On Strawberries

I believe strawberries are the perfect fruits.

I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t love eating strawberries.

Kids simply adore them.

If you’re a follower of this page, then you already know the criteria a “diet” must meet in order for it to be beneficial:

• it should enable you to lose weight fast;

• it should enable you to keep your figure easily;

• it should enable you to live longer and better.

If you didn’t already know that pour yourself a jug of coffee and let’s begin. If you already knew all this, here is a reminder.

✅ SENSEI

They call me Valentin “the Chinese water torture” Bunea. Not just “the exaggerating one”, “the tyrant”, “the obsessed one”:

• I was either overweight or obese since I was 10 and until I was 28 years old.

• After yoyo-ing for 20 years, I lost almost 40 kg.

• I’ve been keeping my weight and my figure for 14 years, since 2010.

• For the last 10 years, I’m doing everything I can to get those around me to quit being obese.

✅ NUTRITIONAL CONDITIONS

Here are the conditions a food must meet in order for it to be found on the table of a relatively static city dweller.

In the countryside, you get to toil for 10 hours a day, 6 days out of 7. We are talking hard labor. Out in the field. Even if you go to the gym 3 times a week, you’re still sedentary.

1. It should be as nutritiously dense as possible

When I eat something, I make sure it contains as many minerals, vitamins, protein, fiber and Omega3 acids.

For a full repair cycle, homo sapiens needs the full spectrum of original spare parts.

In order to prevent premature aging, ensuring you’re getting the full spectrum of nutrients is the most important condition.

This criterion for choosing food is also the most important when it comes to children.

It is obvious that when it came to diversification, I did not feed my children apples, cereal, carrots or carrot juice.

These foods are not rich in nutrients, they are rich in sugar.

Do you want to know what is the most nutritiously dense food in the world? Stay tuned. Article coming up about it this week.

Even when I drink water, I look for the one that is richest in minerals.

Minerals, along with vitamin D3, are essential in developing bones in children and preventing osteoporosis in seniors.

My kids only drink Borsec fizzy mineral water since they were 1 year old.

2. It should have as few calories as possible

So, at least fewer than other similar foods.

For example:

• Why would I use ketchup that contains sugar when there are sugar-free and tastier options out there, with fewer calories no less?

• Why would I keep using 40% fat sour cream when I can just get a 10% fat Greek yogurt? Skyr 0%?

• Why would I eat fatty yogurt when I can make a great dessert with 0% fat Skyr?

• Why would I use minced pork meat of with 25% fat when I can just use minced turkey meat that only has 7% fat? Recipe coming soon.

• Why would I eat bananas or grapes when I can eat apples, kiwi, strawberries or raspberries (they contain far less sugar)?

• Why eat fatty cheeses when there are super delicious low fat alternatives out there?

• Why eat salami or sausages (they contain 40% lard) when I can just go for lighter chicken or turkey ham?

• Why should I pour olive oil by the bottleful in my salads when I can just add a tablespoonful or I can just use an olive oil spray?

• Why fry my food when I can just cook it using an AirFryer.

(Yes, that’s fat that dripped during cooking with an AirFryer.)

See? I could write about 100 different alternatives. Name of the game: foods with fewer calories but that are still tasty.

3. It should be high in volume

Probably the most important condition when it comes to the sustainability of any nutritional system is to always feel full when you leave the table.

Meaning: you should be able to eat a good meal, every time you are hungry, and eat until you are full.

It never makes sense to get up from the table when you’re still hungry.

Body Engineering members never go hungry. Do you know why?

Because they know how to choose foods that are high in volume and low in calories.

Let me explain.

1 kg strawberries = 1/2 kg Skyr = 60g pistachios = 70g Snickers

What do you mean I should eat only a handful of pistachios or just ONE bar of Snickers?

When I can just pay the same amount of money to eat 1 kg of strawberries and ½ kg of Skyr?

After 60 grams of pistacchios you’re going to feel like you’re just getting warmed up.

On the other hand, after 1 KILOGRAM of strawberries, you’ll barely be able to breathe.

✅ Back to the strawberries

We usually recommend to our members to eat 1.2 kilograms of vegetables per day, as well as another 200-300 grams of fruits, if they still can.

When in season, ½ kilograms of strawberries, raspberries or blueberries along with 700 grams of vegetables – this is perfection.

Here is another head-to-head comparison.

Covrig = pretzel (from Romanian).

2 hot pretzels from the stall down the street have as many calories as 2.5 kilos of strawberries.

You’ll eat those 2 pretzels in 60 seconds. It will take you 2 days to eat those 2.5 kilograms of strawberries

✍️ I wrote more about pretzels here: CLICK.

✅ 1 Kilogram of strawberries

Strawberries are the fruits that are simply the lowest in calories.

Meaning:

• For 900 calories, you’ll eat 1 kg of bananas or 3 kg of strawberries.

• For 600 calories, you’ll eat 1 kg of grapes / mango / pears or 2 kg of strawberries.

I don’t know about you, but if you are just a little bit like me (meaning, you like to eat), maybe this schematic will help you make better choices.

✅ Vitamin C

FUN Fact: strawberries have more vitamin C than oranges or lemons.

As a general idea, the daily recommended vitamin C intake for adults is only 95 mg.

Strawberries contain:

• more vitamin C than oranges;

• fewer calories than oranges;

• 50% less sugar than oranges.

✍️ More articles coming up: on oranges, on vitamin C and on why my kids never drink freshly-squeezed juices.

✅ Fruits are rich in vitamin

When I found out fruits have the lowest quantity of vitamins in all food categories, something just snapped inside my head.

When comparing 100 g of fruit with 100 g of vegetables, legumes, meat, fish, organs, seeds, nuts or cereal…

Fruits will always finish dead last.

You’re better off eating potatoes, beans or rice if vitamins and minerals are what you’re looking for.

✅ TL:DR

• You can eat as many strawberries as you like during their season and you’ll never get fat. They have a measly 30 calories per 100 grams.

• Strawberries contain as much vitamin C as oranges, but only half of the sugar.

• Out of 200 grams of strawberries, an adult will get 100% of the daily recommended vitamin C intake (95 mg).

• Out of 500 grams of strawberries, a woman will get 50% of the daily recommended fiber intake (12,5 g).

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I also have some tips and tricks for the elite members, including The Dark Side of Strawberries (which is the reason why I don’t let my children have them too often).