Our side dishes are terrific employees.  Those veggies and grains and potatoes and salads are full of micronutrients and fiber (and yes, even protein!) and they have cancer fighting properties and anti-inflammatory properties and so on and so on.  They work hard and they’re good to us!

Our main dishes, however, are lousy employees.  They come into work sneaking heme iron, HCAs, hormones, mercury, antibiotics and all kinds of contraband we had no idea they were bringing.  That chicken, steak, salmon, taco meat and ESPECIALLY RED OR PROCESSED MEAT deserves to be fired.  Or at the very least demoted.

So the concept is simple.  THE SIDES BECOME THE MAIN DISH!

*First, take the meat you were going to eat and CUT IT OR DIVIDE IT INTO FOURTHS.  Use one of the fourths as the meat for that meal and save the rest in the fridge or, if you’re feeding others, portion it out for them.

*Then DOUBLE OR TRIPLE YOUR SIDES.  Add more potatoes, corn, rice, broccoli, pasta, beans, salad, whole grain bread, until your plate is full.  Make it real food, try to add lots of color, and please Lord don’t drench it in butter.  🙂

But really.  It’s that easy.