I have been fortunate enough to spend many months of my life on many islands across Asia and the Pacific, including islands that are part of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Fiji, Hawaii and Polynesia. The people that live on these islands and in the remote communities and villages I visited were so beautiful, full of life force, spirit and happiness. There was a presence that is hard for me to describe- the locals are really intertwined in each moment of life. These islands have nourished me, and rejuvenated me on so many levels… and not to mention shaped aspects of my nutritional philosophy that could never be learned from a textbook.
As we come into summer, and the heat index is rising here in NYC, I can feel my body shifting to adjust to the seasons. Accordingly, my diet is adjusting as well. In this climate, my diet is closer to how I ate on these islands.
Here are some of my thoughts:
1. I say this time and time again, but here goes: Do not eat a heavy breakfast. You will not see islanders hunkered down in a café, eating the likes of egg white omelets, bagels and fat-free cream cheese, or Cheerios and skim milk. No! The islanders are out on the fishing boats in the morning, running around and setting up their shops and places of business for a full day ahead. They drink beverages, or may have some fruit, but they stay very light, which keeps them on their toes.
Don’t you get weighed down with a heavy breakfast! Have your Green Smoothie, and become more beautiful every morning!
2. Fruit it up! One of the most important detox fruits is pineapple, because the bromelain enzyme it contains helps bust up toxins in the body. I don’t really do set “cleanses” from time to time, because the honest truth is that I am constantly cleansing from my lifestyle diet. I don’t believe in short-term diets.
In the summer, sometimes I’ll do a few days in a row like this: Green Smoothie for breakfast, pineapple for lunch, Green Smoothie a few hours later, a bowl of blueberries, then a salad for dinner. I’m going to put my beloved father on a program like this soon- he just doesn’t know it yet. :) My beloved mother will support me with this for him as well.
Summer is the season for fruit! We don’t intuitively need heavier foods like we do in the winter.
3. Drink your coconut water if you are active. If you are not active, I don’t recommend having very much of it. Why? It still has sugar calories in a liquid form. If I was sitting at a desk all day and went home and watched TV, I would NOT drink coconut water! But now when I am sweating my _____ off doing yoga, I am drinking coconut water. When I was in Bora Bora and doing yoga on the beach every day, sometimes I would eat/drink 4 coconuts a day. But that was also a big part of my diet. I worry that with the recent coconut water craze people will drink coconut water in addition to their 3 course dinners or turkey sandwich lunches, then get fat, then blame it on the coconut water. It really is for active people. Of course, if someone insists on drinking something with flavor it is better than any soda or pasteurized fruit drink out there!
The Polynesian guy in the picture showed me how to drive a stake into a log in the jungle, then smash a coconut on top to make a hole and pour the coconut water right into my mouth! He also had a technique for squeezing the mature coconut meat to get the coconut milk out, which was quite interesting! If you ever have an opportunity, try a young coconut, the flavor is so dynamic and rejuvenating!
4. No dairy. Dairy is not a natural food of the islands, and you tell by how much better their skin is in general. Avoid, avoid, avoid. Say goodbye to the milk, the cheese, and the highly overrated (and still pasteurized and problematic) yogurt. GOODBYE ugly clogger!
5. Yes, there is some fish and other animal products in some islanders’ diets, but it is WAY less than what the typical Westener eats. And last time I checked, there was no factory farms on Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. If you do choose to eat some animals (which I personally do not), then make sure they are hormone and steroid-free, and cut back your quantities and frequency of eating them.
6. Celebrate your food! Eat with relish and gratefulness and a joyous attitude. Food helps support our God-given life force. All of us are so lucky, in so many ways.
Much, much Love.
Warmly and with More Love, Kimberly
I’ve been eating a ton of fruit lately. With the warmer weather and being pregnant, it’s all I crave! YUM!
Kimberly,
I’m very active, and have been looking for something tasty to drink for quite some time. Everything I’ve been able to find up to this point contains either artificial sweeteners, or high fructose corn syrup. I’ll try drinking some coconut water for my soccer game on Thursday! Thanks for the great tip!
Regarding your trip to all those places in the East… Do you speak several languages or have some sort of travel guide?
Thanks again!
Greg
Hi Kim,
Great post!
I have a quick question about breakfast. I know you support having a lighter breakfast, but, how light is light? I tend to eat fruit, or (something AND!) have a green smoothie. But, the green smoothie recipe you have on your site makes A LOT. I don’t suppose you recommend drinking all of that (or you do? I don’t know!). How large should a green smoothie be in the morning to be ‘light’? Likewise, how much fruit is enough to be considered ‘light’? Thanks so much!
Love, Emily
Good Morning Kimberly,
Thank you for the great tips about pineapples and coconut water. I live in Rhode Island and I was wondering if coconut water in a can has any value? I believe Goya sells it that way but I am not sure how beneficial it would be. Also, could you possibly please provide a couple of ideal sample menus as a guide for healthy eating. I am 50 this year and very active and always looking to make the right food choices for me and my family.
Many Thnaks,
Lu Lu
You are so right on point. Just got back from Maui and the locals eat light, but they have tons of fatty foods in the restaurants for those visitors. I had the most delicious smoothies, they have made smoothies at home unappealing, but I push on. Question, I have moments, usually after my cycle when a green smoothie and fruit are not sustaining me and hunger ensues. Any suggestions? It last about a week or two but its very distressing and causes me to question the long-termness of the raw food life. Do you try to eat some steamed veggies or rice from time to time as a filler, but it drains my energy and cause inflammation in my sinus and throat. Help!
Kimberly, I read the first half of this post, went downstairs to chop up that fresh big pineapple with my husband and came back up to finish your post. Yum! Thank you. Gosh the one thing I don’t know how to give up is my plain YOGURT!!! But I am starting a 30-day vegan (maybe raw vegan) diet and I will not be having any then and it may just not be a habit after that…we will see!
Dear Kim,
Thank you for your post. Do you have any suggestions to replace pineapple? I am allergic to them. Thank you.
Hi KIm and thanks for your new post!
I’d like to ask why you don’t eat animal products, if you could have them wild and organic? Is there something bad about wild fish and game meat?
And what suppliments do you eat?
I believe (and there’s many research too) that suppliments can’t ever replace real food and in long term may be harmful. That includes B12-suppliments. Suppliments don’t ever act in our body the same (normal) way as food. Like many research vitamine suppliments may expose cancer (B12, E, A, beta-carotene and many more). But having that vitamine from real food it may prevent cancer and other diseases.
I know you can have much nutrients by eating as light as you said in summer. But what about B-12, zinc and selenium? I think it’s hard to have them on your summer diet.
Lot’s of questions! Sorry! I hope you have some time to answer me. But anyways thanks for wonderful blog!!!
Have a wonderful day! :)
Hi Kimberly,
I eat yoghurt and cheese, and wondered what I can buy to replace these as far as nutrition goes?
By the way , love reading your site.
I just bought some Rice cheese at the healthfood store. It’s dairy and soy free, but I suppose it is considered somewhat processed. I figured I would use it as a treat, when I occasionally have an organic turkey burger. Maybe someone here has an opinion on if Rice cheese is an ok option? I figured it’s better then dairy.
However, the rice cheese that I’ve seen has casein in it which is hard to digest and is essentially a dairy product.
No, I checked, no casein…I’ll have to list the ingredients.
Hi Kim,
I am a big fan of your website. You have such a great energy and a wealth of knowledge!
I have a somewhat unrelated ques to this post. I noticed you went to Costa Rica a while ago. I am going there in two weeks and was curious as to how you maintained your diet there.
Thanks in advance
Hi Kim,
Hope you are doing well. I just have a question… I was doing a green smoothie in the morning with a blender, however my blender died. And, I don’t have the money right now to buy a vitamix. As soon as I have the money I plan to buy one, but in the meantime what would be good to eat for breakfast? I’m also doing wheatgrass shots in the morning since my blender died.
Thanks
I agree, I do not eat dairy and my skin is better for it. The stuff is disgusting.
Also, love you and your blog! Your green smoothie recipe has changed my life!
What’s a great breakfast lunch dinner following ur bb phase but want to lose weight more and not eat as much
Glowing green smoothie okay every morning with candida or are the groats a necessity for cleansing?
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Iknow some detox diets adovocate raw goat cheese if your not ready for just avocado for dinner? Do you? what are some non raw dense dinners?
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