20 Foods Your Doctor Would Approve Of

Eating healthier doesn’t have to be hard, stressful, expensive, or inconvenient. It also doesn’t have to happen overnight — so don’t start clearing out your pantry and fridge just yet. If you want to make lasting, sustainable changes to how you eat, those changes are more likely to stick if you start slow, and just try to add one or two healthy habits at a time.

What people should be eating on a daily basis to feel their best can be boiled down to a list of 20 foods, according to a new book by Dr. Ian Smith.  The 20 foods on the list are described by Dr. Smith as “powerful health-boosters” that are “packed with phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals." To help you get started, here are the 20 food items that can get you started on a path to eating right!

1. Avocados 
2. Berries (Basket Buddies: apples, pears, mangoes, bananas, watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, oranges) 
3. Cheese 
4. Chicken 
5. Chickpeas (Basket Buddies: black beans, red beans, cannellini beans, pinto beans, lima beans, black-eyed peas, peas, corn) 
6. Eggs 
7. Kale (Basket Buddies: arugula, bok choy, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, spinach, swiss chard, watercress) 
8. Lemons (Basket Buddies: limes, grapefruit) 
9. Lentils 
10. Nuts (Basket Buddies: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds) 
11. Oatmeal (Basket Buddies: grits) 
12. Seafood (Basket Buddies: cod, crab, halibut, lobster, oysters, salmon, sea bass, shrimp, tuna) 
13. Squash (Basket Buddies: broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, parsnips, zucchini) 
14. Sweet potatoes (Basket Buddies: corn) 
15. Tomatoes 
16. Turkey 
17. Quinoa 
18. 100 percent whole-grain or whole-wheat bread 
19. Whole-wheat pasta 
20. Yogurt