How we use the Daily Dozen Checklist
Dr. Michael Greger’s daily dozen checklist is a list of things to eat daily. In his New York Times Best Seller Book “How Not to Die” he investigates the fifteen leading causes of death in America. He cites masses of research that shows how nutritional and lifestyle changes can help in preventing those causes of death. To make his findings actionable, Dr. Greger provides a checklist of the foods we should eat everyday “to not die”.
It was such a pleasure to meet Dr. Michael Greger recently on a vegan cruise we went on and talk to him about his recent cookbook and the daily dozen checklist. We got to hear first hand from him on why everyone loves his daily dozen checklist. Checking items off a list is just so satisfying!
For more background information check out his page nutritionfacts.org.
Here are some of the fruits and vegetables we eat from the daily dozen:
Beans and legumes, comprise of so many beans, including soybeans, split peas, chickpeas, and varieties of lentils. While eating a bowl of pea soup or dipping carrots into hummus may not seem like eating beans, it is. You should try to get three servings a day.
Berries – A serving of berries is a half cup of fresh or frozen, blackberries, cherries, mulberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.
Cruciferous vegetables – Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, collards, and kale. We eat at least one serving a day about 1 cup.
Nuts – Everyone should eat 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds in their daily diet, in addition to a serving of nuts or other seeds. 10 peices of nuts like almonds is one serving, or 2 tablespoons of nut or seed butters.
Spices – We love the spice turmeric, cumin, ginger, garlic and fresh herbs and add it to all of our cooking.
Whole grains – A serving of whole grains can be 1 cup of steelcut oatmeal, amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa or brown rice.
The checklist helps when we are grocery shopping, while we are meal prepping and while we are eating. We used the checklist initially as a tool to get into a routine. We would add more greens, beans and seeds, to each meal. The checklist makes sure you are eating everything healthy and asking yourself how you can make each meal you put in your mouth more nutritious full of fruits and vegetables.
The checklist also helps us to keep track of what we are eating visually. We just look at the phone and check off what we have already eaten. It feels great to eat all the greens, drink the water, exercise knowing you are doing everything right for your health journey. At the end of the day its good to know that you got all your nutrients in and drank enough water.
You can download the Daily Dozen app in the app store to help you keep track of healthy eating.
