The Holiday Challenge, Part 2
I enjoyed the Memorial Day Challenge so much, I want to see if you can do better. I want more of you to respond this time, so I’m going to make it a little more enticing for you by handing out more prizes. This time, I’m going to reward the person who eats the most plant-based foods, but because there is an extra day, you have to exceed the past winner’s record of 28 vegetables, fruits, and herbs. I’ll also reward the person with the greatest number of different vegetables as well as the greatest number of different fruits. Just start keeping track the morning of July 4th and keep going. It was almost all women who responded last time—men, you need to step up and get in the game.
Expand your horizons and try some new veggies. Challenge yourself to eat something other than Romaine or iceberg lettuce for salads, although they certainly count. Try arugula or bok choy, or switch it up and grill some peaches or eggplant. For this challenge, corn on the cob counts as a vegetable instead of a grain. Melon, tomatoes, berries of all types, as well as bananas and apples count.
The goal is to increase your phytonutrient intake by a massive amount. Vegetables and fruit all have some nutrients you need, and summer is the easiest time to get them. You can prepare them any way you want; grill watermelon or pineapple or caramelize onions for your burgers. Creamy coleslaw also works. Cooked or raw doesn’t matter; cooking may change the form of phytonutrients but doesn’t destroy them. Remember that condiments count. Ketchup, mustard, and relish—sweet or dill—all have specific phytonutrients in them. People are becoming obsessed with pickled veggies. They count, of course.
As for how much of each food counts, use common sense. You might reasonably count the sprinkling of chives on your eggs, but adding one leaf of basil isn’t how people cook (except for maybe the tweezer-wielding chefs on TV).
Using the honor system, send me a list of everything you ate with the total fruits and veggies, the number of vegetables, and the number of fruits. I’ll offer a free six-month Insider membership or the digital Optimal Performance program to the person with the highest total in each category. Have fun, be safe, and I’ll be back next week.
Stocking up on podcasts for this holiday weekend? You can binge my podcast Straight Talk on Health, available on Spotify and other podcast sites.
What are you prepared to do today?
