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Please be forewarned- this list of nutrient-dense foods does not include a bunch of random super-foods that are expensive and hard to find. I spent a few years of my life eating those foods every day when I was vegan. I don’t have a problem with eating chia seeds and goji berries every day if that’s what makes you feel best, but that’s not what this article is about.
Read my Vegan to Nourishing, Ancestral Diet story here.
My diet has shifted to eating more of a Traditional Foods diet….or as I like to call it, following an Ancestral or Primal diet. Eating the way my ancestors have eaten for thousands of years.
Traditional foods are the types of nutrient dense foods I’m going to focus on in this article.
I give these nutrient-dense foods to my toddler every day. I ate them every day while trying to conceive, and I currently eat them every day while 21 weeks pregnant. I will eat these nutrient-dense foods every day when I’m postpartum and breastfeeding as well.
These foods are for anyone, at any stage in life. They’re rich in nutrients that your body needs to thrive.
If you are interested in purchasing nutrient dense supplements – such as collagen powder, gelatin powder, bone broth powder, or beef liver capsules – check out Perfect Supplements! Their quality is unmatchable and the safety testing their products go through is some of the highest on the market!
Nine Nutrient Dense Foods I Eat every day (and you should too)
Eggs
We eat eggs almost every day. Being pregnant, I try to eat two per day. Eggs are rich in choline which is an essential nutrient for cell structure, metabolism, and healthy nervous system functioning. Choline is also crucial for a developing baby growing inside a pregnant mother. A study from Cornell concluded that getting enough choline in pregnancy offered long-lasting cognitive benefits for the child. But some estimates say that up to 95% of pregnant women do not consume the recommended daily amount of choline!
One egg offers 20-25% of the daily recommended amount of choline.
Eggs are also high in selenium, folate, protein and Vitamin A. The yolks are especially nutrient dense and make a great first food for babies!
I recommend purchasing eggs from a local farm where the chickens are free to roam outside and eat bugs and take dirt baths and live their best chicken life. Not only is it more ethical, but the eggs will also be more nutrient-dense!
Raw Cheese
True raw cheese has never been heated over 102 degrees. Once a cheese is heated over 102, the beneficial bacteria begin to die off and the cheese can start to lose some of its health properties. So always check the packaging to see how high your cheese has been warmed.
Raw cheese is high in vitamin D and K2. Vitamin K2 is found in fermented animal products (like cheese) and is able to be absorbed and used by the body easily compared to Vitamin K1 (which is found in plant sources).
Fermented Veggies
Homemade sauerkraut, fermented pickles, kimchi, and fermented garlics and onions are some of my favorite fermented foods! Vegetables that have been fermented are much easier for the body to digest, and they contain billions of gut healing, beneficial bacteria as well. Many nutrients become stronger during the fermentation process as well. For example, sauerkraut contains 20x the amount of vitamin C as regular cabbage!
Our ancestors fermented food for thousands of years, and many cultures still include fermented dishes as a staple part of their diet. They’re delicious AND nutritious. Bring on the homemade sauerkraut!!
Fruit
Who doesn’t love fruit? It’s packed with vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants! I’ve been loving citrus lately – grapefruit in particular. I love fruit for the mineral content but also as a healthy carb source and to get natural sugars to help support liver function.
Metabolically, fruit is always best when paired with a fat and protein. So try pairing a citrus with your breakfast of cheese and eggs, or some berries with a snack of avocado and chicken.
Raw Milk Products
I buy our raw milk from a local farm. With the raw milk, I make my own homemade kefir. If I don’t have any kefir made, and I don’t feel like drinking raw milk, I’ll eat a yogurt. I try to get a raw milk product in my diet every day.
Raw milk is high in fat-soluble vitamins and has tons of beneficial bacteria in it because it has not been pasteurized or heated. Our ancestors have consumed raw milk for thousands of years and the high levels of calcium and fat-soluble vitamins made their bones and teeth straight and strong.
If you’re interested in learning about how to find SAFE raw milk, check out my guide where I go into detail about what to look for in a raw milk farm to be sure that you are getting the cleanest, most sanitary milk possible!
Butter
Butter is an incredible, nutrient-rich saturated fat that has unfortunately been dragged through the mud as causing a variety of health problems that history has proven it does NOT cause. Butter is one of the most easily absorbed sources of Vitamin A on the planet and also contains Vitamin E, selenium, and cholesterol – all of these nutrients play a pivotal role in protecting against heart disease and cancer.
Check out this article for more amazing facts about butter.
We buy Kerry Gold butter, which is a butter that is a rich yellow color from Ireland where the cows pasture graze nearly every day of the year. It’s friendly for our budget, and we can easily purchase it from our local grocery store. We eat it every single day and try to cook with it as well!
Animal Protein
We consume some type of meat every day. Sometimes it’s grass fed beef, sometimes it’s a whole chicken for dinner, sometimes it’s wild caught Salmon or Cod, and sometimes it’s a wild meat like Venison or Elk.
I’ve also been eating Tuna lately. I recently found this brand of tuna at the store called Safe Catch. It’s recommended by the American Pregnancy Association as safe for pregnant women and children. This brand tests each individual tuna to make sure that they have mercury levels 10x lower than the FDA Action Limit. I love tuna and I’ve really been craving it this pregnancy, so I’m thankful I found an option that is safe for us! I still don’t eat it every day, but probably 2-3x per week.
Herbal Infusions
I drink herbal infusions a few times per week. Herbs are an incredibly nutrient-dense food and infusions are one of the best ways to get the nutrients into our bodies. I have an article on how to make your own herbal infusion, but essentially it is made as tea, steeped overnight so that all of the nutrients and minerals are steeped into the water.
RELATED: How to make an Herbal Infusion
Some of the most nutrient-dense herbs for infusions are nettles, oat straw, and alfalfa. Other great options include Red Raspberry leaf, lemon balm, and spearmint.
Desiccated Liver Capsules
I take Desiccated Liver Capsules every other day (3-4x per week). Liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, but unfortunately, as much as I’ve tried, I cannot make myself eat it and NOT gag.
If you want the benefits of liver, but you don’t love the taste or texture of organ meat, I highly recommend these capsules!
They are high in Vitamin A, B12, Choline, Folate, Hyaluronic Acid, and Bio-Available Heme Iron. They also provide all the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K & E) in highly usable forms, and meaningful amounts of copper, zinc, and chromium.
I’ve been taking these supplements for several months while we were trying to conceive this baby. When I got my early labs done, my midwives said I had some of the highest iron levels they had ever seen in a pregnant woman! They are big believers in beef liver now and have started recommending it to their anemic pregnant mamas.
Our ancestors always prioritized and valued organ meats, and science can now prove to us why they knew that organ meats were beneficial to health (specifically to pregnant and nursing mothers). Ancestral wisdom should never be dismissed or ignored!
Click here to check out the liver supplements that I absolutely love!
I’m so thankful that we have access to these Traditional foods that can be harder to find like raw milk and raw cheese. It definitely took some research and digging for me to be able to find these foods in my state, but I’m thankful that they’re available!
Do you eat these nine foods everyday? Do you have any other nutrient dense foods that you also eat everyday? Comment below and tell me!
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Hey, I'm Victoria!
I'm so glad you're here, sweet mother!
My goal is to inspire you to remember your primal roots & live a WILD life in alignment with nature. On my blog I empower you to use herbs and natural remedies to keep your family healthy, teach you how to eat a nourishing, traditional foods diet, and inspire you to raise your babies consciously and respectfully.
