I’m not such a mystery, am I? When you read the title of this post, I know what you were all thinking. “Obviously, Laura, among your top ten favorite real foods is butter. What else is new?”

Well, obviously. I heart the butter.

But beyond the butter, I thought it might be fun to list my favorite real foods simply to give encouragement that eating a healthy diet really isn’t such a difficult option. In short, every single day I feel like I eat like a queen. I mean, look at this:

Poor Laura. She only eats healthy food. Her life must be so boring. Her food must be so bland. She is stuck eating food like this Chocolate Cheesecake Strawberry Parfait. We must support and encourage her in every way we can.

Have you ever thought about this? About how real food is so delicious? About how rich and nourishing and tasty it is, and about how there is so much variety? About how you can make so many simple dishes with just a few simple, real food ingredients?

Don’t look now, but grilled boneless chicken thighs are one of the most flavorful, juicy meats you can eat. Add a few simple fruit and veggie side dishes and you are also eating like royalty.

I encourage you to think through your list of favorite real foods. Beware: It is more difficult than you would think. I had a tough time stopping at 10 because as I started making a list, I kept thinking of more food that I love!

By the way, if you haven’t downloaded our free printable Simple Ingredients for Simple Meals list, you need to go grab that! It’s a super helpful resource to remind you of all the basic real food options that are great to keep on hand so you can mix-and-match them to make thousands of real food meals!

Also, you will love our High Five Recipes eBook. It’s full of 111 simple recipes, all of which call for 5 or fewer real food ingredients. Amazing!

Without further ado, here’s the list you’ve all been waiting for:

My Top 10 Favorite Real Foods

1. Butter (you already knew this)
2. Beef (Here’s my favorite hamburger trick!)
3. Strawberries (Here are my 16 favorite ways to eat strawberries.)
4. Cream Cheese (to go with the strawberries)
5. Peanut Butter (Homemade PB rocks the nation.)
6. Green Beans (Especially the ones fresh from the garden)
7. Cocoa Powder (Because chocolate makes the world go round)
8. Chicken Thighs (I cry happy tears every time I eat chicken like this.)
9. Yukon Gold Potatoes (They are easier to prepare, tastier to eat, and more nourishing than russets.)
10. Asparagus (stir fried in olive oil and a bit of sea salt)

Number 10 was a toss up between asparagus and okra. Also zucchini or fresh sweet corn. Ahhh, eating real food is a happy place to be.

Now true confessions: There are some real foods I don’t love. Even the least picky among us has something we don’t like, right?

So here’s my other encouragement for you. Let go of the real food you don’t like. We live in a world with incredible variety. Eat the hundreds of real foods you DO like and let go of guilt over the few you don’t like. I’ve learned that the world did not stopped spinning the day I admitted to myself that I don’t like jicama.

A Few of My Least Favorite Real Foods

1. Jicama – no matter how hard I tried.
2. Hot Peppers – I cry enough without help from a pepper.
3. Pickles – in any form.
4. Olives – I just can’t.
5. Bananas – because of the texture.

And there you have it.

Now go get this free printable list to use as a wonderful real food ingredient reference! And leave a comment to share your favorite and least favorite real foods!