It is unusual for me to accompany you to a restaurant. Comfort meals like mashed potatoes and mac’n cheese don’t wow me, so I nearly always order the “weirdest” dish on the menu––think crude (raw) platters, seaweed sampling, and organ meats. For example, I went my brother Shay to lunch at Mozza in Southern California last week and ordered the bone marrow starter without even asking him. He gave me a puzzled expression.

Beyond my overall dislike of societal standards and compliance, my urge to dine off the beaten path derives from a desire to get as wide a spectrum of nutrients as possible from my meals. It’s more than just eliminating wheat, sugar, and trans fats when it comes to eating healthy. It also necessitates adjusting your food intake, which includes important fats, amino acids, and trace micronutrients that scientists may yet be ignorant of. The “triage hypothesis” proposed by award-winning scientist Dr. Bruce Ames in 2006 is gaining traction in nutrition research. Our bodies allocate precious resources to important tasks for short-term survival, such as heart function, at the cost of processes required for long-term health, such as DNA repair, according to the triage hypothesis. In other words, triage theory proposes that minor micronutrient deficits may have a long-term impact on your health and increase age-related disorders.

It’s easy to imagine that many (if not most) people in Western culture, who eat nutrient-poor foods, are suffering from trace micronutrient deficiencies, which could affect immediate but subtle health measures like energy, mood, and focus, as well as long-term health concerns like dementia, arthritis, and cancer. It’s worth noting that some of these bad health consequences aren’t confined to folks who consume a lot of fast food and drink. “Healthy eaters” who restrict themselves to a modest variety of meals each week are likely to be deficient in a number of lesser-known but vital nutrients.

If your regular meal consists only of chicken and steak, as well as basic vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and zucchini, it’s time to step up your nutrition game and branch out. For best nutrition, I strive to integrate the following food groups into my weekly health style. This isn’t to suggest you have to eat something from each of these categories every day or even every week, but if you’re just dipping your toes in a couple of them (or only one from each category), you should consider broadening your usual menu.

Greens for salads

My whole world changed when I realized that salads might be more than romaine lettuce, cucumbers, and unripe tomatoes. I now eat multiple salads each week (all year), and I make sure to include a variety of greens, such as arugula, radicchio, endive, mizuna, treviso, spinach, tatsoi, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, bib lettuce, and anything else I can find. Even romaine and iceberg lettuces, if purchased from reputable farms, maybe refreshing and tasty.

Brassicas, often known as cruciferous vegetables, play an important role in my weekly diet. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts are some of my favorite raw and prepared vegetables. Turnips, radishes, and kohlrabi, for example, maybe eat both the roots and the leaves. Because various brassicas are in season at different periods of the year, I aim to eat as many as possible.

Vegetables with roots

In addition to brassicas, I try to eat carrots, parsnips, fennel, beets, yuca, and all varieties of potatoes and yams on a regular basis. Remember that each of them has its own set of advantages.

Alliums

Onions, garlic, shallots, chives, and leeks are alliums, a kind of strong-smelling and tasting (due to sulfur chemicals in the plant that make them extremely nutritious) root. In most cases, the leaves and blossoms are also edible.

Nightshades

Even though a tiny percentage of individuals are allergic to nightshades (and these people usually eat a macrobiotic diet), nightshade plants may be quite healthful and have distinct nutritional profiles. Tomatoes, chilies, tomatillos, eggplants, ground cherries, and goji berries are all nightshades. The sheer variety of chilies is enough to keep me enthralled.

Each and every fruit

Apples and bananas are good but don’t overlook the berries, melons, pears, persimmons, pomegranates, and other fruits and vegetables. In the spring and summer, stone fruits such as peaches, apricots, cherries, and plums are popular, but in the autumn and winter, heartier fruits such as apples and citrus take over. You can’t go wrong if you stick to the seasons.

Mushrooms Reminding myself that mushrooms aren’t plants usually throws me for a loop. The cellular structure of fungi differs significantly from that of plant and animal kingdom organisms. They also contain entirely distinct (and potent) micronutrients, as you could imagine. I like shitake, maitake, oyster, chanterelle, morel, hen of the woods, popping, trumpet, lobster, lion’s mane, porcini, and straw mushroom varieties. Nutritional yeast is a kind of yeast that belongs to the fungal kingdom.

Sea vegetables

I went to a sushi restaurant in New York a few weeks back that served a seaweed sampling as an appetizer. At least ten distinct varietals were present. I was ecstatic. My cupboard is also stocked with various seaweeds, which I consume at least 4-5 times each week. The simplest seaweeds to acquire in Western grocery shops are nori (crispy seaweed used in sushi rolls), wakame (soft seaweed used in miso soup and true seaweed salads), and kombu (used to create dashi broth). I particularly like the crunchy Seasnax, which has become quite famous. I prefer to use the wasabi-flavored ones to wrap around avocado slices.

Fatty Fish

Almost everyone finds this one difficult at first, but once you get beyond that, you’ll be hooked on the rich, delicious taste of oily fish. Because of the beneficial fatty acid composition, oily fish are particularly healthy for your heart and brain, but there are likely other advantages as well. I adore sardines, mackerel, anchovies, cod liver, and salmon.

Fish in shells

Don’t limit yourself to shrimp, crab, or lobster. Clams, mussels, scallops, oysters, octopuses, and squid are all high in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients found in the water.

Meats from the organs

If you’re an omnivore, you probably consume much more animal muscle meat than you should. However, although muscular meat is incredibly nutritious, ignoring the bones and organs only gives you a quarter of the benefit. Using all of the animal’s components is also more ecologically and morally responsible. Each organ has distinct nutritional advantages. Glycine-rich bone marrow, for example, serves to balance off the extra methionine we receive from eating mostly muscular meat. If roasted bone marrow isn’t for you right now, creating bone broth (also known as soup broth) at home is a great option. The liver is also very high in nutrients and, when cooked properly (think chicken liver patê), can be really tasty. My husband and I aim to eat organ meat at least twice a week, and we’re grateful for the nose-to-tail movement, which has made this simpler in major cities.

Squash and gourds

There are so many varieties of summer and winter squash (with hard shells) that you’ll never be bored. Try zephyr, pattypan, opo, bitter melon, kabocha, delicata (my renowned dish), and acorn squash in addition to zucchini and yellow squash.

Legumes

Beans and lentils, when cooked correctly, are among the most nutrient-dense meals available. While I encourage everyone to try a variety of lentils and beans (such as green, red, brown, and black) (check out Rancho Gordo, Llano Seco, and Zürsun Farms for heritage varieties), these delightful foods are especially helpful if you don’t consume meat.

Seeds and nuts

Nuts and seeds are also underappreciated in terms of their vitamin and mineral content, as well as their fatty acid profiles. They’re also amazingly tasty, and a little amount goes a long way. Don’t limit yourself to almonds and walnuts; pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts all have their own advantages.

Spices and herbs

Herbs and spices are often associated with taste rather than nutrition. However, they are among the world’s most nutritionally packed meals. That is why they have such a powerful taste. Fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, oregano, and marjoram may be used in a variety of ways. Dried spices have also been demonstrated to provide a variety of health advantages, including the prevention of dementia, cancer, and other prevalent ailments.

Grain that is still intact

Grains are getting a lot of flak these days, and I entirely agree in the case of hyper-processed flours. Intact grains, on the other hand, are an excellent supply of both soluble and insoluble fibers, which are vital feeding materials (prebiotics) for your gut’s friendly bacteria. Brown rice is fantastic, but it’s not the only option. Farro, barley, freekeh, quinoa, GABA rice, buckwheat, and oats are all good options.

Foods that have been fermented

Because of their significance as probiotics, fermented foods are now receiving some good publicity. However, yogurt is just part of the tale. Probiotic bacteria come in a variety of strains, and we all react to them differently. Don’t be put off by the fact that probiotic foods have a strong flavor. When you acquire a taste for sauerkraut, kimchi, ripe cheeses, and even natto, they may be pretty tasty.

Coffee, tea, and chocolate are all popular beverages

While coffee, tea, and chocolate are often thought of as indulgences rather than healthy foods, they are really Genuine Foods that are very nutritious––as long as you obtain the real thing. Coffee is a potent antioxidant with a long history of liver protection. Teas have been found to provide a wide range of health advantages. And authentic dark chocolate has been shown time and time again to provide long-term health advantages to people. On rare occasions, indulge in all of these without guilt.