Dr. Stillman's Million-In-One Meal Plan

It's simple, really

People constantly ask me, "what should I eat?"

People have been asking this question since the dawn of time.

The answer to this question is incredibly nuanced. There are so many factors that go into this.

But today I'm going to break it down into simple, easy steps that I take every day to create healthy, wholesome meals for myself and my family.

Before we dive in, let me be clear that dietary recommendations are highly personalized in my practice. I do not put any two people on exactly the same diet. I use all the data available to me, starting with goals and concluding with clinical data, to determine what to recommend to them in their diet.

The right diet for you today may also be the wrong diet for you tomorrow. There's no reason to believe that any individual is best served by the same diet throughout their life. There are principles and best practices, but there are no hard and fast rules.

What I'm sharing here is the framework I use for most people (95%), most of the time (95%).

Let's start with protein.

Goals are likely to range between 0.5 grams per inch of height (extreme low range, in rare circumstances) to 2 grams per inch of height.

I think of serving sizes in terms of fists and palmfuls. Most people need at least one fistful of protein per meal. Generally, I recommend two fistfuls for people who are trying to put on muscle and improve their metabolism.

This makes the foundation of most meals eggs, meat, a protein powder of some kind, or, rarely, a plant protein like lentils or beans to deliver between 20 and 80 grams of protein.

Yes, the body can certainly use that much protein, and anyone who has ever loaded protein to increase muscle mass can tell you that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

I recommend two fistfuls of green vegetables, like cabbage, collards, chard, broccoli, beet greens, Brussel sprouts, spinach, or any other green. I usually serve these with alliums like onions and garlic.

I add a starch that I usually cook in bone broth. Sweet potatoes cooked and mashed in bone broth. Brown rice cooked in bone broth. Sometimes I'll combine a starch and a legume, like quinoa and lentils. Grains, pseudograins, legumes, and root vegetables are where I get my starch/carbohydrates. A few fistfuls work for most people.

To this, I add one palmful of nuts or seeds. I use a wide range of these, including pecans, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, pine nuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds.

I'll often cook in a tablespoon or two of seaweed, like dulse, wakame, nori, or kelp.

Add herbs, spices, and salt, and you’re done.

You can make an infinite number of meals with this template.

How do I apply this in the grocery store?

I pick out a package of meat, fish, or shellfish.

I pick out a vegetable to go with it.

I grab an onion and some garlic to cook with the vegetables.

I pick up root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, or gourds like butternut or kabocha squash.

I keep different types of rice, beans, lentils, quinoa, amaranth, and various noodles in the pantry.

I keep a variety of different nuts and seeds at home.

Cook the meat. Cook the vegetables. Cook the carbohydrates. Combine. Add nuts and seeds, cooked or uncooked - your choice. I add at least a pinch of salt (and often much more than that). And you're done. Leave ingredients raw if you like.

It's not hard. In fact, it's very simple. It's based largely on the simple principles that Stan Efferding expands upon in his book, The Vertical Diet.

Let me know your thoughts and ask me your questions!

Until next time, be well,

Dr. Stillman