The protocol launches November 9th! Follow along on Instagram (@themindstrongproject) as Harvey and the crew document their journey through cutting out the crap and eating natural, primal food. Chime in and tell us your journey and what you feel as you implement the protocol into your daily life.
The Natural Foods:
Fresh Fruits: Apples, Blueberries, Pears, Raspberries, etc.
Fresh Vegetables: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Onions, Leafy Greens, Peppers, Tomatoes, etc.
Tubers and Starchy Vegetables: Potatoes, Corn (stove popped popcorn!), Winter Squash, Acorn Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Green Peas
Whole Grains: Oats, Quinoa, Barley, Teff, Millet, Brown Rice, Wild Rice
Legumes: Black Beans, Chickpeas, Lentils, Pinto Beans
Nuts!
Animal Products (in small portions!): Meat, Yogurt, Cheese, and Eggs – consume in small portions and focus on the other food categories
Spices and Herbs!
The Don’t Eat Foods/Ingredients
Modern Society has pushed humans farther away from real, whole foods than anytime in human history. The typical American diet is heavy in fats, sugars, refined and ultra process foods, salt, meat, and starches – accounting on average for roughly 70% – 80% of all calories consumed [1]. Chronic diseases, inflammation, chronic fatigue, pain, increased risk of injury, brain fog – all of these can in some way shape or form can be linked back to what a person eats [2]. Just like how Horizontal Breathing impacts your CO2 tolerance, red blood cell count, and overall endurance, poor nutrition can have negative consequences on your training and performance.
This is an initial sample of recipes that can be added to your meal plan. Many of these recipes are either homemade, adapted or come from sources such as Minimalist Baker, Forks Over Knives, Run Fast Eat Slow, Cookie + Kate, among others. For what the MindStrong Team is eating, check out our Instagram page (@themindstrongproject).
This is a personal journey with a community behind you to help you realize and understand your nutritional needs. Get creative with the food choices, recipes, and combos. Who knows, you may be a master chef that can inspire those around you to eat natural and eat primal.
If you have recipes that mesh well with this Nutrition Protocol, write to us at mindstrongproject@gmail.com and join in on the conversations and happenings on Instagram using #mindstrongnutrition.
Breakfast Ideas
Lunch and Dinner
Roasted Butternut Squash with sautéed greens, onions, garlic, and crispy chickpeas
Apple roasted butternut squash
Vibrant vegetable and zucchini sauté with apple and walnuts
Simple roasted herb seasoned chicken with roasted vegetables
Homemade sweet potato chili (keep it vegan or add meat)
Pumpkin (or butternut squash) and Black Bean Chili
Chicken Soup with White Beans and Kale
Veggie winter soup with homemade vegetable broth
Soups and Sides
Balsamic Honey Roasted Carrots
Beet Humus with fresh carrots, celery, or cauliflower
Pickled Beet Stems in apple cider vinegar
Homemade roasted chickpea snackers
Pickled Cucumbers, Onions, and Radishes over a White Bean Dish
Snacks!
As you begin the journey to better understand your unique nutritional needs, many of you will be cutting out the processed and ultra processed foods that found their way onto your plate. These foods have addictive properties – high in sugar and high fat. Start by reducing your intake of these foods each day, slowly cutting out the processed with natural (i.e. honey, dates, maple syrup, raw nuts, etc.).
Early humans evolved to rely on sugars and fats to sustain them with enough energy during long forages and hunting bouts. The brain practically hardwired itself to love these foods out of survival. When sugar is consumed, it activates the dopamine receptors similar to what drugs do. It encourages a reward response resulting in the consumer wanting more and more.
For earlier humans, this was survival. For today’s humans, this leads to poor health outcomes, poor training outcomes, and increased risk for diabetes and other chronic diseases. Sugary and fatty foods are everywhere today. There is no need to forage to find them and that’s the problem. We as humans are building a sort of “tolerance” to sugar and fats that make us want more and more based on evolution.
So what does that mean for the nutrition protocol? Weaning off foods that are high in sugar and fats will be critical for your 8 week journey. Going cold turkey will result in withdrawal-like symptoms. Your reward system will be craving sugar, craving fat. It’s human instinct. It’s normal to crave. But the amount we eat isn’t.
This is a journey. It takes time to recondition the brain and tendencies to truly realize what foods lead to a better lifestyle, better performance, and a better natural state of being. Just like transitioning from vertical breathing to horizontal takes time, this, too, takes time.
Resources:
All nut butters aren’t created equal. “All Natural” peanut butter (JIF)… is it really all that?
At MindStrong, when we say natural, we mean natural. Nut butters are a great natural food option because of the high calorie content, especially the healthy fats. As for which nut butters to choose, it’s not about the nut, it’s about the “other” stuff.
Nut butters should be… just nuts. Anything else added and you aren’t doing your body justice. So what should you watch out for?
So which nut butter is best?
Each nut has its own nutritional qualities, which means portion control and variety are the best approach. Just make sure the only ingredient on the list is that specific nut.
Modern society has gifted humans with convenience. Convenience; however, is not necessarily natural or to the benefit of the human body. We live in a world where comfort foods, snack products, and pre-prepared products are now so commonplace that we call them food.
Diets high in processed foods have been linked to an increased risk in developing diabetes and chronic diseases, increases inflammation, results in poor tissue and cell quality, and can lead to general fatigue and weight gain, among other things.
As athletes these products don’t fuel our body, they end up causing long term harm because simply, they aren’t natural.
So, how do we define whole/minimally processed vs. processed culinary ingredients vs. ultra processed?
Whole foods are fruits, vegetables, and starches picked from the vines snipped off plant, or dug from the ground. Minimally processed is frozen fruit, meats, some dairy products, legumes, and fish). Pretty simple. No added b.s.
Processed culinary ingredients include oils, fats, starches, pastas, and sugars. These are derived from whole foods and help in the cooking process. Moderation is key with these.
Ultra-processed products (hint: “products”) are made from processed substances extracted or refined from whole foods—eg, oils, hydrogenated oils and fats, flours and starches, variants of sugar, and cheap parts or remnants of animal foods—with little or no whole foods.
This group dominates our diets today. Roughly 70% of an average American’s calories come from ultra-processed products. These include burgers, frozen pizza and pasta dishes, nuggets and sticks, Jimmy Dean sandwiches, biscuits, confectionery, cereal bars, carbonated and sugared drinks, and all sorts of snack products.
For athletes, think Gatorade, most protein supplements, protein bars, and any other type of product you consume that contains emulsifiers, stabilizers, “natural colors”, and any ingredient that sounds like it came from a lab.
Natural, whole food that rarely requires a nutritional label is what fuels our body as athletes and humans. Be primal and be aware. #mindstrongnutrition
Resources:
Documentaries that inspired us to eat natural:
Resources:
[1] Baldridge, A.S.; Huffman, M.D.; Taylor, F.; Xavier, D.; Bright, B.; Van Horn, L.V.; Neal, B.; Dunford, E. The Healthfulness of the US Packaged Food and Beverage Supply: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients 2019, 11, 1704.
[2] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325330#The-cardiovascular-risks-of-processed-food
*Disclaimer: No one associated with this protocol or Mindstrong, LLC is a registered dietician. We are a group of athletes, humans, and trainers who have implemented the protocol into our daily lives and have realized functional benefits from eating a diet full of whole foods.
If you have any underlying health conditions, individual concerns about this protocol, or any other questions related to nutrition beyond the scope of this, we advise that you meet with a registered dietician.