How to Begin Eating Whole Foods! Plus, Hearty Lentil Stew!

Does the idea of eating "whole foods" sound too hippy-ish for you? It doesn't have to be such an unusual diet. You may even already be having a whole food for breakfast each morning! Oatmeal anyone?

The more WHOLE foods in your diet, the healthier you will be!

With fewer processed (BOXED/PACKAGED) foods, you'll be getting MORE of the good stuff and LESS of the bad stuff!

My cool visual should technically have the scale tipped the other way, but those added calories and trans fat ARE pretty heavy :)

Whole foods have MORE:
Vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and TASTE!

Whole foods have LESS:
Trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, calories, added CHEMICALS as preservatives, coloring, and more!

Get started with this!  With very little effort, you can warm up as you enjoy some tasty, home-cooked REAL food with plenty of nutrition!

Lentils, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, CHIA, and spices!

Hearty Lentil Stew

1 c dried lentils, rinsed
1 c grains, dried (brown rice, farro, etc)
12 c water
2 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic (Tbsp minced)
1/4 c chia seeds
1/4 c ground flaxseed
1 tsp coarse ground pepper
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (make your own!) or Mrs Dash seasoning (sage, thyme, onion, majoram, pepper, celery seed, and red pepper, and more)

Simply bring water to a boil with everything in the pot, and then turn down heat to a rolling boil.  Cook for at least 30 minutes, the longer it simmers the more flavorful and thick it will be!

INSTAPOT: manual for 15 min!

Lowdown on Lentils (and Beans)!
Chia Power!
Garlic Greatness!

COMMENTS: What are you cooking this weekend?