3 Nutrient Dense Foods To Get Into Your Diet

Most of my clients’ primary goal is weight loss. And that’s fine, there are obviously serious health implications (both physical and mental) with being overweight. But I try and make sure I work alongside this goal with getting my clients to a eat a varied, nutrient dense diet that is going to energise them properly, make their bodies work properly and protect them as much as possible from all the nasty ailments and diseases that can come our way. Here are 3 foods I try to get my clients eating and why. 3 Nutrient Dense Foods To Get Into Your Diet;

1/ Black Beans

All beans are seriously good for you (I’m not talking baked beans in a sauce obviously) because they are very high in fibre which promotes a feeling of fullness. I.e. you don’t need to eat as much of them as many other carbs to fill yourself up. They are also packed with a complex form of carbohydrate that takes your body a long time to convert into energy. So they keep your blood sugars levels nice and constant and again keep you fuller and energised for longer. They have a decent amount of protein as well.

Why black beans specifically?

As I say all beans are seriously good for you, I picked black beans because they have more fibre ‘pound for pound’ than any other legume.

There are loads of ways you can use them. They go great it stews and soups. Or you can just throw them into a stir fry.

2/ Sweet Potatoes

Firstly they are a great carb substitute. It’s about 100 calories for a medium sweet potato, so you will be saving yourself a lot of calories and carbohydrates compared to the most popular carb choices such as bread, pasta, rice, normal potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are also highly nutrient dense. They are packed full of iron, beta carotene, and Vitamins C and E. These nutrients together will help protect your body from cellular damage of all types.

They have also been proven to be one of the best foods for muscular recovery. Which most people wouldn’t think, as it is commonly thought to be only protein rich foods that help your muscles recover.

You can obviously just bake them like you would a regular potato. Like beans they are great in soups or stews to add sweetness without any sugar. I use them all the time in a veg tray back. Sweet potato in cubes, with a selection of veg such as onions, broccoli, parsnips, carrots, some mixed herbs, little bit of oil and bake them in the oven.

3/ Broccoli

Broccoli is arguably the most nutrient dense vegetable. There are a lot of other more expensive and trendy vegetables but few can compete with broccoli. It’s packed full of calcium, iron, Vitamin C and fibre. So it’s great for bone density, the circulatory system and fighting colds.

I always say to clients it’s a good idea to vary the veg you buy every week to increase the amount of different nutrients you put into your body. That being said broccoli is so good for you it’s a staple on my shopping list every week.

I actually quite like the flavour of broccoli. And would have it (along with other veg) just steamed on the side on a dish. But more commonly I would use it in a stir fry, again with a load of other veg, and use flavouring such as garlic, ginger, chilli, maybe a little soy sauce to jazz it up.

Conclusion – 3 Nutrient Dense Foods To Get Into Your Diet

Weight loss and looking good and incredibly important both for your health and you self-esteem. But that doesn’t have to be at the expense of eating nutrient dense foods such as these. The reality is these foods fit perfectly into a weight loss regime anyway, so get them into your diet ASAP!