As many nonstarchy vegetables as your heart desires. Any veggie listed is
fair game. I’ll shout out tips for how to snack on them or add them to recipes,
but feel free to pile them sky-high onto whatever you’re eating. (Noshing on
veggies between meals and snacks works, too.)
Just the right amount of fruit. That’s one to two servings a day. Not all fruits
are created equal. Some fruits—like apples, berries, cherries, pears, grapefruits,
plums, and peaches—are less likely to spike your blood sugar and spark cravings
than other fruits (such as pineapple and watermelon). But that doesn’t mean you
can’t have other kinds. You just have to pair them with the right stuff. In my
plan, fruits are always paired with a protein-rich food (such as nuts or yoghurt)
that help to balance out their natural sugar content and avoid those side effects.
(And if you’ve never tried watermelon pizza, you’ve got to—just top
watermelon wedges with a little feta, some fresh mint, and a pinch of coarse
salt.) You’ll get a serving of fruit nearly every morning with breakfast, and if
you’re craving something sweet later in the day, you can have a fruity snack.