein in every meal, particularly at breakfast, can reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin and enhance feelings of fullness. Depending on your preferences, your protein sources may encompass plant-based proteins, animal-based proteins, or both!
Examples include beans, legumes, tempeh, tofu, seitan, quinoa, nuts, seeds, nut butter, grass-fed lean beef, eggs, seafood, poultry, and many more.
When checking animal-based proteins, seek options marked as organic, 100% grass-fed, wild-caught, sustainable, and humanely raised to signify a wise choice.
If you’re buying from the butcher, inquire about their sourcing and specify what you’re looking for to ensure the best quality!
Fat
Next, we focus on fat. Primarily, we’re discussing unsaturated fats here. Naturally, there are some exceptions to this generalization.
Unsaturated fats mainly comprise plant-based and seafood-derived sources. Consider extra virgin olive oil, olives, avocado oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, nut butter, salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines. We also advocate for coconut and coconut oil, which is technically an unsaturated fat but stands out as an exception to the general guideline, and you can read more about the reasoning here.
In a meal, fat is critical for that feeling of fullness. While protein contributes to this as well, fat undeniably plays a leading role.
For instance, omega-3 fats found in fatty fish and some plant-based sources have been shown to enhance cardiovascular health and support brain function.
It’s also essential for effective nutrient absorption. Certain vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are fat-soluble, meaning they require a fat source for proper absorption. These are the vitamins that maintain the health of our brains, cells, hormones, tissues, hair, skin, and nails.
Ensuring ample fat intake is particularly crucial for organ insulation and overall cellular and hormonal wellness.
These are just a few reasons why consuming healthy fats regularly is so necessary.
Carbohydrates
Technically, when examining the nutritional makeup of carbohydrates, we find three subcategories; let’s explore these so you can be mindful of this knowledge.
Glucose serves as the body’s primary energy source. Our brains, muscle tissues, and cells all utilize various types of carbohydrates as they convert into glucose for energy, albeit in different amounts and ratios.
- Sugars: short-chain carbohydrates that digest easily and quickly. Examples include honey, maple syrup, fruit juices, and added sugars.
- Starches: also known as starches, whole, or complex carbohydrates, which all refer to the same concept. These consist of long chains of glucose molecules that are broken down into simple sugar units. Examples include bread, pasta, potatoes, peas, and beans.
- Fiber: often referred to simply as fiber or non-digestible carbohydrates. Fiber is present in all fruits and vegetables, whole grains, peas, and beans. We do not digest fiber; it passes through our digestive system.
For simplicity’s sake in employing the Foundational Five approach, I prefer categorizing carbohydrates into two main groups: starchy and non-starchy.
Starchy Carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates are just as you envision when you think of carbohydrates. This category provides energy, making their inclusion in every meal vital.
For this carbohydrate category, consider foods like potatoes, quinoa, rice, bread, peas, pasta, beans, corn, and fruit. All these foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, energy, and fiber, crucial for our energy levels, gut health, heart health, hormonal balance, and appetite.
Bonus Benefit of Soluble Fiber
One of the staple whole foods we recommend consuming at most meals is beans! Beans and legumes are excellent sources of whole-food carbohydrates, soluble fiber, minerals, and a bit of protein. Additionally, beans are incredibly versatile, flavorful, accessible, and affordable.
If beans aren’t to your taste, consider other soluble fiber sources such as vegetables, chia seeds, sweet potatoes, broccoli, pears, figs, carrots, flax seeds, oats, or barley that contribute to the Starchy and Sugary Carbohydrate element.
Soluble fiber nourishes beneficial bacteria in the gut, aiding healthy digestion and gut microbiota while potentially lowering levels of hunger-increasing hormones produced by the nervous system that may rise due to stress, fasting, food restriction, and cycling dieting.
Non-Starchy Carbohydrates
Conversely, non-starchy carbohydrates (fiber) don’t necessarily provide significant energy. These carbohydrates are recognized for their fiber, prebiotics, vitamins, and minerals.
When the term non-starchy carbohydrates arises, think of greens and vegetables! This includes leafy greens such as arugula, kale, and romaine, alongside vegetables like Brussels sprouts, bok choy, tomatoes, cucumbers, and many more.
Fiber is essential in any diet as it balances blood cholesterol levels, regulates bowel motions, maintains blood sugar levels, controls satiety, enhances the risk of specific cancers, lowers diabetes risk, and supports overall digestion.
These plants should dominate your plate — the more, the merrier! Their fiber and water content assist in keeping you satiated while supplying your body with the necessary nutrients for sound digestion.
Flavor Factor
Last but by no means least, we reach the flavor factor. This is the enjoyable aspect!
Your flavor factor could be a sauce or condiment, herbs, spices, or seasonings – whatever you like to use when cooking or preparing food to enhance both flavor and nutrients.
Yes, herbs and spices make meals taste delightful, but they are also abundant in antioxidants that serve to enhance your well-being.
If you’re a novice cook just starting to explore seasonings and spices, check here to learn about the basics!
Foundational Five Portion Sizes
Now that we know what to include in our Nourish Meal Template with the Foundational Five, the question is, how much of each nutrient should we incorporate?
In reality, portion sizes differ from person to person. That said, we have a starting point for you.
Start by focusing on including a serving of each of the five components in each of your meals. Similar to what we learn as dietitians with the plate method, this emphasizes those vegetables, as most Americans do not consume enough daily. Generally, your plate should somewhat resemble the following graphic:
But remember, portion sizes will vary based on not only your specific needs but also your nutrition objectives.
From a mindful perspective, you can begin with these general guidelines, then adjust slightly based on your personal hunger and fullness signals. If you’re uncertain about how to connect with your body’s unique needs to identify your portion sizes, watch our free workshop that delves deeper into this!
Applying the Nourish Meal Template with the Foundational Five Elements of Nutrition
Let’s get to it!
First, if you haven’t yet downloaded the Nutrition Stripped Guide for Creating Healthy Eating Habits, make sure to grab that now to access the steps and practices that will facilitate the upkeep of healthy eating habits!
Then, explore some of our preferred recipes that will help you get acquainted with the Foundational Five approach to eating and give one a try next time you’re meal prepping.
Breakfast
- Gut Health Supportive Smoothie
- Smokey Huevos Rancheros
- Baked Raspberry Porridge
Lunch
- Buffalo Tempeh Nourish Bowl
- Hearty Vegetable Bowl
- Chickpea Burgers
Dinner
- DIY 15-Minute Nourish Meal
- BBQ Tacos
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chana Masala
Implement the Foundational Five Nourish Meal Template to Eat Well Every Day
Now that you’re familiar with the Foundational Five framework, it’s time to put it into action. Ideally, we’re utilizing the Foundational Five at every meal, but as human beings, especially when you’re starting to learn this system, it’s unrealistic to expect immediate perfection. Instead, identify one meal each day that you find most challenging, and try incorporating the Foundational Five into that meal and observe the results!
Also, bear in mind that depending on your specific nutritional goals, health issues, medical histories, allergies, or intolerances, this guideline may need to be fine-tuned to better meet your individual requirements. Members of our Mindful Nutrition Method™ program can opt for 1:1 coaching for personalized advice in these situations.
Join the Mindful Nutrition Method today and discover the transformative power of mindful eating.
Join Now
originally posted 12/28/20
**The Foundational Five: A Daily Guide to Balanced Nutrition**
In the pursuit of optimal health and wellness, nutrition holds a key position. Among an array of dietary advice and trends, the idea of the “Foundational Five” stands out as a straightforward yet effective guide to balanced nutrition. This method emphasizes incorporating five essential components into each meal, guaranteeing a thorough intake of nutrients that bolster overall well-being. Let’s explore the components of the Foundational Five and how they contribute to a balanced diet.
**1. Protein: The Essential Building Block**
Protein is a critical macronutrient tasked with building and repairing tissues, creating enzymes and hormones, and aiding immune function. Including a protein source in every meal supports muscle mass retention, enhances satiety, and stabilizes blood sugar levels. Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, or plant-based options like tofu and tempeh to fulfill your protein needs.
**2. Healthy Fats: Vital for Essential Functions**
Fats are often misconceived, yet they are crucial for a multitude of bodily functions, including hormone production, nutrient absorption, and brain health. Incorporate healthy fats found in avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel. These sources provide essential fatty acids and contribute to feelings of fullness and satisfaction.
**3. Fiber-Rich Carbohydrates: Sustained Energy Source**
Carbohydrates serve as the body’s primary energy source, and opting for fiber-rich varieties ensures an even and gradual energy release. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes are excellent sources of complex carbohydrates that offer essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. These foods support digestive health, regulate blood sugar levels, and foster a sense of fullness.
**4. Non-Starchy Vegetables: Nutritional Powerhouses**
Non-starchy vegetables, low in calories but high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, add bulk and diversity to meals without significantly increasing caloric intake. Strive to occupy half your plate with colorful vegetables such as leafy greens, bell peppers, broccoli, and carrots. These nutrients fortify immune function, reduce inflammation, and enhance overall health.
**5. Flavor Factor: Enhancing with Herbs and Spices**
The final element of the Foundational Five is the flavor factor, which involves enhancing meals with herbs and spices. Not only do these add flavor, but they also contribute health benefits. For instance, turmeric boasts anti-inflammatory properties, while garlic promotes heart health. Experiment with various herbs and spices to create delicious and nutritious meals that delight your palate.
**Bringing It All Together**
Constructing a balanced meal with the Foundational Five is quite simple. Start with a protein source, add a serving of healthy fats, include fiber-rich carbohydrates, and fill your plate with non-starchy vegetables. Finally, spice it up with herbs and seasonings to enhance both flavor and nutrition. This method ensures that every meal is well-rounded, fulfilling, and supportive of your health objectives.
**Conclusion**
The Foundational Five offers a practical framework for balanced nutrition, placing emphasis on variety and nutrient density. By integrating these five components into your daily meals, you can relish a diverse diet that satisfies your body’s needs and promotes long-term health. Whether you are an experienced health enthusiast or just embarking on your wellness journey, the Foundational Five presents a straightforward, effective approach to nourishing both your body and mind.