This is for the men who want to tailor The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) to better meet their unique dietary and health needs. While I am not a man, I did watch my husband begin the diet and have 8 years under my belt feeding both him and my growing boys.
I met my husband in 2011, after being on B.E.D. for a year. I was a single mom healing a stubborn case of systemic yeast overgrowth and deeply committed to healing. Then, I met Tomas who smoked, drank beer, and ate a typical macrobiotic diet with plenty of rice cakes and tahini. He had a handful of health issues and an open mind to the diet. In the snap of a finger, I went from making food for just me and my kids to cooking feast after feast for a hungry man day and night.
Dance in the Kitchen!
I learned as I went. When I got overwhelmed, Tomas encouraged me with his desire to be healthy, stop smoking, and heal his mouth. We were both trained therapeutic cooks and made a good team; we danced in the kitchen! If I cooked, he washed dishes, vice versa.
I was in charge of food prep and keeping the wheels moving. Soaking grain, making unsalted cultured vegetables, coconut kefir, and waffle batter was on my shoulders. This period of life helped me become grounded in the ‘body ecology way of eating’ and greatly improved my ability to menu plan. Tomas and I have now been married 8 years 🙂
What I Notice About Men & Food
- Men like salt
- Men like BIG (think cheeseburgers, sandwiches, pizza slices with toppings)
- Men like sweet
- Men like fried
- Men like flavor
Sound like any man you know?? I don’t want to get detailed yet think most can agree that men are inherently more masculine and need more minerals (esp. salt) and flavor to energetically extend themselves outwards in the world with more force than many women desires. Again, I am skimming the surface only here. Men also tend to have a heightened metabolism.
Find Your Rhythm
My husband is a 6 foot engineer/builder who is on his feet all day; measuring this, lifting that. When he comes home, he sits with us or is at his computer. This is his rhythm. Your own rhythm plays an integral part in the food you need.
Do you have health issues? Tomas’ kidneys called for attention. When he started B.E.D. he struggled with oral health and gaining weight. In this way, I customized cooking to meet his needs. How old are you? Are you big, small? What do you like to eat? Your answers help you find the food for your body.
Listen & Observe
If you are a man cooking for yourself or are cooking for a man in your life, then listen and observe as you move forward on the diet. That is step one imo. Then act accordingly while you go about your life.
B.E.D., is not meant to rule your life nor define who you are. Rather, a holistic way of eating to enhance life. Take time to weave the traditional principles that Donna Gates, author of B.E.D., has laid out to follow. They are guideposts when you are not sure how to go. Live life to the fullest!
B.E.D.-friendly food ideas to get him salivating for more:
- Zucchini frittatas with quinoa pilaf and butternut squash soup
- Coconut truffles by the dozen
- Broiled wild salmon with mashed cauliflower and steamed asparagus
- Chef salad with hard boiled eggs, avocado, rolled deli meat, and dressing
- Poached wild cod served with luscious lemon sauce
- Turkey burgers with sweet mustard sauce
- Buckwheat waffles topped with cultured butter, lakanto, and hemp seeds
- Roasted chicken with broiled zucchini
- Konjaku miracle noodles sauteed with snow peas, zucchini, and garlic – top with pesto
- Steak ‘n eggs…does it get more manly? It will if you smother it with bernaise sauce
- Filet mignon with cultured horseradish, what the heck – see photo above
- Pumpkin pie with cultured cream
- Omelettes of all kinds
- Milk kefir with cinnamon and stevia
- Probiotic protein shake
- Lamb stew with carrot chunks and broccoli florets
- Chicken soup with a couple eggs scrambled in
- Spaghetti squash with pesto and baby lima bean soup
- Almond cookies cut into hearts, why not? You only live once ?
- Tuna with a tin of sardines and homemade mayo
- Mug of Ujido green tea
- Cocobiotic with scoop of super spirulina
Note: Serve all with plenty of vegetables; including scoop of unsalted cultured veggies.
Why Women Take Control of Health
Getting Men Into B.E.D.
Nutritional Consultations with Tara, NC.
A word of thanks to my husband, who loves me enough, to let me write about him so that others can glean from our experience on The Body Ecology Diet. This blog post contains affiliate links, read here for more.
May all bellies be happy!