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Long story short? You’ll have to eat like a horse. Literally. No, seriously.

Looking good and feeling good are, perhaps not exactly one and the same, but pretty darn close because they are so interconnected and intertwined that one cannot exist without the other and are, essentially, two sides of the same coin. Part of looking good is feeling good and both are directly and heavily influenced and impacted by what you put into your body. As they say, “you are what you eat.” And that is the simple truth. Your body, like any machine, can only create output based on the input it receives. So, if your body receives garbage input, guess what? You can expect garbage output. If it receives less than optimal or mediocre input, then it will receive less than optimal or mediocre output. If it receives fantastic input, then its output will be fantastic in kind. It’s a simple equation and function, even if it doesn’t seem like it.

Unfortunately, food and eating is or has become complicated for a lot of us. There’s so much conflicting information and countless diets, fads, and nutritional opinions and beliefs all over the place. This is particularly true in Western countries like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, etc. Contrarily, most African and Asian countries (Cameroon, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Congo, India, Japan, South Korea, etc.) don’t have this issue, where emphasis is often placed on balance and moderation, not restriction and obsessive caloric counting/measurement. Despite Western influence in the above and other non-Western countries, most have still been able to maintain their respective cultural eating and food habits/traditions which have been cultivated over eons and generations. Having said that, it’s important to note and be aware that the soil and, consequently, the food grown across Africa and Asia are generally far more nutrient-dense than in the US, UK, etc. Wherever in the world you live, however, food need not be complicated. Focus on what you can control (your portions, food selections, seasonal choices, etc.) instead of what you can’t. Please do note that even if you don’t have a direct/immediate impact or influence on aspects of your food that you can’t control like how it’s farmed and distribution practices, you can absolutely inform yourself about and support companies and farmers who practice sustainability, transparency, and honorable ethics when it comes to food production and agriculture. In that sense, you absolutely have a direct impact on how your food is produced. Remember, you vote with your money and where it goes. Where you choose for it to go. Food producers absolutely respond to that.

If you have a generous appetite or simply don’t like feeling like you have to starve yourself to lose or maintain your current weight, it becomes a simple matter of eating smart. Food is one thing in your life that shouldn’t be complicated, being the everyday, ongoing necessity that it is. So, what is eating smart? We’re going to keep things simple and commonsensical here. The thing you should aim for is balance. Balance your quality with quantity. Strive for balance with all the major food groups, (fats/lipids, carbs/carbohydrates, and protein) and up your veggie variation to increase overall nutritional and fiber intake. Focus on quality with your proteins, in particular, whether you are an omnivore, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, etc. Protein is usually more taxing for your body to digest and, therefore, takes longer than fats and carbohydrates, so make sure that the protein you’re ingesting is worth your body’s while and isn’t simply working your body for little to no return. Remember, input equals output. But your body still requires and has to give up energy to bring about that output. So, technically, garbage input actually equals garbage output minus the energy your body has to spend to bring about that garbage output. So, you’re actually worse off than you started. Despite anti-fat propaganda, fat and lipids need not be shied away from. Again, balance is key. The ketogenic diet actually emphasizes and encourages consumption of fat over carbohydrates for energy and is based on the notion that fats are a cleaner burning source of energy than carbs and, therefore, better for weight control, hormonal regulation, and a host of other bodily functions. But your focal point and the stars of the show when it comes to eating like a horse while looking like a stallion are, you guessed it, vegetables. 

Vegetables are both nutrient-dense and low in calories so they equip your body with relatively higher doses of necessary nutrition and vitamins, both micro and macro, as well as fiber without burdening your body with the heft and density of other food groups. Cooked properly (steamed, roasted, air fried, baked, etc.), most vegetables are easy to digest, requiring less energy from your body to break down and assimilate, so it tends to profit because its margins for gain are higher. This is one major reason why it’s recommended to cook your vegetables instead of eat them raw. Even though salads are typically thought of as raw vegetables and encouraged or seen as optimal, it’s important to know that the anatomy of most vegetables is such that their cell walls (made of cellulose) are very tough and difficult to get broken down by the human body. This is why herbivores like cows have more than one “stomach” and regurgitate (basically vomit back up) their food to rechew it multiple times. Their bodies are equipped for that sort of diet (grass and raw leaves), because they possess the enzymes and gut bacteria necessary to break down the cellulose walls. Humans do not have those capabilities and our bodies are not equipped to break down raw leaves and vegetables in that way. So, in order to properly digest and assimilate the nutrition vegetables have to offer, we must use what we do have available to us: cooking. You only need to lightly steamed most vegetable so that they’re more pliable and their cell walls are broken down enough that you can easily digest them. Otherwise, even though you may think you’re eating healthy, you are mostly doing yourself a disservice and wasting your time, money and your body’s energy trying to break down compositions it is not equipped to. Steamed instead of raw salads are a great way to incorporate vegetables and digest them properly.

You don’t need so much of one vegetable when you diversify and get a lot of variation. Vegetables are the food group where you can truly get creative and prevent boredom/monotony if you allow yourself to let loose with your variety. Vegetables are not restricted to broccoli and spinach, even though they are certainly fantastic options to be included in your “stallion diet”. Pick a selection of both leafy and root vegetables for different textures, colors, and nutritional profiles. Aim to have your plate/bowl looking like a rainbow (we’re just going to go ahead and call this a “RainBowl”). You’re a Youniqorn, after all. And, contrary to popular belief, it’s not nearly as expensive as you might think. Veggies are actually quite cheap and affordable in most parts of the world, some more than others, but you should be able to get a very good variety that you can sustainably purchase and eat as part of your lifestyle. It’s important to think of this as a lifestyle and not just a fad or a one-off, once in a while thing. A carrot stick or celery stalk every now and again isn’t going to help you or have you looking toned and fit if you’re eating high-calorie, nutrition-less junk the rest of the time. Again, this simply calls for balance. Not restriction. And it doesn’t mean that incorporating high-nutrient vegetables means cutting out food items you may like that aren’t as healthy or nutrient-dense. Again, it cannot be overstated that moderation is key, especially when it comes to successfully and consistently adopting a healthy way of eating. Particularly if you’ve never been able to do so before. In addition to vegetables, mushrooms and other edible fungi are great options for increasing your plate’s bulk without the accompanying calories so you can actually eat more without putting on more weight and maintaining your desirable figure. Various mushrooms like King oyster, enoki, Portobello, etc. offer fantastic visual diversity and options that provide “heartiness” and “comfort” without the accompanying calories.

Again, aim to have a rainbow in your plate (or RainBowl). Vegetables encompass so many species and subspecies with varying pigments and phytonutrients that your body inherits when you consume them. Understand that you consume the immune system and everything else an organism comprises of when you eat it. So, when you chow down vegetables and fruits that are healthy themselves (meaning they have good immune systems and nutritional profiles) you inherit their immunity/profiles and they become part of your immune system/profile. Apples are a very good example of this. There’s a reason they say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Refer to the end of the post for multiple examples of veggies and fruits in different color (phytonutrient) groups for ideas and options on what to put in your RainBowl.

Remember this: you don’t hate/dislike (insert whatever veggie you hate here). You simply don’t like how it’s been prepared/cooked when you ate it. This is really important to keep in mind, and it applies to other food groups and dishes as well. There is no one way to cook or prepare anything; veggies included. There is as much variation in the ways you can make vegetables as there are vegetables themselves. So, don’t feel confined or restricted in that either. You should enjoy your food and not feel like eating your greens (or purples or oranges or yellows) is punishment or a chore. Cook and prepare food that you genuinely enjoy eating because that’s the only way you’ll keep eating it. It’s extremely difficult to–and highly unlikely that you will–be consistent with something you don’t enjoy. This is especially true with eating because you have to do it every day and, depending on your personal choice, multiple times a day. You don’t have to like every vegetable on the planet, but take the time to learn about as many as you can and become familiar with a solid 10 in both the “leafy” and “root” categories. There may be vegetables out there that you would fall head over heels in love with but simply don’t know that they exist or how to make them in a way that you enjoy. Actually write down a list. Look up recipes for different ways to cook veggies you haven’t had before and new ways to cook veggies you’re already accustomed to and give those a try. Intentionally budget for your vegetables and make it a point to purchase in both healthy and sustainable quantities (buying what’s currently in season is a great way to do this). Make dishes you already eat (like Jollof rice and pasta) heartier by adding lots of veggies and mushrooms to them if you do not already. Again, this allows you to eat more without making your body pay for it negatively. And without you having to feel guilty for it.

Again, have a good balance between leafy and root veggies and indulge in both raw (occasionally) and steamed salads (so you can digest the veggies better). Make/choose dressings/sauces that are super delicious. You’ll look forward to your veggies and hearty RainBowls. Throw in seeds and fruit you enjoy as toppings (like sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, apricot seeds, etc.) You can also toast your seeds for a nutty, more aromatic flavor and to ease your body’s digestion of them.

Various kitchen appliances will assist you in prepping your veggies in various ways and enhance your use and consumption of a huge variation and diversity. A vegetable peeler is necessary to remove the skin of vegetables which, for some, is necessary to remove any potential pesticide that cannot be washed off and cling all the way into the skin. A pressure pot or similar appliance like a slow cooker can be used to make vegetable broth and to steam your vegetables so that they’re cooked down and more easily digested and absorbed by your body. Pressure pots can cook vegetables quite quickly, reducing your time commitment to make them, especially if you are in a rush or need to whip up something very quickly. Juicing is another fantastic way to consume vegetables in large quantities without consuming their fiber and bulk, allowing you to easily assimilate a lot of nutrition without having to expend energy to digest anything. A masticating juicer is likely the best option to juice your vegetables with (as opposed to a centrifugal juicer which creates heat as it spins, destroying some of the nutrition of as a result). When juicing, however, it’s important to be mindful not to juice veggies that contain a lot of sugar (like carrots) in high amounts. Another great appliance is a spiralizer that can be used to create “veggie pastas” by peeling your vegetables into spiral strips. Great vegetable options for this are zucchini, cucumber, carrots and radish. 

Air fryers are also great all-round appliances and are very quick and hands-off in roasting/baking/air frying your vegetables and cooking them down so that they’re more easily digestible. Meal-prepping your veggies in advance with Tupperware is a fantastic way to save time and make sure you eat your vegetables in the amounts and varieties necessary to keep you healthy, in tip-top shape, and looking like the stallion you are. 

Buying/storing your seeds and other veggie toppings like dried fruit in glass or Mason jars is a fantastic idea. You can also roast and prep legumes like chickpeas ahead of time and store them in jars where they can last for up to two weeks at a time, during which you can use them as snacks on their own and toppings for your heartier meals and RainBowls. Last, but certainly not least, it’s important to always have a dedicated knife for your veggies that you do not use on anything else, especially animal proteins and meats. Preferably, have an entire set of knives for your veggies and a separate set for meat/animal products (if you consume them). As an optional bonus, you can spice up your mealtimes by getting eye-catching and pretty bowls to eat from. This can help motivate and encourage you to continue to eat well and enjoy what you’re eating as you do. Remember, any habit you want to practice consistently, you must make both appealing/attractive and easy (as detailed in the book “Atomic Habits“). This will ensure you keep doing it and that you continue to look like a stallion while you eat like a horse.