A Day In The Life #1: Shopping And Eating At The Mall

Vivian Goldschmidt, MA Lifestyle

Evidence-Based
4 min Read

Yesterday was an unusual day for me. I spent the morning with a dear childhood friend who was visiting from abroad for a few days. She had brought a shopping list with her, so off we went to a large local mall, to get the items she was looking for. This was a great opportunity for us to catch up and reminisce about our common past.

We walked the mall levels from end to end, and by lunchtime we were starved. The food courtyard seemed the most logical lunch spot. You probably know that mall food courts are not exactly made for the health-conscious crowd. Everywhere we looked, there were burgers, deli sandwiches, french fries, and ice cream parlors. My friend is also following the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, so putting together our bone-healthy lunch seemed a little challenging.

Luckily, we spotted a “Build-Your-Salad” counter, somewhat hidden from the main area at the far corner of the giant food court. Perfect! Not only do I love salads, I also strive to eat raw foods as much as possible And that's exactly what we did: we “built” our salads with lots of alkalizing fresh goodies and crunchy toppings. I stacked my salad as follows:

My Salad Stack

Romaine Lettuce and Broccoli

Both are deliciously crispy Foundation Foods packed with bone-healthy Vitamin K, Vitamin C, boron, and silicon.

Vitamin C is a multi-tasking vitamin, which is crucial for collagen production and plays an important role in protein metabolism.1 Unlike most mammals, we don't produce our own, so don't skimp on this vitamin; it's crucial. Boron's role in bone health is very important. It is involved in bone metabolism and Vitamin D activity.2 I make sure to eat foods with it, not that it's difficult. Many of my favorite foods contain boron: almonds, dried apricots, carrots, and bananas – to name a few.

Sliced Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Onions, and Beets

All are Foundation Foods because they are among the highest sources of silicon. (You can read all about silicon in my article, The Incredible, Crunchable Cucumber.

Cubed Avocado

One of my favorite veggies and a Foundation Food thanks to its Vitamin B complex content and boron.

Grape Tomatoes

A versatile Foundation Food for silicon, copper, and an outstanding source of the bone-building antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene actually stimulates your bone-building cells.3 Nothing short of amazing!

Olive Oil and Lemon Juice Dressing

I used olive oil with lemon juice as a dressing, and sprinkled sesame seeds and chopped almonds for a satisfying and calcium-rich crunch (and both are Foundation Foods, I might add).

When I looked at my salad, it literally looked as though I had brought the rainbow to my plate.

Sandwich and Desert

The egg sandwich was perfect and added just the right balance to complete the meal… and some Vitamin B. We both had a small fresh fruit cup (one of my absolute favorite desserts). Much to our surprise our mall-lunch was as delicious as it looked… and, of course, bone-healthy to the max!

Eating out can be a challenge, but we managed really well, especially considering that restaurants were serving mostly acidifying foods. As it turned out, I helped my friend “hunt” for bargains… and for a delicious, bone-friendly, and satisfying lunch out. And with all this, we had a ton of fun!

Till next time,

References

1 Li Y, Schellhorn HE. New developments and novel therapeutic perspectives for vitamin C. J Nutr 2007;137:2171-84.
2 Nielsen F H. Biochemical and physiologic consequences of boron deprivation in humans. Environ Health Perspect. 1994 November; 102(Suppl 7): 59-63.
3 Rao, Kim, et al. Lycopene II- Effect on osteoblasts: the carotenoid lycopene stimulates cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of SaOS-2 cells. Journal of Medicinal Foods. 2003.