Every body comes in different shapes and sizes. It really is a genetics game. You would think being born with a supermodel body, you’d be eating pizza poolside, but Gisele Bündchen’s chef shares her physique is in part due to a plant based diet. Actually, 80 percent of her and husband’s, pro football quarterback Tom Brady, food comes from vegetables and whole grains.
I think this would dispels any food myths of a plant based diet not being for those with an active lifestyle. What does chef Allen Campbell’s plant based diet exclude for Bündchen and Brady?
"No white sugar. No white flour. No MSG. I’ll use raw olive oil, but I never cook with olive oil. I only cook with coconut oil... [and] I use Himalayan pink salt as the sodium. I never use iodized salt," Campbell also added coffee, caffeine, fungus and dairy are also off-limits.
It might sound super restrictive, but Tom takes it a step further with no nightshades. No tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, or eggplants. They cause inflammation, Campbell says. I figure if you’re a Super Bowl MVP several times over, your body is your temple. You will only give it the best fuel to keep you at peak performance.
Supermodels with a 20 year career don’t get there by pure genetics luck. If anything, what Bündchen and Brady’s chef has only taught me is putting pure, chemical free foods in your body will make you healthy, and keep you strong for decades to come. What you put in your body, shows on the outside. Make it the best you can.
So what do I put in my body if I’m speaking chef Campbell’s language. Well, your shopping cart if 80 percent full of organic vegetables and whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet, and beans. The other 20 percent is lean meats such as grass-fed organic steak, duck, chicken, and mostly fish, like wild salmon. It can be done, but where to gather inspiration from?
I like the Campbell language, but I couldn’t tell you how to mix it up recipe wise with 80 percent vegetables and grains as your base. It can be done without a personal chef. Since we live in a glorious time, with plenty of apps, a virtual chef is a download away.
Two of my favorite recent app discoveries are Veg Kickstart and Yummly. Yes, there are several out there, but price point, you can’t beat free, and more importantly it makes trying a plant based easier. It can be a little overwhelming to shake up our diet, so finding tools to make the transition, I’m all about sharing.
First up, Veg Kickstart. Sign up online where you can get the 21-day meal plan, along with restaurant guides, and community forums to mention a few. Personally, I went straight for the app. Nothing to fill out or sync. It’s a straight forward daily meal plan of simple vegan meals to prepare, list of ingredients, directions, and nutritional facts. Very bare bones. Simple, easy, and manageable tools to help change our lives, not make them more complicated.
If you’re looking for a little exploring versus a laid out meal plan, you’ll fall in love with Yummly. It’s a great interactive website. You tell it your taste preferences, and what foods you rather avoid. Check the boxes, and Yummly will give you the best recipes from your favorite blogs and websites. Instead of having to visit several sites or google searches, you can let Yummly do the work.
Depending on what you’ve told Yummly, you’ll get tiles and tiles of recipes ranging from Detoxinista to Williams-Sonoma. Think of it as your recipe newsfeed. You can add/share your favorite recipes to the Yummly community. But that’s not all my friends.
The app is so easy to use, and in combination with the site, makes it a breeze to shop for meals. There’s a clean, simple shopping list from all the recipes you’ve added to it. You can check off items as you go along, or you “share” it. Making it simple to text or email the shopping list to someone who wants to do the shopping since you’re making the meal.
If you have the Apple watch, you can search for recipes straight from you wrist. You can push the cart down the grocery aisle checking off items from you shopping list, and follow recipe directions without having to stop stirring the sauce. All the pieces of Yummly work great together.
You might not have the personal chef, or the state of the art kitchen with all the bells and whistles, but if anything, you can eat healthy and make it tasty. There are too many tools out there to stop you from making your personal best a reality. Look and feel amazing for years and years to come. Be your own superstar.
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