6 Reasons You Should Eat Mono Meals

By Hilde Larsen

Contributing writer for Wake Up World

Eating mono simply means eating one thing at the time. Picking one food to fill your entire plate. A mono meal will consist of a fruit or a vegetable, most often a fruit as they are higher in calories, have more accessible sugars/energy, and to be honest, they taste better.

Nature is perfect, and I want you to consider how you can commit to its simplicity now and then. Through eating simple meals. One flavor, one texture, one color. Allowing the full experience to show you how complex and perfect in tune you are with nature.

1 – Less Confusion, Better Digestion

Eating mono meals is what the body loves the most. Especially our digestion. A win-win situation for anyone looking to heal a weak digestive tract. A troubled tummy. And believe me, so many issues start in the gut.

All food, even the different fruits AND vegetables will require a slightly different set of digestive fires, such as stomach acids and enzymes. You will also bypass any food combination trouble. We were designed to eat mono. One thing at the time. And now we put everything together, creating a soup of confusion for the body every time we eat.

I mean, look at your plate. Starch, protein, sugars, fats. A digestive trap and disaster waiting to happen. Our body can get VERY tired trying to sort out the different enzymes and digestion times for all the various foods. Some food will not get digested properly causing heartburn, upset stomach, lethargy, and/or other gastrointestinal disturbances.

When you chew your food, you mix it with saliva. This is the first stage of digestion. If the food contains starch, then salivary amylase (an enzyme) is secreted. Now the food passes down the esophagus and into the stomach. Gastric juice is secreted containing primarily hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes.

Protein requires a highly acidic medium for the digestive enzyme pepsin to be effective.

Starches and fat require a nearly neutral medium for digestion. Salivary amylase is destroyed in the presence of highly acidic gastric juice. Gastric lipase which is secreted for fat digestion is inhibited in the presence of a highly acidic medium.”

Confusing? I would say so, and this is why the body loves to eat one thing at the time.

2 – Save Time and Planning

What could be easier than eating like our ancestors. Picking, peeling and chewing. Now we have stoves, smoothie makers, so many devices. So many helpers, and yes, cooking can be a great joy for many, but not always for our intestinal health. We tend to use food as a substitute for good friends, to numb our feelings, escape our troubles, celebrate, and also to feed our addictions. Food can be an amazing source of nutrients and energy, but only if it serves us.

Simplicity is what nature serves us and if you would like to spend less time in the kitchen prepping for meals, simple mono meals are for you. You do not have to worry about recipes, combinations or cooking time. Simply cut or peel and allow yourself to taste the real thing. As nature intended.

I remember when younger, picking fresh berries in my parent’s garden. Nothing felt or tasted better than those simple meals. Nothing was missing. Nature and simplicity were enough, and it always is. When we allow it. We tend to complicate through complexity. Try pulling back and feel how much lighter you feel after a simple meal. What a blessing it is to eat a meal prepared by someone you love, so consider eating a mono meal being the perfect meal prepared by mother earth. Created for you.

3 – Taste Buds Come to Life

This is a big one. Allowing our taste buds to revitalize. To be able to feel the texture and the juiciness of one food. The entire spectrum of tastes so effortlessly presented on the plate. It is also easy to allow less quality food to enter your mouth when you are mixing many ingredients together. Eating a mono meal will naturally push you to eat better quality food. Unripe fruits will not do. You will raise your standard.

It will also become more natural to know when to stop eating, When you have had enough. The body will not struggle with bloating and indigestion, and you will be more connected and aware of the process. Your body will tell you when you are satisfied. Only through eating processed carbs, added stimulants that feed fungus and our emotional state will we tend to over eat.

4 – You Will Know How You React to Different Food

So many people have negative reactions to food groups, ingredients and single foods. You might be one of them. Almost impossible to recognize the source. By simplifying your meals, you will easily be able to detect any offender on your plate. Amongst the most irritant foods to the human body are:

Wheat,

Soy,

Peanuts,

Dairy,

Eggs,

Shrimp and lobster,

Yeast,

Fish.

5 – You Appreciate Food More

When you take addictions out of food, it becomes a joy filled with appreciation. Simplicity will allow a stronger connection to our soul, and the simpler we eat, the lesser burden we put on our digestion, it is believed to bring us closer to an aware state. Through appreciation for the simple things, for our food, our ability to taste and smell, we become less stressed clearer in every way. We have an ability to nurture the body, strengthen our system, and connecting to nature through food.

6 – Better Connection to Nature

Everything is connected, through the energetic fields, our consciousness and through our mortality and immortality. Food, in the simplest way, in the original state, raw and ready, connects us to our home. Mother earth. It also connects us to spirit, through sunlight and a high vibrational field. So, if you are a spiritual person, eating simple meals might feel energetically attractive.

We have been told to balance our meals by adding a myriad of foods to our plate. Consider this: In nature animals will eat mono meals but rotate them depending on what they find and what is in season. As long as you rotate your meals you will constantly consume a balanced nutritional diet.

If you have any digestive troubles, try simplifying your meals. It is not such a big deal really. I remember when everything around the meal itself was more important than what I actually put into my mouth, until I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. It woke me, leading me to do some research and experimenting with my own diet. Let me tell you, nothing brings me more joy than sitting with a simple bowl of fresh mango, tasting it, feeling it, embracing it, knowing my body is loving it.

A few simple steps to clean up your plate:

  1. Never mix starch with protein.
  2. Eat more raw food.
  3. Eat fruits and vegetables in separate meals.
  4. Look up fruit combinations. Yes, even the fruits don’t all digest well together.

Experiment by eating one mono meal a day. Breakfast is a great meal to start with. The body loves fruits in the morning. My favorites are watermelon, grapes or berries. Depending on what is in season. The fruits are cleansing, hydrating and will give you the energy you need to keep up with your morning.

Happy mono eating!

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About the author:

Hilde Larsen, known as ‘the one who Inspires’, is the CEO and founder of inspiredbyhilde.com. She is a certified Health and Mindset Coach, an Author, a Keynote Speaker, Detox Specialist, Raw food Teacher and Life-Enthusiast. Her glowing enthusiasm for health and vitality has the leading role in her work. Her interest in healing and spiritual growth also led her to become a Reiki Healer. She is highly intuitive and has a strong connection to Mother Earth and the spiritual world.

Hilde Larsen writes articles, and has her own blog and YouTube channel. She is the author of three published books: ‘From HELL to Inspired’, ‘Know the Truth and Get Healthy’, and ‘No More Bullshit’. She creates online video programs and has her own membership site, The Inspired Members.

Born and raised in Stavanger, Norway, she and her husband of 29 years have a second home in Florida, USA. She is a proud mother and grandmother, and a tree-hugger at heart. Called by nature and spirit, she is inspiring many to take back their power, and to live a healthy successful life doing what they love. Hilde now spends her time traveling between Norway and Florida, speaking, and appearing on different media as the Inspired health and thought leader. She is an authority in her field who has walked her talk. She also values the time with her clients, and her time in nature with her closest family and friends.


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