Getting enough courage and planning time to start the Body Ecology Diet (BED) has been a bit of a challenge for me, so I’m starting to ease into it by gradually adding some of the concepts into my diet.
One of the most dominant principles of the BED is to stop eating all sugars, including natural sugars. This includes fruit, milk (the lactose in milk is a sugar), and most grains. Sugars feed the Candida, yeast, fungus and mold in your body and make it worse. You also need to make sure that your body is getting enough minerals to support the amount of sugar you’re eating, because even natural sugars can be quite a lot for your body to cope with.
So what I’ve decided to do in leading up to the BED is -
- Reduce the amount of sugars in my diet
- Ensure my body is getting enough support to process the sugars that I am eating. I’ll be doing this by taking minerals and vitamins through supplements and prana though yoga
What I started this morning, and what I’d like to continue doing every morning, is eating a savory breakfast. Normally I’ll have either soaked oameal sweetened with milk, fruit or honey OR I’ll make smoothie sweetened with honey or agave. So this morning I left my oats in the cupboard and the milk in the fridge, and instead I made a beautiful breakfast of eggs seasoned with dulse flakes and steamed vegetables.
The BED tells you to make eggs with mostly the yolk only because that’s where all the goodness is. But I feel bad about disposing of the egg whites and I’m not sure what else to do with them so I just left them in. And I scrambled these eggs over the stove without adding anything else. So no milk, no butter, no cream. And you know what? They tasted just as good. As long as you don’t let them dry out they’ll still taste great.
You may think I’m crazy for being okay with eating steamed vegetables for breakfast, my mum certainly did when she walked past with a funny look on her face. And when my good friend Kris told me at Christmas that she was on the acid/alkaline diet and was eating veggies for breakfast ..I wasn’t so sure I could do the same. But I did it this morning and it was the best homemade breakfast that I’ve had in a long time. So once you get your head around the possibility of eating something like this for breakfast, it opens up a whole new range of options.
First you need to change old ways of thinking
I strongly believe that the secret to being able to eat vegetables for breakfast is to first change old habits and your way of thinking. You do not have to eat the same thing for breakfast that everybody else does. Nor do you have to continue to eat the same foods that you have been for the last ten years.
Why do we eat cereal and toast for breakfast? Because we grew up with that and it’s what everybody else eats so it’s become a habit. Once you change your perspective and your way of thinking, and plant the little seed in your mind that perhaps there are other healthier options, you’ll be amazed at how desirable other options will become.
It took me almost three months of thinking about eating steamed veggies for breakfast before I actually did it. I remember after my conversation with Kris about her new diet, picturing myself eating steamed broccoli for breakfast and not liking that image at all. But as the weeks passed the more I thought about it and the more I started to think that maybe it was okay, until eventually I actually wanted it. I planted the thought and it grew!
Wait until you’re hungry before you eat
It’s also equally important to wait until your hungry before you eat breakfast, because if you force yourself to eat in the morning when you’re not hungry, you’ll probably choose a junkier option. If you actually wait until you have a hunger then you’re likely to be okay with eating something a little healthier like steamed vegetables. Trust me, it works. This morning I woke up at 6:30am and did some yoga and meditation, and took my time and waited until I was feeling hungry before I prepared breakfast. It was 9am before I ate! The thought of eating steamed vegetables at 6:30am of course wasn’t a very nice thought but at 9am I was totally into it.
Now that I know I can do it I’d like to start eating more like this. And of course I can’t eat eggs every day for breakfast so over the coming weeks I’ll be posting other recipes and breakfast ideas too.
The biggest problem I can see is having the time to actually prepare a full breakfast each morning. I’m in a lucky situation here because I don’t have to go out to work ..I work at home so I can take my time with preparation. However when I have some place that I have to be before 9am in the morning I can see how this could be a problem. So I’ll have to come up with a few ideas that take less time to cook.
In the meantime, if you have the time why not give a vegetable fueled breakfast a go? I be you’ll find it a GREAT way to start the day!
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
18 responses ↓
The secret to perfect scrambled eggs anyway is to definitely not add milk to the whisked eggs as this ‘toughens’ the protein in the egg - add 1-2 tablespoons of water - it makes the scrambled eggs light and fluffy…
Other ways to have veggies at breakfast is to steam some baby spinach to have with your scrambled or poached eggs, or even omelette… fry up some mushrooms and a tomato, and top with alfalfa or other sprouts - yummo!
You can also put eggs into ramekin dishes and bake them! line the ramekin with spinach leaves, then maybe some asparagus, then crack your eggs over the top and bake them in a bain marie in the oven until the eggs are set… super yummo and a bit posh! lol
and if you eat fish and can stomach it for breaky, you could add some thinly sliced salmon after the spinach leaves and crack the eggs on top…
And personally I think keep the egg whites too - they are loaded with protein…
Anyway, you are a brave woman Fran - I don’t think I could totally do the BED, but I know I definitely could not convince my family to do it!
Oh, and Fran, I definitely could not stomach the vegies you have pictured above for breakfast (lunch or dinner, yes, but not breaky!) but I thought maybe I could handle steamed pumpkin and carrot mashed together, topped with a layer of wilted spinach, topped with the scrambled eggs and maybe a sprinkling of seeds…
Fran! i dont know if you have ever heard of doing this, but i’ve been doing it quite alot lately…egg whites mask. i read that you didnt know what to do with the egg whites, and didnt want to waste a perfectly good egg white, so make a mask! all you need is the egg white. put it in a bowl, stir it with a fork, and wa-la, youre done! just use a cotton ball to spread it all over your face. This mask tightens your pores, and also helps with hyperpigmnentation scars and evening out the skin tone.
oh! and if you want extra strength in getting rid of scars, you can add a few drops of pure lemon juice to the mixture.
Hope you like this idea!
What do you think of the raw food diet?
I’m thinking of switching from fruit + oatmeal in the morning to a protein smoothie (i can’t give up my fruit!!!). Fran, I was wondering if you know anything about good sources of protein? I already add eggs in my salad for lunch. I’m talking more about protein for smoothies… like whey/soy/etc protein. I’m leaning towards hemp protein powder because i feel like it’s the least processed, isn’t derived from milk, and is said to be very natural & highly nutritive. What do you think?
Hi Raven, not sure which part of the world that you live in, but an Australian company which makes a product called Vital Greens http://www.vitalgreens.com (which I can’t live without!) also makes a protein powder suitable for vegans, etc, it is made from pea protein isolate, the product is called Phyto Protein.
I know there are plenty of “greens” on the market but Vital Greens is definitely the best I’ve tried - it’s certified organic and hasn’t got added fructose or other sweeteners. Australian residents can go to the website to get a free sample of it too!
Caroline- Thanks for the great idea! I’m going to do that
Jasmine- Not sure I’m confident enough just yet with my answer on that one. I’m involved a little with the community and I can see how amazing the benefits are, but at the same time I’m not doing a raw food trial myself just yet because I want to get rid of my candida first. And I heard a raw food diet can increase the dampness in your body ..and since I already have too much dampness, this worries me. But its definitely something I want to learn more about ..and I feel as though done correctly it can help the skin a lot. I have a friend who’s been doing 30 days raw vegan and I had a conversation with him today about his skin ..he said his skin’s been amazing since he’s been on the diet
Raven- I’ve been drinking a green smoothie with a scoop of whey protein powder in the morning and it doesn’t fill me up. I find smoothies with brazil or almonds added fill me up a lot more.
Raven, what I found about vegan protein is:
“On a raw food diet many wonder where to get your protein. But you don’t need to worry:
* Raw food has twice as much protein as cooked food, so you’ll need less.
* There are many excellent sources of vegan protein.
* You may not need as much protein as you think.
Below is an overview of the (average) percentage of calories from protein
* Sprouts 55%
* Green leafy vegetables 35-50%
* Nuts & Seeds 12-20%
* Othervegetables 10- 45%
* Grains 8-20%
* Fruits 1-10 %
My toppers and favorites are:
1. Sprouts
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Broccoli
5. Parsley
6. Cucumber
7. Artichokes
8. Celery
9. Hemp Seeds
10. Flax Seeds
11. Pumpkin seeds
12. Tomatoes
13. Almonds
I’ts hard NOT to get enough protein during the day, unless you’re a fruitarian. Fruit doesn’t have much protein generally.
(…)greens have the highest quality of nutrients and are high in protein, iron and calcium.”
(this is from http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/)
Hi Fran!
In Japan people eat veggies every morning. What my mom makes for a breakfast usually includes a main dish (often fish or egg), a vegitable dish, a soup (eg. miso soup with veggies), pickled veggies, rice or bread, and a cup of green tea. You can just google image search for “Japanese breakfast” to see what we actually eat.
And…. yes! we eat pretty heavy in morning. People often ask me how we could eat that much food in morning. I think that is because we eat relatively light at night. Japanese dinner (home cooking) is like a lunch here in the US. As a result, I usually wake up extremely hungry…. so I could eat a lot in morning!
Anyways, I think eating veggies from morning is a great idea!
Ahhh vivienne that must be one of the reasons why Japanese are thought of as being so healthy!
I also don’t mind a salad for breakfast if it is a bit later. Add some almonds and sprouts.. Delicious
very interesting,i never though of having vegetables for breakfast.if it about health then usually my mom boil and cook some potatoes and eggs and some sweet black kikchap,hmm yummy,well this is good option fran.i’m thinking of start my own one.
great post
if I eat eggs every morning, would they overload me with protein?
the best quick breakfast is, organic yogurt, mixed with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds. you can basically mix whatever in your yogurt, you can even cut up an apple and a banana in there. peace
I have avocado and tomato on one piece of toast, and on another piece of toast i have goats cheese and dukkah
Fran, do you know much about multigrain, rye or black bread? Any problems with it because of the grains and the soaking issue?
Mark- I don’t think so, unless you eat a lot of meat.
Ang- If you want to be RIDICULOUSLY healthy, then you should avoid anything that’s made with grains that aren’t soaked and fermented first (including bread). However, if you’re just being healthy, then organic gluten free breads are okay!
Hi, Fran, I’m wondering what is sprinkled on those bed of eggs?
I usually mix a bowlful of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and mushrooms in with 3 eggs every 2nd day or so and WoW all I gotta say is what a boost it packs for the morning. It really helps my energy levels and clarity of thought. Can’t eat it for a couple of hours though, but I don’t like eating for a couple of hours in the morning anyway. With ketchup on, it tastes great and doesn’t take too long to prepare. 15 minutes, if you’re quick lol. Recommended for all!
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