Fiber maxxing is nice, but fiber maxxing with whole foods is better.
Choosing glyphosate-free ingredients is even better.
And filling your plate with colorful, polyphenol-rich “stress foods,” grown without pesticides, is my highest standard. 💚
This Beautiful Plate Starts With
2 tablespoons Zen Basil seeds
1 cup plain yogurt
Salt, garlic powder and juice of ½ lemon
Mix and spread onto a plate, then top with:
1 sliced pear
2 purple figs
2 green figs
2 ounces goat cheese
1 cup celery
2 cups arugula
A handful of pistachios
Extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Honey and a dash of salt
Zest of lemon juice
Approximate Nutrition
Fiber: 31–33 grams
Protein: 33–35 grams with regular yogurt
Protein: 44–48 grams with Greek yogurt
The 2 tablespoons of Zen Basil alone provide 15 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein, before adding the pear, figs, celery, arugula and pistachios.
The Polyphenol-Rich “Stress Foods” on This Plate Include
Purple figs: anthocyanins concentrated in their darker skin
Green figs and pear: phenolic compounds, especially when eaten with the skin
Arugula: glucosinolates and flavonoids
Celery: apigenin and luteolin
Pistachios: polyphenols, carotenoids and tocopherols
Extra-virgin olive oil: phenolic compounds
Zen Basil seeds: naturally occurring plant polyphenols
What Are “Stress Foods”?
Plants produce many of these protective compounds in response to environmental stress, but “stress food” is an educational term, not an officially regulated food category. Polyphenol levels vary by plant variety, growing conditions, ripeness and processing. Published research supports the role of polyphenols in plant stress protection. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7827553/)
An Important Transparency Point
Organic does not automatically mean pesticide-free or glyphosate-free. Those claims should be made only when the actual ingredients have been independently tested or otherwise specifically verified.
Fiber maxxing isn’t about adding another processed powder. It’s about building a whole-food plate rich in fiber, protein and naturally protective plant compounds—and knowing how those foods were grown and tested.
Don’t tell me. Show me. 💚
That is the Zen Basil model, we publish our pesticides report so you can see for yourself!
Nutrition is approximate because yogurt type, fruit size, pistachio quantity and dressing amounts vary. Calculations use standard food values from USDA FoodData Central (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/).
